Not my every day carry,but I have Vortex Viper 10x50…love em! Huck
I carry Vanguard Endeavor II 8x42 and just bought a pair of Vortex Viper 10x42 for my wife.
Much like with flashlights, the binoculars realm has low, medium, and high end. It’s actually a very different curve. There’s a massive jump up from mid tier to upper tier. “Alpha” binoculars, by the likes of Leica, Zeiss, and Swarovski.
Things are changing, though. The Chinese have enabled a whole new class of middle tier quality binoculars for prices bordering on lower tier. Case in point, I just picked up a pair of Svbony SV202 binoculars in 8x42 mag with low dispersion lenses (ED). Unreal performance. Truly astounding for the purchase price (just under $120). You’d think they were from the $300~400 range.
I can't say i'm crazy about zeiss terra 8x42 that i have, it cost around 350 iirc, made in china, it is brighter and sharper at edges than my celestrone nature dx 10x50, which was around 120. it is also smaller and lighter, but to my subjective opinion, penatx 10x50 beats the zeiss terrra, however pantax is larger and brighter. it was about $150 20+ years ago. So imo, chinise made zeiss, has only 1 upside, now for 350 you can buy a half decent zeiss, before you would not come close to zeiss of that class with that much money. Its lenses are not even made by zeiss, but affiliated company
I have the Canon 10x42 L IS, but also the Kite Optics 16x42 APC, which are relatively cheap and light, but sadly lack ED optics and have some chromatic aberration. One surprisingly good and compact pair is the Nikon Stabilized 10x25, a Japan-only model, but readily available via eBay. Unfortunately it eats CR2 batteries for lunch.
The stabilized binoculars to beat are the Fujinon TSX-1440 14x40, but they are very heavy.
Thanks for sharing that. In my exploration for binoculars, I had considered the Zeiss Terra in either 8x42 or 10x42. The discount price during the holiday has been as low as $350, if you’re willing to go with an orange body. Many reviews out there for these, because it was an unprecedented “entry level” model for the alpha binoculars Zeiss company. Most have been generally positive. Overall, I decided to pass on them. The newer Pentax ED models are supposed to be amazing, but they’re $600+ USD.
The way i see it, it is no different than most 350 dolar binoculars today with roof prism, no better no worse, right quality for the money, Zeiss pretty much entered a cheaper class with terra model. A new market niche that it never occupied before, My old pentax is porro prism, so that is why i think it has a better picture. i gave it away to a friend when i moved to a place that had no view, and he moved to a place with an ocean view, but i visit him often and once i brought all my binoculars just to compare, That old porro prism pentax was better than all my roof prism binoculars. celestrone was the worst, due to image being blurry at edges. if you ignore that, it is not that bad for the price.
I’ve never used binocs all that often, so mine are budget… a Simmons 1107 10x50. But my wife told me this week that our DD could use a pair for Christmas, so I ordered a Nikon Aculon 7x35. She mainly just wants to see when deer or cattle get past the fence and into her horse pasture. I bet the grandkids will play with the binocs for a while, though.
I did a bunch of research a year or so ago for lightweight but not tiny binocs for day hiking and ended up with the Zeiss Terra ED Pocket 8x25mm. These have fit the bill in terms of clarity, size, weight, quality, and a backpack chest strap friendly case. These are my EDC glasses, so to speak.
Can you post picture how it fits into your pocket.
Well, I suppose EDC isn’t appropriate, because I only carry them while hiking, and I don’t hike every day. Also if EDC requires the item to fit in a pocket, then they don’t qualify.
The case has a loop on the back which the backpack chest strap fits through, and has a clamshell opening that helps keep the glasses safe when using the case. I usually keep the glasses strap around my neck, but put them in the case so they don’t bang against rocks when going up cliffs, etc.
I don’t have binoculars, but I do have the Nikon 300mm PF and 500mm PF lenses, which are good for photographing distant critters.
Thank you.
I think that they are EDC. Sorry if I sound someway offensively
I asked, becouse thinking aquire also Zeiss Terra ED Pocket 8x25mm but wanted this kind binoculars that fit into my pocket and everywhere where I looked, there talked about them like pocket binoculars but nowhere (what I seen) was pictures how pocketable they are.
In area where I live I so far are found and tryed Nikon Aculon 10x21 and they can put into jeans pocket (how comfortable they are there are another question) but I dont feeled comfortable when I looked through them.
Sorry, english are not my first language.
Hi matik42, no offense taken! If you would like to see how the case connects to a belt or strap, I can send a picture. The requirement of having them fit into pants pockets will dramatically limit your options, as I think you already know.
Actually i do have one binocular that can be considered edc, and would easily fit into a pants pocket, or pretty much any pocket, vivitar pv 8x22, got it as a present in a x-mass bag at work like 15 years ago or so, it costs about 25-30 bucks, but it is pretty good for such cheap binoculars, ruby coated lenses. it is kinda on the border of being a toy and entry level binoculars.
Zeiss, one each, 8x32, 8x54, 8x25. 25 to 30 years old except for the 8x32 which are 35 years old.
Thank you for offer. Let picture wait.
The one thing Zeiss made sure not to skimp on much with the Terra line is build quality. I haven’t held them myself, but from comparative reviews I’ve read they’re constantly remarked as having excellent build quality, pretty much in line with what they usually make (aside from a few differences to not impinge on their higher classes). Generally, I don’t think you can go wrong for $350 with the Terra.
I had been in communication with a guy in Scotland who does a lot of reviews for astronomy optics and binoculars. Usually very objective. And he was totally blown away by the Svbony SV202.That led me to check out other reviews and most followed the same suit--super value for the money. I'm blown away by the performance as well. In fact, Svbony ran out of the 8x42 ED model already for the season (some retailers have stock though). I anticipate popularity of this brand will go up and then so will prices. I'm now checking out their "spotting" scopes. These are generally meant for sub 1,000 foot viewing, but they can also be employed for viewing at infinity, namely astronomy. Usually the problem with the scope design is that it won't flatten well at infinity, so edge-to-edge clarity will be sub par. But some of their models seem to hold up. I'm glad this form factor is improving as I really don't want to invest in a huge telescope setup.
Oh, yes, build quality is great with Terra. no complaints there. you just do not get the same picture quality as with victory or conquest models, not as crisp, not as bright. i had a pleasure to try a victory model, I saw why it it costs 7x of the Terra model. it is like comparing hd tv and 4k 3d tv.
The binocular quality curve is a very unusual one, compared to computers. It’s very steep at the front and then the curve starts to flatten while the monetary cost leaps up in higher increments.
I have watched a 4k TV. And I have to say, it’s almost too tiring to look at. Yeah, that pixel density is 4x higher than HD. But I have to wonder if that makes the human brain’s visual processing work harder. My over 50 eyes are doing great, still 20/20. Don’t need glasses. Color rendition still looks excellent. No astigmatism. My only fault is that speed for changing depth of focus is slower. Thankfully with a flat screen TV, you don’t have to worry about that as the TV does it for you. 
With binoculars, getting a sharp center is fairly easy… it’s the edge-to-edge clarity that’s a real challenge. And also allowing in enough light to produce realistic color saturation.