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Compact Bins in the $50-100 price range...

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matthewdanger View Drop Down
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    Posted: March/12/2009 at 21:10
Greeting Binocular Gurus,

I am looking for a set of compact bins to keep in my truck full time for birding. I have some nice spots within walking distance from my office. Anyway, these are going to bounce around in the center console of my truck so they should be too expensive and they should be reasonably sturdy.

I am through with cheap roof prism folding bins so I am looking for some decent porro prisms. I would just get another set of Leupold Yosemites but I am hoping for something smaller. I would like to get something in the $50-100 price range so I don't have to cry if they are stolen.

The Bushnell Legend 8x26 looks pretty decent. What about the Vortex Vanquish 8x26, are they nice enough to justify the extra cost over the Legends? Anything else I should be looking at in my price range?

Thanks!
Matt
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Bird Watcher View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/12/2009 at 21:25
 http://www.samplelist.com/default.aspx?prod_type=2&hide_sold=False
The Pentax 8x40mm PCF WP II Porro is much better for bird watching than ANY 26mm binocular. Extremely sharp, and rugged, and only $99.95 on the samplelist.
Not exactly compact, but you won't regret it. 


Edited by Bird Watcher - March/12/2009 at 21:26
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matthewdanger View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote matthewdanger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/12/2009 at 21:34
I have decent dedicated bins in that size range. I am just looking for something that is small and cheap. They have to be small to fit in my center console and double as a pocketable pair for short hikes.

These will not be my main bins. Just fill ins so I am never without a pair.
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lucznik View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/12/2009 at 22:06
The 8x26 Bushnell Legend is a good pick in this category.  Definitely too big for a true pocket bin, but perfectly fine for the center console of a truck.  They are plenty sturdy enough to handle being knocked around a bit.



Edited by lucznik - March/12/2009 at 22:06
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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matthewdanger View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote matthewdanger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/13/2009 at 07:58
Thanks Bird Watcher and Lucznik.
 
Any others I should be looking at? What about the Nikon Travelites, Leupold Rogue, or Pentax UCF?
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big boar View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote big boar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/13/2009 at 08:36
Pentax Pappilio(?). My daughter has a pair in 6.5x. She does a lot of art work so she can look at stuff close up, like in art galleries. Also work very well as regular binocs and are very small. Of course they're not the equal of a 8x42 Leica or 10x50 Zeiss, they're not suppose to be. They're small , fit in a pocket, are always available, give reasonably good optical performance and cost less than 4 tanks of gas.
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