Binoculars are fun and even more fun if you choose the right binoculars. A lazy way of hunting is to rely on your professional hunter to select the game, but in doing so you miss out on the visual experience of being in the outdoors.
Likely you will use your binoculars more than you will use your rifle and scope, hence we recommend that you buy the best binoculars that you can afford. Your specific use is the most important selection criteria in choosing right.
My criteria for Africa is a pair of light and good optical clarity binoculars which I can always have with me, or close by me. Portability and good optical clarity wins in Africa over a heavy and bulky pair of binoculars of higher light transmission that you get with larger objective lenses. The Africa light is bright enough.
Hunting in Europe is typically from a hide and in low light conditions of early morning or late evenings. Here a bulky pair of binoculars is less of a handicap and you benefit from the light transmission of a larger objective lens.
The choice of magnification. Light transmission (size of exit pupil) is determined by the objective lens size divided by the magnification factor. You get greater light transmission (greater exit pupil) with smaller magnification assuming the same objective lens size. We recommend lower magnification with smaller objective lens binoculars. For walking or using binoculars in bright conditions my choice of binocular is an 8×32 (light, portable, used standing without shake and a wide field of view). An 8x has a wider field of view than a 10x and you can see all you need up to 400 m .
From stationary positions or low light conditions my choice is a 10×50 because you can normally set-up with a support, and the larger objective gets you last light. I never choose a binoculars of greater than 10x unless I am using it off a tripod or a dead rest because the “shake” distracts from the visual experience. If needing more than a 10x magnification it probably becomes worthwhile considering a spotting scope.
The older style porro prism binoculars cost approximately 50% of the equivalent optical clarity in a roof prism binoculars. I always advise to upgrade binoculars, even before upgrading your rifle, but where cost is a key factor and you accept a more bulky and older looking style binocular then porro prism is an excellent choice. Roof prism binoculars are lighter and less bulky but they cost more to manufacture.
If forced to choose one binocular only then I would select a roof prism in 8×42 – a fair compromise between weight, portability, brightness and field of view. This would be the 30-06, one rifle choice, but because I own more than one pair of binoculars and more than one rifle I do not own either a 8×42 binoculars or a 30-06 rifle.
Good binoculars have a diopter adjustment. This setting equates the correction of a pair of spectacles. I take care to set the diopter on the eye-piece accurately and then leave for a few years because your sight correction is stable (provided no-one else uses your binoculars). The diopter does not need to be changed for different distances!
Most binoculars are to some extent shockproof, waterproof, dust proof and fog proof. The level of robustness is often a correlation of the price. I once bought a pair of binoculars and placed them in a basin of water overnight – a test I carried out while the product was under guarantee. Below, a scope being tested for waterproof at the factory.
For a light, compact and portable pair of binoculars it is especially important to chose a high quality optic because of image compromise with smaller lenses. Lens coatings are critical, the more anti-reflective coatings the greater the amount of light that passes through. See the white circles on the eyepieces below, this is the exit pupil. A size of 4 mm is adequate for bright conditions in Africa, off-course larger means a brighter image.
Kim Jong-un having issues with his binoculars – all the “trouble shooting” in the world cannot improve his vision. Ego is like dust in his eyes. He should clear his ego, invest in quality binoculars and see a new world!
