the vintage spotter thread got me thinking about a couple of different old spotters that i favor #1 is an old leupold it is a fixed 30x and quite small. only about 8or 9" long and prisimatic. neat thing about it is that it has a crosshair - seems weird in a spotter but when you are trying to describe a animals location, rather than trying to have someone see something they can't you just put it in the crosshair and have them take a look - really rather handy
#2 is a schmidt bender mayflower. this one is a 20x59 drawtube. collapsed its only about 8" long and 50mm wide. Fits into a pocket. pulled out its about 3' long. clarity is excellent. able to spot bullet holes in a target at 300. while it isn't something to glass the countryside with it is perfect for backpacking or other hunts where weight and size are important. i don't think that i've ever seen another one

Tme has caught up with me, and my days of the really physically demanding hunts are behind me..

But my thoughts on the subject are. small is nice but cheap and expendable are better. (remembering some of the escapades afield of my youth)

At this point in time though, I would go for small and light, but only because I'm old and worn out!

Frank, don't feel bad....Butchloc is too old and worn out too, he just hasn't gotten the memo yet :-)