Monocular

[Jim Cowdery]

I am considering purchasing one of the new monoculars widely advertised on social media.   Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations?

[Jenny A]

Since I don’t do social media I can’t speak to what they are pushing, but I can speak to monoculars in general.  I carried one to save some weight but ultimately found it wanting in terms of magnification, image clarity, and ability to define an object of interest well enough to answer questions about what I was looking at.  I went back to relatively inexpensive 10 x 25 compact binoculars.  If I’m going to carry it, it needs to work.   My cheap binox work MUCH better than the cheap monocular.

[Jim Cowdery]

I am a cyclops.  I can only see from one eye so all those binocs in my closet are overkill

thanks for the comment

 

 

 

[Joshua B]

Monoculars tend to have small objective lenses which can cause a lot of eye fatigue if the magnification is too high.  If possible, choose a monocular with at least 30mm objective lens and no more than 6x magnification.  This will help tremendously with image stabilization, eye relief, and enough light to see the object.  These advantages will allow you to use the monocular more comfortably and enjoy more detail looking through it than the eye-straining high powered versions.

[David Thomas]

I’ve found a few that are worth the weight, but most of them are so much worse than mediocre binoculars.

Try them out, side-by-side with decent and excellent binoculars.  Hopefully, you can see out a window from the optics counter and I compare them while viewing something across the store and then across the street (through the windows).  I try for something objective – like “can I read that sign?”.

I occasionally bring one of the two monoculars I’ve found over the years that are worthwhile, but on so many trips that call for binoculars – hunting and birding, especially – you REALLY want that extra clarity and brightness so the Swarovski’s are coming along.     You’ve come all this way to ID a species or harvest a bull vs. cow or billy vs. nanny and you need all the detail you can get.

[Luke Schmidt]

I have hunted with a 9oz Vortex 10×36 Monocular. Works for me.

[Federico Calboli]

I do not know about social media, and I concur that bad optics are just dead weight.  If I had to carry something that is basically a viewing tube I’d go

https://www.zeiss.com/consumer-products/us/hunting/spotting-scopes/dialyt/dialyt-18-45×65.html

or the Swaro CTC

https://www.swarovskioptik.com/de/en/hunting/products/spotting-scopes/ctc-cts/ctc-cts-set/ctc-30×75/5006090

I normally carry binos, tripod, and spotter for multiple times the weight and bulk of those.

Cheers

F

 

 

[Dustin V]

I’ve dropped a couple of pairs of binoculars and they’ve gone out of alignment. I’ve recently torn apart my first pair of $20 binocs from the 80’s and crudely realigned them for backyard use. I grabbed a monocular that was on sale at REI to avoid this, but I can echo that a wide angle is key. This one is only 10 degrees and 10x, so it’s very difficult to stabilize. I still bring it because it’s fun to see if that blob on the opposite ridge is a moose or just moose-shaped rock.

[Miner]

It depends on what you want to use a monocular for on whether or not one is worth it.  I’ve bought a few over the years, and yes a 10x power tends to be hard to use and very eye straining.  The rare occasions I carry one, I usually just bring the commonly available Brunton 7×18 Echo monocular at 1.8oz. Normally use it for scanning the horizon for trail markers like you find on sections of the CDT and not much else.  I do own a 6.8oz version of Nikon ACULON binoculars (forget if its 8x or 10x) that I don’t think they still make that had a slightly larger objective diameter. It’s much easier to use than any monocular, but I have even less of a reason to ever carry it except on day hikes.  I think I have less use for such things because I often carry a camera with a decent zoom lens, while not the same thing, does work in some applications.

[Ross Bleakney]

I have a Zeiss monocular — I believe this one. The quality is top notch, as you would expect. At that magnification and lens size it is a bit hard for me to keep it steady though. I duct taped a small mounting plate on there, so that I can attach a small tripod to it. The duct tape is bright red (which reduces the chance I’ll space out and lose it). I replaced the case (too heavy), but kept the neck lanyard. The whole thing (with the mounting plate and duct tape) weighs 84 grams (or 3 ounces).

Some of my friends have steadier hands, but if I had to do it over again, I would probably get the 6 X 18. Not quite the magnification, but a steadier image. It is probably a few grams lighter as well.

 

[Ken Larson]

@rossbleakney      I also have ZEISS 10×25 B T* MONOCULAR (2.82oz) & CASE(.92oz) – (3.73oz) that I purchased some 35 yr ago and it has served me well throughout the US. Yes the steadness issue you speak of  I have found at times is a nuisance and gets into the way of seeing an object,  but the magnification is superb. I don’t believe you can find a monocular with this quality  that is better.

As for the weight the lady in the house carries the monocular when we are in the backcountry…case and all!!

[Grzegorz Przeorski]

IMHO there is nothing better than Zeiss 10×25 monocular. About 10 years ago I lost my first Zeiss monocular on the West Coast Trail which I was using for about 20 years. Before buying a new one I tried whole bunch of  monoculars from different makers. The two others I’d consider would be Leica Monovid and Minox Miniscope 8×25 Monocular.

[bradmacmt]

I’m not a fan of 10×25 anything and would opt for something in the 8×20 or less size.

The  Leica 8×20 would be at the top of my list, but the  6×18 Zeiss is intriguing.

But bringing Alpha glass into this discussion is thread drift extraordinaire as I don’t get the feeling the OP is thinking about this level of cash layout.

But glass geeks (I’m one) will always have to throw in their .02 :)

[Ken Larson]

@bradmacmt    Yes, Zeiss products are NOT the “poor mans” product.

[Luke Schmidt]

I think the Vortex works because it has a wider field of view. I have the 10×36 version. There is a 10×25 or 8×25 version.  I don’t like the skinnier tube, more like looking through a straw. If I recall the 8x versions didn’t have much wider fov.

An advantage of a monocular is I can clip the pouch to my pack strap. Its easily accessible all day but completely out of the way.

[bradmacmt]

An advantage of a monocular is – Its easily accessible all day but completely out of the way.

I agree with this. While I love my little Leica 8×20 Ultravid’s, I don’t pull them out as often as I might if they were small. It’s funny, all the binoculars I’ve owned (and own) over the years, a monocular has never crossed my mind. Now I’m considering one. Less than half the weight, eminently packable.

This place is unhealthy…

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