i've never seen anything i like for a bino lens cap. either they are falling off or getting stuck or the like, and the small end, well they never seem to have anything. so with a little head scratching i'm trying my own simple thing. took an ace bandage and made two loops. they stretch lightly over the tubes, pop off easy, get held on by the neck straps and protect both ends. seems to work pretty good

pictures?

Took my binos to the sporting goods store and found Butler Creek Scope Covers for the big end, used the cover that came with the binos for the small end.

I have used neoprene waders in the past also. Cut the leg so you have a large band that will cover the lens, also works for rifle scopes.

There is a neoprine cover that I bought a few years ago at SCI. It stretches over the entire bino and has a quick to release button. I like it and use it on my Leica 8x30. Binos are not here now, so I cannot check maker, but they were from a large, private optics vendor.

butch,

Sounds like you've got a good fix - creative.

Europeans use rubber covers for the occular lenses that are held in place by the neck straps. From my experience this is highly useful for rain, snow & dust as a Bino is held in that most vulnerable position to the occular lenses when worn around the neck. They do not seem to get int the way much, sliding up & down on the neck straps. There are several on the market that are sorta generic and pretty much "one size fits most". They are not airtight, though.

I take them off when in Africa as the realitvely good weather dosen't require them IMO but Europe is a different Kettle-of-Fish with lots of rain.

Seeing (pun?) as how the vast majority of European hunting is based on selective culling, Beast I.D. is a critical part of hunting and mostly done from High Seats and vantage points so a Bino is used extensively and is usually worn around the neck for immediate requirements. Obviously, this is not the case (another pun perhaps?) when operating vehicles where they tend to get in the way and are normally kept close-by.

The most creative solution for the ocular lenses I've observed was a simple @ 4" square of soft glove leather (goat skin, IIRC, something thin & flexible) that had two holes along the edges for the neck straps to go through and the leather folded over the lenses. Very quick in use.

I've tried the snap-on objective lens covers but from my way of thinking they really do get in the way alot especially if the Bino is used in a very dusty environment such as dashboards of vehicles where a day's accumilated dust can really create havoc.

I'd love the hear what other potential solutions are out there ...... ?

I use variations on Gerry's solution.

Try a large rectangle of thick leather with the two loose holes for the neck band. Wet the leather and press it around, say, large bottle tops set at your ocular lens distance in front of the strap holes/bracket locations. Put weights around the outside, let it dry and then trim off excess leather around the edges of the moulded lens covers. Threaded though the straps, the leather will drop away when you lift the glasses but should fall back on the lenses when you let go of the binos.

If more weather protection is needed, you could glue the original caps on to the leather - but then you have to locate them each time you let go of the binoculars and want to keep the rain out.

I use what Gerry describes but I use them in Africa as well. 1. sometimes I hunt in the rain; 2. if it's not raining, I'm likely sweating. It's the same difference to the binos. + dust.