Date: 12/8/25 12:40 pm From: Wayne Hoffman (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: [gcbirdclub] Monocular for birding question
Hi -
I agree in general that monoculars are not worth getting for birding, but I have know two people for whom that is an exception.
Both had eye issues such that with binocs they could only use one eye - for them monoculars made sense.
And I agree that close focus capability is an important consideration in buying either.
Wayne Hoffman
From: "Chris Marsh" <carolinabirds...> To: "Kevin Kubach" <kmkubach...> Cc: <sophiatcox...>, "GCBC" <gcbirdclub...>, "Carolina Birds" <carolinabirds...> Sent: Monday, December 8, 2025 8:09:06 AM Subject: Re: [gcbirdclub] Monocular for birding question
I agree with Kevin. Monoculars are a waste of money. Question: is she interested in looking at just birds or does she also want to look at butterflies and dragonflies? Close focus is another consideration. When looking at small, lightweight binoculars Nocs 8x25 binoculars only focus down to 20 ft but are waterproof. Pentax Papilio II 8.5 x 21 binoculars focus down to 18 inches but have a very shallow depth of field when looking at birds. They are very compact and my daughter who has general nature interests loves her pair, but they are not waterproof. They only cost about $100.
On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 11:11 AM Kevin Kubach < [ mailto:<carolinabirds...> | <carolinabirds...> ] > wrote:
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)?
Good morning, all, Another birder recently asked my advice on whether Nocs Provisions Monoculars ( [ https://www.nocsprovisions.com/collections/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 639008231745516816%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C40000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=iZ3hdVa9MPXIpnzpDCsvH4wN6hQJ%2F8iewS4242kO%2FAw%3D&reserved=0 | https://www.rei.com/b/nocs-provisions/c/monoculars ] . Any and all opinions welcome!
