Monocular

I have a Vortex monocular but I really just use my laser rangefinder(a monocular) for scanning and getting a distance, a better purchase in my opinion if you don't already have one.

Monocular do not compare to binoculars. My rifle scope is monocular. Yesterday, I used both. The binos are damn near better, plus they give a much better and larger field of view...I used the Monocular because it fits in my pocket and my fishing bag; the only reason to use it is convenience. Another thing I will mention is that 8x to me is way better than ten power. As for binos, I use 8x32 when hiking....I have to admit here, I am a "glass" addict.
Monoculer, no,10X Bino no,8X,why because of the faster focus and better stability they give me....A good pair of binoculars is a lifetime investment. Truthfully, the best now will be the best 20 years from now. I now use 8x24 Binoculars in my fishing bag.
Bird watchers are the best for learning about optics . Best for the price, they are Japanese. Then we go European. I do have some old, great Leopold Gold binoculars that are great, but they are heavy.
Halalulu, I have seen the light, the nuances of life, and the utter sharpness of color definition. Stability is a never-ending challenge for me, though.

Corvid_hunter said:

I was thinking about buying a new set of binoculars in the 8-10x range and ran across a video about monoculars and it got me to thinking there could be some pros and cons to going down that road. Does anyone use a monocular and care to comment?

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Hi Corvid_hunter.

For a monocular I use my 6x24 Bushnell Prime 1800 rangefinder (you don't have to turn it on to look through it and use it as a monocular). It's small (fits in most jacket pockets) and very light weight and once I've focused on a far object I don't tend to need to re-focus for closer objects. I can grab it with either hand and hold it with either hand and look through it with either eye. If I'm shooting, then I've already got it on me.

For a binocular I have 8x42 Vortex roof-prism type (more compact than porro type, but doesn't bring in as much light as porro type). Mine are the cheapest of the Vortex 8x42 roof prism type (not the HD glass). They are comfortable to look through for extended periods of time and feel good in the hands. I like the rubber flip-down objective lens covers and single pull-off rubber eyepiece cover that stays connected to the neck strap so they don't get lost and are conveniently there to easily put back on. The focus wheel and diopter adjustment are comfortable to use also. This is my go-to binocular, but I only use a binocular when the monocular of my range finder isn't enough.

This part is important. My OTHER binocular is a Nikon 10x50 porro type (has to be porro type because of the large diameter objective lenses) that I bought after I bought the 8x42 Vortex. I bought the 10x50 because I thought it would be nice to have more magnification. For me personally, I could not hold the 10x50 still enough to get a close look at whatever I was looking at, even though it was in perfect focus. So, for me, the 10x50 was no good without some kind of support other than just me holding it. The bottom line is that I like the 8x42 a lot and I don't even bother to reach for my 10x50 anymore. Also the Nikon has crappy ergonomics (lens caps suck, focusing wheel sucks, diopter adjustment sucks, uncomfortable as hell to even hold on to).

I figure if you buy a monocular, you'll want to not go over 8x for the same reason I like my 8x42 better than my 10x50.

So I don't have much experience with monoculars (other than trying to look through rifle scopes that are not mounted to my rifle). Cheers.

stovepipe