Advice on a small monocular telescope.

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I fancy something smaller than binoculars but I'm struggling to pick one (on Amazon) and I know nothing about these. My binoculars are 8x30 and are ok but a bit bulky so something smaller a with a little more reach would be nice.

Can anyone recommend something reasonably compact which is not too expensive? This is just for casual day out use and I'm not bothered about phone or camera attachments or tripods but I would like something smaller than my binoculars which will fit in a man bag with other stuff.

Thanks if anyone can.
 
The issue I've ever had with monoculars is after more than a minute or so, closing my other eye was tiring, and they were never as steady as binoculars which just frustrated me.

Are you not better off with some compact binos? Some 10x25's fold up incredibly small these days compared to the usual 8x30/8x40 models.
 
Oh nowhere near those prices :D My Boots Admiral binoculars which I've had for for probably 50 years are good enough so that should tell you the quality I'll be happy with. I've just had them out and optically they seem good as new but they're a bit bulky to put in a bag with sandwiches and drinks on a day out so I fancy something less bulky but possibly with a bit more reach, this is just for casual day out "Oh look at that" use :D

£100 plus is ok.

Oh, I've just remembered that Hawke have a good name. Any good? Plus I hadn't thought of folding binoculars. I'm open to suggestions really but I wont be spending £hundreds. I know spending more gets more quality but these are just for casual day out use.

PS.
Just looked at folding binoculars on Amazon and some do look incredibly small but I've no idea what to buy.

So that's two possibilities. Monocular or folding binoculars. Suggestions?
 
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There are some incredibly good small spotting* scopes around might Be better for you
 
I've tried monoculars and I just don't get along with them as well. I've tried/owned a lot of binoculars, to include Zeiss and Swarovski, and I've settled on Vortex as being the best performance vs price in general... but I still didn't like their monocular. I have greater difficulty in using monoculars as they are less stable (one handed), harder to find the subject with (less "natural"?), and for some reason the perceived magnification is less than a pair of binoculars of the same rating (e.g. 8x32).

I've also tried a lot of compact binoculars... here I cheap out a bit more and use Vortex Diamondback 10x28's, or Pentax 9x28's which I carry when doing wildlife photography. I do not like the kind with dual hinges even though they are even more compact... I find them much harder to get placed optimally in front of each eye (I do wear glasses, and that probably makes a difference).

My primary binoculars are Vortex Razor 10x42's, but used primarily from/near the vehicle. The Diamondbacks are a few tiers lower, but the only difference I find optically is in tough lighting situations... i.e. a little more flare and CA with hard backlighting.

I disliked the monoculars so much that I simply gave them away...
 
the black fox said:
There are some incredibly good small spotting* scopes around might Be better for you
Click to expand...

I don't know but these might be too big.

What I'm looking for is something smaller than my Boots 8x30's which will go in either a coat pocket or in a bag with other day out stuff.
 
sk66 said:
Vortex Diamondback 10x28's, or Pentax 9x28's which I carry when doing wildlife photography. I do not like the kind with dual hinges even though they are even more compact... I find them much harder to get placed optimally in front of each eye (I do wear glasses, and that probably makes a difference).

My primary binoculars are Vortex Razor 10x42's, but used primarily from/near the vehicle. The Diamondbacks are a few tiers lower, but the only difference I find optically is in tough lighting situations... i.e. a little more flare and CA with hard backlighting.

I disliked the monoculars so much that I simply gave them away...
Click to expand...

Under £200 for those Diamondbacks is ok but I can't justify the Razor at over £900 for casual day out use. These all look to be too big though, possibly no saving or even bigger than my old Boots bins.
 
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Hawke can be a bit hit and miss in riflescopes (in my opinion), never seen their binoculars to be fair although they certainly won't be terrible. Minox are good (I have a pair), and Opticron and Vortex have had good writeups for being a good bang for buck for years. I've linked a few below - never dealt with the stores though a these were just the first google hit, so shop around for possibly better prices.

Opticron 10x21
Hawke 10x25

Vortex sadly don't seem to a pocket version which is a shame!
 
woof woof said:
Under £200 for those Diamondbacks is ok but I can't justify the Razor at over £900 for casual day out use. These all look to be too big though, possibly no saving or even bigger than my old Books bins.
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x28's (particularly the Pentax 9x) are significantly smaller than my wife's Vortex 8x32's... but I have never heard of/seen the Books brand (I'm in US). I wasn't suggesting the Razors, more a comparison of high end Vortex vs lower end.
 
Sorry, that "Books" is a typo and it should be Boots as in another post above. Boots are a chemist in the UK and presumably badged these.

nipon-scope.com

Japan Boots Admiral 8x30 Binoculars with leather case.

A pair of Japan Boots Admiral 8x30 binoculars. 8x magnification, 30mm objective lens. Central focusing wheel and fine focus adjustment at right eyepiece.
nipon-scope.com nipon-scope.com

As above, optically they're fine for me but too bulky.

I can't find much size info on the Pantax bins but the 10x21 looks nice... it'd be nice to know what they fold down to but overall I think I'd possibly think they don't offer enough bulk and weight saving over my current ones to justify buying them.
 
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Thanks.

I'm looking for something smaller than my binoculars as they're a bit too big to carry around with my camera and food and drinks. I think some very compact binoculars or a monocular is the way to go for me. There's no shortage of either but knowing what to buy is the problem.

I might just go for a cheap something off Amazon around 10x30 or so with a good number of positive reviews and see how I get on.
 
I have one of the Hawke Endurance monoculars and it is very much an acquired taste. I like it because I find most of the compact bins have a design that makes the interpupil distance just a tiny bit big for me (I'm little). I also wanted to get the weight and size right down as I take mine when I go walking and found compact bins too big to either fit in a fleece pocket or attach to the rucksack strap. A monocular will not be 'as good' as the equivalent binocular as there's only one lens and only one eye. Mine mainly gets used for 'are they ponies or are they cows I should think about avoiding', 'is that really just a buzzard or could it possibly be an eagle. I wish I had my 12 x 50 binoculars or even better my 600mm lens', 'look at that magnificent stag. I wish I had my 12 x 50 binoculars or even better my 600mm lens'. You get the idea. Unless you have very specific requirements compact binoculars will always be better. You can buy a reputable make without paying silly money but cheap and nasty will bite you.
 
Jannyfox said:
I have one of the Hawke Endurance monoculars and it is very much an acquired taste. I like it because I find most of the compact bins have a design that makes the interpupil distance just a tiny bit big for me (I'm little). I also wanted to get the weight and size right down as I take mine when I go walking and found compact bins too big to either fit in a fleece pocket or attach to the rucksack strap. A monocular will not be 'as good' as the equivalent binocular as there's only one lens and only one eye. Mine mainly gets used for 'are they ponies or are they cows I should think about avoiding', 'is that really just a buzzard or could it possibly be an eagle. I wish I had my 12 x 50 binoculars or even better my 600mm lens', 'look at that magnificent stag. I wish I had my 12 x 50 binoculars or even better my 600mm lens'. You get the idea. Unless you have very specific requirements compact binoculars will always be better. You can buy a reputable make without paying silly money but cheap and nasty will bite you.
Click to expand...

Given your post and those above I think I'll wait until I can give a monocular a go. Shame as I spotted some when we went away for the weekend a while back but I didn't try them and it's too far to go back. I am tending towards a monocular as I don't think I'll find any binoculars which save enough bulk and weight to make them a sensible buy.

I'll wait until I see some somewhere.

Thanks all.
 
Gav. said:
I use one of these, well built, very clear optics.
Not the cheapest though.

Explorer WA ED-R Monoculars | Opticron

Click to view this page on www.opticron.co.uk
www.opticron.co.uk www.opticron.co.uk
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Good shout!

I have a pair of the Opticron Explorer WA-ED-R 8x42 binoculars to keep in the car. Very pleased with the optical quality of them and not too expensive.
 
I have a monocular atop a monopod for closer inspection of birds in the garden but it's bulkier (off the 'pod!) than my Hawke bins. Hawke are stocked by LCE (among others) so are fairly easy to get to.
I also have a much smaller monocular but it's nowhere near as good as the bins or the bigger monocular.
 
Hawke and others are everywhere but I want something smaller than my 8x30 Boots.
 
The Hawkes I have measure 116x116x42 (all mm), the Boots ones are 165x120x50. By my maths, the Hawkes are smaller. They slip into a jacket pocket, even in their case.
 
Nikon Travelite 8x25. Good, compact, inexpensive. I have at least 2 pairs knocking around, one always goes in the case as a spare in case of loss or damage to main binoculars when we travel abroad on birding holidays.
 
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Nod said:
The Hawkes I have measure 116x116x42 (all mm), the Boots ones are 165x120x50. By my maths, the Hawkes are smaller. They slip into a jacket pocket, even in their case.
Click to expand...

If that's the folded size they seem to be hardly any smaller than the Boots whereas the monocular are more of a cylinder to the bins sort of square, the monocular being longer but not as broad. I don't know about the weights.

I think the more cylinder monocular might suit me better so I've ordered one. It's due tomorrow so I'll report back when I've had a chance to try it.

Thanks all.
 
As I wasn't sure what to get but was tending more towards a tube like monocular than the squarer binoculars in the hope that I'd find the shape more day out bag friendly I went for a cheap 12x50 K&F Concept monocular. It came today and despite being cheap it seems just about perfect. It gives a significantly more magnified view than my 8x30 binoculars, the eyepiece has three positions so a wider view is possible and the focus knob works well.

I can't say that I'm saving a lot bulk or weight with these over my binoculars but my thinking is that the different shape may make it more bag friendly plus I did want a bit more zoom. We'll see. I am surprised how good it is at this cheap price.

This is it.


Thanks all for your help and advice. I had forgotten how good my ancient Boots binoculars are and I really should use them but it's a case of what I can comfortably carry on a day out.
 
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