Date: 12/7/25 8:11 am From: Kevin Kubach (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: [gcbirdclub] Monocular for birding question
Hi, Sophie. I understand the concept of saving space, but my $0.02 would
be--for that amount of money ($125-150+)--to buy a decent waterproof
binocular with a good warranty, such as the Vortex Crossfire series in 8 or
10 x 42. All the reliable brands should have waterproof options in the
price range with good warranties. Crossfires are on the larger/heavier side
but might not be out of the realm of what your friend finds suitable; I'm
sure there are other slightly lighter or more compact options.
In my experience, monoculars like that essentially require 2 hands to
operate with any stability (especially with higher magnification and/or
smaller objective lens), so why not just get a good, fully waterproof
binocular (which provide a steadier, clearer image with less visual
interference or strain on your other eye)?
Kevin Kubach
Greenville, SC
On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 8:37 AM Sophie Cox via groups.io <sophiatcox=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Good morning, all,
>
> Another birder recently asked my advice on whether Nocs Provisions
> Monoculars (https://www.nocsprovisions.com/collections/monoculars) would
> be good for birding. She is specifically contemplating whether to purchase
> the 8x32 field tube monocular or 10x32 field tube monocular (or possibly
> the zero tube 10x25, but my sense is that would be less useful). She
> already has binoculars; I think the appeal of the monocular as additional
> birding gear is that it takes up less room and apparently is completely
> waterproof. Her binoculars are 8x magnification, so my thinking was that
> the 10x magnification would be a better bet so that she'll have more
> magnification power in situations where the 8x binoculars are maybe not
> quite strong enough to clearly see a distant bird. But I thought I'd
> consult the club and see if anyone has insight. The monoculars she's
> considering can also be viewed here:
> https://www.rei.com/b/nocs-provisions/c/monoculars. Any and all opinions
> welcome!
>
> Thanks, all, and good birding!
>
> Sophie
> _._,_._,_
> ------------------------------
> Groups.io Links:
>
> You receive all messages sent to this group.
>
> View/Reply Online (#7361) <https://groups.io/g/gcbirdclub/message/7361> | Reply
> to Sender
> <sophiatcox...>?subject=Private:%20Re:%20%5Bgcbirdclub%5D%20Monocular%20for%20birding%20question>
> | Reply to Group
> <gcbirdclub...>?subject=Re:%20%5Bgcbirdclub%5D%20Monocular%20for%20birding%20question>
> | Mute This Topic <https://groups.io/mt/116659069/1619848> | New Topic
> <https://groups.io/g/gcbirdclub/post> > Your Subscription <https://groups.io/g/gcbirdclub/editsub/1619848> | Contact
> Group Owner <gcbirdclub+<owner...> | Unsubscribe
> <https://groups.io/g/gcbirdclub/unsub> [<kmkubach...>]
> _._,_._,_
>
>
