Five of the Best Binoculars to Carry Every Day

There are great binoculars available for every budget

   01.19.21

Five of the Best Binoculars to Carry Every Day

We all have at least one pair of binoculars sitting around in the truck or tucked in a hunting pack somewhere. Some of us have several, and with good reason. If you own multiple pairs, you theoretically should always have a pair handy when you need them. If you’ve done any shopping for binos, you know there is a wide range of price points out there, but how do you know what you really need, and if the pair you’re looking at are truly worth the money? Don’t worry, friends, we’re here to help. Here are five of the best binoculars for the money, available right now.

1. Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42 - Editor's Pick

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Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42 - Editor's Pick

The author has two pairs of these binoculars

A few years ago, if you asked anyone in the outdoor industry about good binoculars that were around $200, the reply would have most likely been, “Well, I don’t know about how good of bino you’d get for that kind of money…” It sounds kind of harsh, but decent binoculars used to start out at the $400-500 range. Then along came Vortex Optics. The company makes some truly remarkable and high-end optics, but they also make some binoculars that perform amazingly well for very little money. Case in point, the Diamondback HD. These roof prism binos have twist-up eye cups, multi-coated optics and are fully water, shock and fog proof. What sets them apart of the competition is the clarity. By following Vortex’s instructions on focus adjustment, you’ll find greater clarity than you thought possible in this price range. We like the 10×42 model and have one for the house and another for the truck. They are powerful, compact and durable.

Pros/Great value and clarity
Cons/Will still strain your eyes with long use, but better than most
Bottom Line/A great balance of performance and value

2. Swarovski EL 10x42 Binocular - Premium Pick

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Swarovski EL 10x42 Binocular - Premium Pick

As good as it gets

To create a list of the best binoculars for the money, you need to include the industry standard for the best of the best. The Swarovski EL 10 x 42 is widely considered as the best binocular you can get. At over $2,600, these are not cheap binoculars by any means, but that’s actually a great deal with savings close to $1,000! But for those of us who spend multiple hours a day looking through binos, the cost is worth it. The reason is eye strain. When you are looking through magnification and lenses, you get distortion. You compensate some with the focus adjustment on the binocular, but the finer adjustment is done by your own eye. The more that your own eye has to compensate for distortions of distance, light etc, the harder it is to maintain clear vision. This is why if you do it for too long, you wind up with a brutal headache. Where Swarovski comes in is with extreme clarity. They have been in the business of quality glass craftsmanship for longer than anyone. This is why many who make a living using optics use Swarovski binoculars.

Pros/Clarity at its best
Cons/The price will keep many away
Bottom Line/The benchmark others are compared to

3. Zeiss Terra ED 10x42 Binoculars

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Zeiss Terra ED 10x42 Binoculars

When you see the letter designations after binoculars and other optics, like ED, that refers to the glass being used. One of the better glass types is ED, or Extra-Low Dispersion. German optics company Zeiss uses SCHOTT ED glass in their mid-priced Terra binoculars. Then, the company uses multiple layers of dielectric coating to enhance the light transmission properties of the lenses. The result is exceptional quality and clarity combined with the company’s Schmidt-Pechan prism system to make a light, clear binocular that is priced very nicely for the quality you receive.

Pros/Lightweight and clear
Cons/Great for most uses, but will strain your eyes after prolonged use
Bottom Line/German optical quality

4. Styrka S7 Series 10x42 ED Binocular

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Styrka S7 Series 10x42 ED Binocular

New "kid" on the block

Styrka is a relative newcomer to the optics scene, and they have made a serious splash. How did they do it? By making seriously good, high-quality optics at reasonable prices. These aren’t the flashiest binoculars you’ll find, but they have everything you’d want and need, and are backed with Styrka’s Pride warranty that covers everything except theft, loss or intentional damage. The company takes serious ownership of its quality. The S7 uses ED glass and a vigorous multi-coating processes. You’ll also find a BaK-4 prism adding to the clarity that will make you think they’re more expensive than they are. One well-known figure in the optics industry was overheard to say that if he was to buy a set of binos right now, he’d buy these over any other brand – and no, he doesn’t work for them.

Pros/High quality and warranty
Cons/Not the lightest bino on this list
Bottom Line/A great, simple pair of clear binoculars

5. Sig Sauer Zulu 3 Binoculars

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Sig Sauer Zulu 3 Binoculars

A modern take on a compact binocular

There are a lot of really good binoculars out there, but some that really impressed us were the compact Zulu 3 binos from Sig Sauer. In case you weren’t aware, Sig, yes that sig, makes optics too, and they are amazing. The Zulu 3’s have low-dispersion glass for maximizing clarity and color differentiation. They use a silver deposition phase-coated BAK4 Prisms for higher resolution and image contrast. These are tough, nice looking binoculars that flat out work! Better still is the price that comes in around $200!

Pros/A great example that you don't always have to pay a lot for a great pair of binoculars
Cons/32mm objective lenses limit field of view compared to others
Bottom Line/A great pair of basic, but high-quality optics

Dispersion in binoculars

If you’ve ever played with a prism, you have seen dispersion first hand. White light can be broken up into the different spectrums. Binocular lenses focus the light coming through the lens to a single point. This gives you the image you see on the other end. A small amount of dispersion occurs as that light passes through the lens.  The different wavelengths of light are arranged when you focus to give you a cleaner view. However, a small amount of distortion takes place due to minute imperfections in the glass, and variants of light across the distance from the object you’re looking at and your binoculars.  That distortion is known as chromatic aberration and is causes color variants and fringing on the object you are view. It also results in eye strain as your brain tries to filter it out.

More binoculars are now coming with ED, or extra-low dispersion glass, which is highly refined to reduce the amount of imperfections in the glass and reduce the chromatic aberration you see. Not all ED glass is the same, and you pay more for the quality, but the result is better vision and less distortion of your image.

What is the difference between higher priced binoculars and lower-cost versions?

The biggest difference is in clarity. You can look through multiple pairs of binoculars and think they all seem the same in terms of how clear the image is, and there is some truth to that. However, the biggest differences become apparent when you spend a great deal of time looking through them. When you spend several hours a day, the small imperfections in some glass really strains your eyes. You can wind up with a headache that would put a migraine to shame. Trust me, I know! The higher the quality of glass, the better the view is in the long run.

Avatar Author ID 667 - 1593570116

Derrek Sigler has been a professional outdoor writer for more than two decades since earning his Master’s Degree in creative writing with a thesis about fishing humor. But if you ask anyone that knows him, he’s been telling fishin’ stories since he was old enough to hold a pole. He has written for Cabela’s and served as editorial director for Gun Digest books. Over the years, he has also written for Petersen’s Hunting, North American Whitetail Magazine, Wildfowl, Grand View Media, and has worked with Bass Pro Shops, Hard Core Brands and Bone Collector. Successful Farming had him write for their magazine and he has appeared on their TV show to discuss hunting and ATVs on multiple occasions. He writes about the things he loves - hunting, fishing, camping, trucks, ATVs, boating, snowmobiles and the outdoor lifestyle he enjoys with his family in their home state of Michigan and more as they adventure around North America.

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