I will not recommend a brand or retailer – IMO that is less important. I’ll try and keep the explaining to a point that it cuts through the marketing hype.

Hunting Binoculars 101
First, looking through binoculars in the store tells you nothing.

The goal is to know what you are paying for so you get the best bang for your buck. For hunting purposes, binoculars need low light capability, be water/fog proof, and carrying weight/size needs to be appropriate. Hopefully you will be able to buy your next binoc’s (even if online) and have some confidence in your purchase.

The numbers matter but bigger don’t always mean better.
What is the difference between 8X40 and 10X30? The number to the left of “x” is the highest magnification that pair of binocs can give – how many times larger an image can appear. The number to the right of the “x” is the size of the front lenses (the Objective lens) usually in millimeters. This determines how much light can get in and as a result how bright/clear an image will appear with all other things being equal (especially coatings – see below).
For hunting in general, the number to the right of the “x” is the more important than the one to the left. All things being equal, the majority of hunters will be happier with 8X35 than a 10X25. More magnification (bigger number left of the “x”) tends to lead to: hand/wind tremors more noticeable, smaller filed of view, less clear/bright image, and more difficult to initially find and track images. Even for small bird watching a 7X to 8X is typically recommended. How important is that number to the right of the “x”? An X35 will let in around 3 times more light than an X20 – that means a brighter/clearer image all things being equal (especially coatings). For hunting purposes, a 25 up to a 40 size is a good range for the number to the right of the “x”. Why not always go with the biggest? Because depending on who is using them and how they are being used weight, bulk, and cost can become a factor.

There are three levels of coatings.
Coating is one of the least expensive options on a lens so going for the better coating does not cost you much extra. But coating is one of the most important options relating to clear/bright images. Coatings basically reduce glare and improve contrast. When you look at a binoculars’ front lens, the coating is that color you see on the front lens itself. Don’t worry about what color it is just make sure it is coated/has a tint. The specs will have either: “coated”, “multicoated”, or “fully coated” … you can read that as “good”, “better”, and “best”. Never by a binoc that is not at least “coated”. For hunting purposes, multicoated is good enough.

Has to be water/fog proof.
For hunting purposes, if it is fog proof enough then it is water proof enough. Keep your focus on fog proof. To fog proof the binocs, they purge the air/oxygen out and replace with a dry, inert gas that has no moisture so it won’t condense … no condense = no fog. The binocs are then sealed to keep the gas in and the water/moisture/air out. As a hunter, you really shouldn’t care if this dry gas is nitrogen, argon, or krypton. You should just look for binocs that say they are “purged” or “fog proof” or has some gas “injected”.

Prism.
For hunting purposes, prism can be considered the type and quality of glass used. The two types the hunter will mostly see in the specs/marketing info are BAK4 (BK4) and BK7. Just remember the “4” is better and more expensive. The “4” gives a nice round exit view and has less distortion around the edges.

Shape/Weight – kiss’in cousins.
Roof-prism and porro-prism can almost always be determined by just looking at a picture of the binocs. Porro-prism has the shape traditional associated with binocs; the front lenses are wider (farther apart) than the back lenses. Roof-prism binocs are straight barrel; the front and back lenses line up directly. As a hunter, all things being equal, this has next to no impact on image quality but roof-prisms (straight barrel) tend to be smaller/lighter. The down side is roof-prism binocs are more expensive to manufacture.

Overall weight, to a degree, is a compromise and one size does not fit all. The lighter, the easier it is to carry but the more difficult to keep steady and vice versa. What fills big, bulky, or heavy on the neck and hands to someone 5’9” may not to someone 6’5”. As a general rule for hunting purposes, anything 30 ounces or less would be considered lighter/easy to carry and in many cases would be a roof-prism (straight barrel).

Where does this lead us?
Keeping it simple, a good pair of hunting binoc is/has:
1) 8x25 to 8x40 (no more than 10x)
2) Multi or fully coated lenses
3) Fog proof
4) BAK4 (BK4)
5) 30 oz. or less

And for the record, I would not buy hunting binocs that don’t at least meet 1), 2), and 3) above. I can fudge a little on 4) and 5).

Shopping
I spent about 10 minutes on two different retail websites. On both I found two brand name binocs under $100 that hit 4 out of the 5 points above. Below $150.00 I found no less than 3 different brand names on each site that hit all 5 points above. All of these were new in the box with manufacturer’s warranties.

Sure you get what you pay for but at the same time you also overpay for what you don’t know. If you have a good basic understanding of what is important vs. what is marketing then good hunting binocs do not have to cost a truck payment … or a house payment.

Thanks for the write-up! I have been wanted a new pair of bino's for the blind, now I'll know what I'm looking at.

Thanks that was a good little lesson. I have also been looking at getting a set for bow hunting.


Walter

That's good info!

Great info!!
I've been considering getting a good pair but just didnt know enought about them...

very useful post!!

Very helpful post. Of course I just bought a new pair of binos about 6 months ago. Fortunately, they meet all 6 of your points above. I know that I have been very happy with them. It's good to know why.