Nearly two weeks ago I did the unthinkable…I dropped my binoculars out of my hands at the height of 4 feet, only to watch them fall onto a hard (but vegetated) ground to hear an odd pop. I quickly put the bins up to my eyes and looked through each eyepiece one at a time. Both eyes worked fine, seperately, however when I went to put the bins to use looking through both eyepieces at once “$#@!”. I had knocked my binoculars out of alignment. It was totally unexpected, and it made me realize that I needed to get a new pair of binoculars (my old pair of Swift Audubon will be saved and fixed later on). After doing some research I came to realize that only one pair of bins would suit my price range, and what I wanted from them. Nikon Monarch 8×42.

Arriving within a few days my new pair of Monarchs were quickly put to use and I could not believe what I was experiencing. They were light in weight, and definitively more compact then my old pair. And the image…wow. That is the result that happened whenever anyone looked through them “wow”. Purple Finches…Cranberry, California Towhees…Cinammon, Steller’s Jay…prismatic blue and black. Extremely clear, and extremely bright in low light. And the best part besides the crystal clear optics…the extremely close focus (~6feet or less) and the focus wheel which spins without much effort at all. I now feel I have some binoculars to take birding and butterflying. Fast flying pelagics…I’m on them, close-up skippers…can’t escape.

All I can say is that I’ve had them for about a week, and it has renewed my interest in birding again, and for that to happen to me must really say something. Check them out, they get an A from me.

~Chad (07/26/2006)
PS Thanks Ryan for the tips on the wonderful bins