For my serious hunting and guiding I own a pair of Leica binoculars.
For everyday on the ranch and some personal hunting I have been using the Leopold Yosemite binoculars.
These have served me very well over the last five years or so for their intended purpose, but have now reached their life-limit.
What binoculars do you recommend in the $110 to $150 bracket?
I maintain that a pair needs to be used for at least five years to see if it holds up against the dust, etc.
Your input appreciated.

Vortex 8X42 Crossfire or Diamond Back. I have Diamond Back and recommend them. A few bucks more, but well worth it.
www.cameralandny.com/optics/vo...ortexcrossfire2_8x42

http://www.cameralandny.com/op...ortexdiamondback8x42

The demos are as new and Cameraland is great to deal with.

$120.? US....Good luck with that as I doubt that any binoc at that price is worth a damn!

Your best bet might be a new set of Bushnells, they are pretty darn nice but they cost twice that I suspect..

I been using my Leica 8x35s for many years, they have seen a lot of hard use, and they are as good today as they were in 1960. I keep them in my pickup but always in the leather case and mostly in the leather case in the hard case unless they are slug under my armpit.

I'm inclined to agree with Atkinson. While not a bino nazi, I bought some basic models for my kids a few years ago and, looking through them since, am less than impressed. One of the main troubles you find with cheapies is that the barrels are often not in proper alignment.

Ray, 1960 ?? That was years before computers were used in optics.They gave us better and cheaper optics. That also was before lens coatings were developed .The four coating optics gave use another jump in quality ,better for low light conitions ,less chromic and other aberrations .
So computers and coatings of today have changed the whole optics world !!

I'm told Vortex Binos have life time warranty. Not even Leupold honors their foreign made binos with a warranty.

Buy a used pair of nikons.

porro prisms give better optical value than do roof prisms, at the expense of bulk and fashion.

I would not bother with cheap roof-prism binoculars, and I have never cared for compact binoculars.

I would consider these: http://www.opticsplanet.com/ni...binoculars-7238.html

Leopold Yosemite binocular see review:

http://www.optics4birding.com/...noculars-review.aspx

They are priced at less than $90.00 and are best buy for the money

I like nikons , cheap easy and durable. I have tried many other cheap ones, the nikons are clear, some say heavy for mediums like 8 x 40, or 7 x 35. I have seen the swaro's and zeiss and yes they are very clear but way too pricey for me. good luck

Yep, the Leupold Yosemite series are not exactly bulletproof. The 6x30's I bought for a grandkid bit the dust after about four years. But in that price range they are the top of the heap. Expect to amortize them at a cost of about $20 per year and just go get a new one whenever the old one gives up the ghost. They'll give you a pretty decent sight picture until the frame gets sprung or a lens comes loose inside. If they were of the simpler, cheaper, and more easily used IF design they would probably last a lifetime.

No brainer. Go to EBAY and find a pair of Rochester New York made Bausch and Lombs in Zephyr weight 7x35 and your good for life.

Check out Theron. Last time I checked, the 8x40 was around $135. Nice optics for the price.

There are some decent minox at cameraland for $129 and there are some decent cheap Sightron models in that range.

quote:

Originally posted by joe25/06:
Check out Theron. Last time I checked, the 8x40 was around $135. Nice optics for the price.

I've found these to be a very acceptable low cost bino.

http://theronoptics.com/WAPITI_LT_BINOCULARS.html

I also have the 6x. I'm happy with them. someone on AR had a bunch they sold here.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Yep, the Leupold Yosemite series are not exactly bulletproof. The 6x30's I bought for a grandkid bit the dust after about four years. But in that price range they are the top of the heap. Expect to amortize them at a cost of about $20 per year and just go get a new one whenever the old one gives up the ghost. They'll give you a pretty decent sight picture until the frame gets sprung or a lens comes loose inside. If they were of the simpler, cheaper, and more easily used IF design they would probably last a lifetime.

Nothing worth having at the $120 price point.

quote:

Originally posted by SquirrelNut:
Nothing worth having at the $120 price point.

Agreed. Go to ebay and buy used Zeiss or Swaro's

Have a look at the Bushnell legacy WP's. They compare well with far more expensive bino's and are an outstanding value. I am very happy with mine.

Here is a review posted on Amazon comparing them to much more expensive Nikons;

"5.0 out of 5 stars The Bushnell, at 30% of the prize of the Nikon Monarch5, is a very good deal unless compactness and weight are required., December 17, 2013

This review is from: Bushnell Legacy WP Porro Prism Binocular (Sports)
We recently purchased Bushnell Legacy WP 8x42 ($83 on Amazon) and Nikon Monarch5 ($246 on Amazon) binoculars. In side-by-side testing the image quality and the built quality of the Bushnell (poro prism design) are very similar to that of the Nikon (roof prism design). The most notable difference is weight and size. The Nikons are much smaller (due to the roof prism design) and the 21 oz (1.5 lb) feels much lighter than the 25 oz (2.0 lb) Bushnell. The Nikon has a 6.4 degree FOV (51 degree apparent FOV and the image sharpness falls off outside of a 5 degree diameter (80%). This is very good. The Bushnell FOV is 8.2 degree (65 degree apparent FOV) is considerable larger than that of the Nikon, but the sharpness falls off outside of a 5 degree diameter (64%). When wearing glasses the usable FOV of the Bushnell and the Nikon is the almost the same due to the better eye relief of the Nikon. The image quality of the Nikon and the Bushnell based on stars is similar and excellent, but the response to making focus adjustments with the Bushnell is not as crisp as with the Nikon.

The much larger separation of the objective lenses of the Bushnell (due to the poro prism design) make for much more 3D viewing of landscapes that the Nikon (roof prism design). The Nikon and the Bushnell both have a ¼-20 threads to attach to a tripod, but the wider separation of the objective lenses make the attachment to a tripod easier for the Bushnell. The protective eyepiece caps of the Bushnell fit just right, while those of the Nikon are too big and tend to fall off too easily. The Nikon have permanently attached objective lens covers, while the individual Bushnell covers are likely to be misplaced or lost. For bird viewing the Nikon focus as close as 6 ft, while the Bushnell focus only as close as 12 ft. Viewing the Orion region with either binocular is an inspiring experience, but more so with the Bushnell’s larger FOV. Image brightness of the Nikon and the Bushnell, as judged by the ability to see faint stars in the Orion region, is the same. Unless name, lower weight, compactness and close focus are over-riding considerations, the Bushnell, at 30% of the prize of the Nikon, is the much better deal".