Do they exist?
Maybe about 40 bucks
Optics is a subject that brings out the “you get what you pay for” crowd in a hurry. In that range pretty much anything Bushnell makes will serve you well. Vortex is a great brand of budget optics. I have not checked their line lately but they are great for the price. Alpen is another good budget brand. How about these. Starter Lifetime warranty.
EDIT: cheaper here http://www.amazon.com/Alpen-MAGNAVIEW-rubber-covered-Binocular/dp/B0007YD7R2
What are you going to use them for?
Which type, roof prism or porro prism?
Have you had experience with any binocular before?
Do you wear glasses?
I have a roof prism binocular 8x42, that I have used only 1 time. It is ok, not great, not bad, (almost on par with vanguard or vortex), but it is in the price range. PM if you're interested. No dings, dents or marks, in it's soft case, with a strap.
I'm a birder (used to be anyhow).
I am of the “you get what you pay for” in optics crowd. I have bought many binocs and scopes and the more you spend, the more you get. What you need to do is decide what features are or are not important to your use. If all you want is the best glass for the lowest price, the Nikon Travelite series is pretty good. Nieces optics but cheap body.
I’ve got some Nikon binoculars and love them, but they are $70 at Amazon. I think they are a great value.
http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-7216-Action-8x40mm-Binoculars/dp/B0001AOGAO
Thinking just for general use. I do wear glasses had an old set but my kids dropped them breaking the prisms loose and breaking retaining rings. I will have to do some homework nut its nice to know i can find something useful in that range.
Best option:
Check Amazon and search for the best sellers in a certain category: binoculars
Then look for something in your price range and read through the reviews.
Good ol’ free market at it’s finest. Let the consumer decide.
I used to work in a camera shop and sold lots of bino’s. So this is my personal take on it.
1. Do NOT buy online unless you’ve already had a go with the bino’s in person!!!
2. Do not buy the cheapest because they are the cheapest.
3. Do not buy the most expensive ones in your budget unless you are looking at premium binoculars.
You get what you pay for is sort of true. Very cheap ones are likely to be rubbish. However in my experience once you get to a certain threshold the quality doesn’t really change much if at all.
For example I used to sell a lot of Minolta and Olympus compact binoculars for around £40 a set. These performed very well and where easily as good as compact binoculars costing £70-90. You really gained nothing buy spending more money.
We also used to sell some Jessops own brand binos (sadly not sold any longer) for £28-45. These were simply brilliant and easily out performed Pentax or Bushnell items costing £90-120
This is why it’s so critical to try before you buy. Spending more does NOT grantee a better visual experience.
The only real step up from any of these binoculars was to go to something like a pair of Leica’s at £500-600. These things are truly awesome and a mind blowing experience to use 
Other things to consider are:
-Optics size. Basically the bigger the lens the more light, the clearer they’ll be, the brighter they’ll be and the easier they’ll be. A 32mm or 42mm will nearly always out perform a 20mm optic.
-Magnification. What are you going to use them for? Most/many people will struggle to hold even 8x steady, 10x at a max. 12x and up you are likely to need a tripod/monopod to really make use of them. Also the higher the magnification the harder they will be to focus and often less bright and sharp image.
-Field of view, the higher the magnification the less field of view you’ll get (more tunnel like vision). This can be a pain for viewing somethings as it’s hard to find the target once looking through the bino’s. You can get ‘wide angle’ bino’s with a wider field of view.
+1 Try b4 u buy
Traget Shooting/Target spotting my pals wife bought him some Liecas,Unbeleiveable to use,best ive ever tried[£540s worth].He then produced some reserve/back ups [e bay £40]that looked pritty similar,no they arent as good and who knows how long the actually will last.That was about 5yrs ago and 16 of us bought a pair.Ther called NIKULA 8X 42 FIELD 6.0,105-1000M,WATERPROOF,FOGPROOF[Nitrogen Filled].Nitrogen filled is a must i think.Leave a none filled pair in the car on a cold day.When you take them out and start useing they just mist up forever almost.
link to similar ones[newer version]that have now gone up five/six years on.Tried to find the seller we all used,hes no longer ther sorry
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?\_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&\_nkw=nikula+binoculars+8x42&\_sacat=0
Hope it helps ya
Have A Goodn
DON…
You might be able to find some Soviet made Tento binoculars. Pretty good bang for your buck, if you can find them for cheap. Apparently they used to be super cheap before my time, I believe largely due to the anti-commie sentiment in the US.
Digging up this old thread to hear if people have any additional recommendations, given that the ones above are 6 years old.
In the under $40 category, this SkyGenius 10x50 caught my eye (pun):
But it seems a bit on the heavy side. Not sure I want to carry close to 2 lbs around my neck.
Nice!
I also found this Celestron Outland 8x42 but it’s a little above that original $40 budget.
This Nikon ACULON 8245 seems very well regarded as well, but it’s double the price of that Skygenius I posted earlier.
Birdwatchers Forums has a section devoted to binocs.
I personally prefer compact models for my use. The Bushnell Custom Compacts are maybe the best, but others are also good.
Vortex binocs are excellent, but the Nikons are also.
Jerry
The Aculons are nice for daytime use. We use them on the ship I work on. That said, the Nikon Action EX have better glass and are visually superior but much more expensive.
I think most would be satisfied with the Aculons. I don’t think you will find 40 dollar binoculars that have decent resolution.
I am thinking of ordering a vortex solo 8x25 monocular. Very compact and robust.
Does any of you have experience with monoculars vs binoculars?
You definitely get what you pay for with binoculars. I’ve used Steiner for years. Out in the ocean at night, the glass is so clear, it’s almost like having night vision. Plus, their lifetime warranty doesn’t hurt. I had a pair of the early Steiner Commanders for like 8yrs. The compass developed a bubble. Contacted Steiner, mailed them in, and 2 weeks later I received a box with a brand new upgraded version of the binocular. And I’ve had those for 18yrs.
I’m afraid to look up what the Steiners are worth but I can see their value at on the open seas especially at night.
The only issue I can see with monoculars is with depth perception. I had a spotting scope awhile back but found it cumbersome as you really need a tripod.
They are certainly not cheap, but the last pair you will ever need, unless you lose them… lol