My folks (in their 80's) are taking a Baltic cruise. I thought it would nice to get Dad some decent bino's for the trip. $200-$300 range.

Any thoughts?

Build It said:

---

My folks (in their 80's) are taking a Baltic cruise. I thought it would nice to get Dad some decent bino's for the trip. $200-$300 range.

Any thoughts?

---

Here's a few - since dad evidently doesn't already have a pair of binoculars, I will assume that he is not a dedicated bino user. If that is the case, I would suggest going with something small and lightweight, which makes them easier to carry at any time, which makes him more likely to use them. You might consider a 28mm to 32mm bino, 7x or 8x magnification. If dad wears eyeglasses, which is pretty common for people his age, you will also need to mindful of the binoculars eye relief too.

You might look at the following binos. All have fairly long eye relief, and are compact and light enough to not get burdensome while traveling.
Vortex 8x28 Diamondback HD
Sightron 8x32 SII Blue Sky
Opticron 8x32 Discovery WP PC

If by chance dad doesn't wear eyeglasses, then you could consider the 8x32 Nikon Prostaff 7 and the Leupold Tioga.

One last suggestion for a travel bino is the 7x27 Bushnell Custom Compact. It has a very bright (brighter than a Swarovski 8x25 CL-P) and sharp view, and has excellent build quality. It's ER is just barely enough to use with eyeglasses. Only downside is that it isn't waterproof, so you wouldn't want to use it in the rain or at the beach. I don't think they are produced any more, but you could check ebay if interested.

C

I scored some sweet Diamondback HD 10x42s on amazon at christmas. Like 180ish great deal.

Thanks! Lots to go look at. This is something I can get him for his birthday that he would never buy for himself. The only pair he has is probably from the 70's.

I found Nikon monarch 7 on eBay for 250$ and zeiss conquest had 8x32 for 475$ , you can find some good deals if you look .. Good Luck

AV8ORAG84 said:

---

I found Nikon monarch 7 on eBay for 250$ and zeiss conquest had 8x32 for 475$ , you can find some good deals if you look .. Good Luck

---

Definitely agree. A little more than half of my binocular collection were purchased from the used market.

Those are pretty decent prices too. IMO the Zeiss 8x32 Conquest HD is one of the best binoculars one can buy, of any configuration, in the $1k and under price range.