Nikon Action EX Extreme ATB 7x35

I needed some all purpose 7 x 35 binoculars for my Hawaii vacation. I took them everywhere from hikes to boat tours to watching whales, sea turtles, wild goats, ducks and sea birds in flight, etc.… Previously, I only had a mediocre set of Bushnell binoculars that I thought were pretty good. I was going to buy the lightweight compact Olympus 8 x 21 binoculars recommended by Consumer Reports for about $60. Fortunately, they were out of stock everywhere. After a little research I found no positive experience from expert birder sites on the web to back it up, unlike this Nikon. These seemed too good to be true in terms of quality and features. For $110 they had high quality construction and lenses and were designed to be truly waterproof and fogproof, so they won't go bad on you. Everything I read said the clarity was very good to excellent as well. That's an understatement. I can't imagine what more clarity or improved low light viewing you can get out of the more expensive $300 Nikons or the $500, $1000, $1500 Japanese or German expensive optics binoculars. I didn't even notice that I was using these Action EX binoculars when it was nearly dark. This is a mark of quality and these have it. The clarity is just outstanding. Why should I pay more ? They feel good in the hands and are a pleasure to use. They look great, too. It's not a super lightweight compact, but these are real binoculars. They have the usual quick central focus and left/right eye difference focus adjustment. They are fully rubber coated to handle real world use with bangs, scrapes, and drops. The binoculars have the strap and the case doesn't, so you'll have to store the case or attach it to something else. If you can use and appreciate a pair of excellent quality binoculars, this is money very well spent.

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This binocular was rated No 1 in the Cornell winter 2005 review of birding binocular in the economy class and it certainly desreves its No 1 spot. In this price range it is simple the best binocular for the… begining birder, the budding sports fan. Being fully rubber armored and fully water proof they make very good hunting binoculars as well. The field of view is simply the widest i have ever seen. They are slightly on the heavier side at 28 oz, but the weight distribution is such that they feel much lighter than many 23-25 oz roof prisim binoculars. Eye glass wearers will also not have nay problem with these and the feature 17 mm + of eye relief and twist up eye cup with detents and feature not normally found in binoculars of this price range. The only negative about these binoculars is that the eye piece cover is a bit to tight fitting and take a bit of effort to take off, but thats not much of negative considering all the other positives. Highly recommended.

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