Cheap, quality binoculars

[Darktimber]

Oh boy decent 12x50s for $100 is a tall order. I would recommend the nikon prostaff 5 12x50 for $200 ish. Thats about the best you are gonna do lol i wouldnt really even recommend the prostaff to anybody who cares about glass but i bought a pair of the prostaff 3s for my son a they are a decently servicable entry level bino for about $120. These would certainly be an upgrade from what hes using now

 

[dgarrett]

He better start hitting garage sales...and maybe he will get lucky and find a pair that will be good for the price he wants to pay.. In this day when many put more dollars into the scope then they do the rifle $100 just isn't the quality that most are happy with for Binos. With that said almost anything would be an upgrade compared to what he has been using

 

[ofbandg]

Cheap binoculars aren't about what you see when you look through the lens. They are about what you see after the first time you drop them.

 

[cariboo crawler]

You can get by on a mid-priced scope - say Leupold VX3 3.5-10 or 4.5-14 for hunting but low cost binos are a hindrance. Get the best binos you can afford. Binos find the game which is harder than shooting it after it is spotted.

 

[cariboo crawler]

Agree with dlschwartz 100%.
Cheap binos hunters worst enemy . Save your money for a good pair . you Will not regret it . Good binos are my best friend . Right next to a trustworthy rifle .

 

[Buck100]

His current binos are 8x20's. He wants a higher power for glassing.

Not sure what he thinks he can get for $100 in optics. Any hunter would do themselves a tremendous favor if they would invest in a good set of glass even if it means going a little bit into hock. The will last you a lifetime. Try one of the new kids on the block; Tract Optics. They have good write-ups, great specs and a fair price for the value.

 

[catamountsierra]

If he really is going to stick with such a low budget, lower power with larger objective lenses usually work better than higher power at those price points. Clarity makes a much bigger difference than magnification. A clear image at 8x will let you see more than a blurry 12x image.

 

[Greta06]

I have the nikon prostaff 7s 10x30 compact, truly amazing how good the glass is for the price. I was watching elk at about a mile and the glass was much clearer than a buddys vortex viper pst 6-24 scope. Not sure about the prostaff 3, but you can pick them up for around a 100.

 

[JimmyCP]

For the price is well worth it. My kid beats the hell out of his and they've held up. Glass is better than the diamondback.
Athlon Optics , Talos , Binocular , 12 x 50 Roof , https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YWAM38Q/?tag=lrhmag19-20

 

[James L Holzhauer]

I have a Leipold Gold ring that is almost as good as my Swarovski

 

[Dean2]

Cheap and quality do go together in one, specific way for binoculars.

Porro prism binos (the big, not straight ones) such as Nikon's Aculon series will typically be higher quality at a specific point than a comparable roof-pentaprism binocular. Nikon makes a 10x42 Aculon at <$100, others probably do as well. They won't be as high quality as a pair of Swarovskis or Leicas, but they will be better than a comparable roof-prism binocular. This is because the roof-pentaprisms are more difficult to manufacture than Porro prisms so at a particular price point more money can be spent on things like lens quality and coatings. The downside is porro prisms are larger.

Excellent advice. I normally am a fan of buying used but with Binos, only iif you can actually inspect and look through them. Nikon, Vortex, Leupold and Meopa make probably the highest quality inexpensive Binoculars available. Nikon, Leupold and Vortex have excellent warranty coverage. The rest are pretty much a crap shoot. With how little your buddy wants to spend I would definitely go Nikon Porro Prism or if the size is too big an issue Nikon Penta Prism.

 

[blaser270mag]

Get some nikon prostaff 8x42 or nikon monarch, they are the vest value on earth..

 

[snox801]

Nikon prostaff 3s
https://www.opticsplanet.com/nikon-prostaff-3s-10x42-roof-prism-binocular.html
The $99 is a factory demo
The new are $130.
I would not be worried about a factory demo as Nikon has a great warranty. I have used Nikon for years and they are great value.
I have the vortex Diamondback also and those are also good but I'd have to say I like the nikons a bit better.
Optics planet has them for $99 right now.
That's as good as he is gonna get. Don't worry as much about the power of the bios as I use my lieca 3000's for glassing our to a mile. Clarity is better than zoom.

 

[JeffRaines]

Nikon prostaff 3s
https://www.opticsplanet.com/nikon-prostaff-3s-10x42-roof-prism-binocular.html
The $99 is a factory demo
The new are $130.
I would not be worried about a factory demo as Nikon has a great warranty. I have used Nikon for years and they are great value.
I have the vortex Diamondback also and those are also good but I'd have to say I like the nikons a bit better.
Optics planet has them for $99 right now.
That's as good as he is gonna get. Don't worry as much about the power of the bios as I use my lieca 3000's for glassing our to a mile. Clarity is better than zoom.

That was something I forgot to mention. At that price point 8x or 10x is gonna be your best bet. I wouldn't go any higher.