Nikon ATB Monarch

cerva

Member
I am new to the stalking scene and I am gradually building up my kit. I would not like to spend a fortune on binos so I budgeted around £300. No doubt about the great Leica, Zeiss and Swarowski but the price bracket is x4 higher.

Most Nikon Monarch models sell for around £300. Although a 12x56 is the best on paper what are the views of the experts?
The weight doubles from an objective of x42 (0.6kg) to an objective of x56 (1.1kg). Will this be a real ‘burden’ on a stalk? Is x42 great for UK stalking?
Is x10 the absolute cut-off for bino magnification without a tripod? (magnifications available are x8,x10,x12)
To confuse the choice, a Monarch X, with alleged better optics, has just been released (but at almost twice the price).
I look forward for your opinions.
 
Binos

To be honest you dont need 56mm objective go for somthing with 42mm and you wont go far wrong. You dont want be carting the bulk and weight of the bigger bins.

Dave
 
I got nikon monarchs (8x42) about 4 years ago. Cheapish , but I can't fault them.The adjustable eye-piece cap thingys have given up working so I have duck taped them at desired setting.

I use them in the highlands alomost every week for stalking and reccommend them. They cost around £250 now as a result of the exchange rate. This is still ok given the quality.

I fitted butler creek flip caps up front which added to the cost ,however I hardly ever need clean (risk scratching) the lenses.Also worth attaching rear cover using shock cord as this keeps it in place untill the binos are needed;again this reduces lens contamination to a minimum.
 
Don't do it.

Get yourself pair of Pentax 8x43 DCF SP. I bought them after joining the bird watching forums and asking their advice (not letting on i was a deer stalker of course ;) ). You wouldn't believe how anal they are about their binos and spotting scopes.

Very good binos. My mate has a pair of Monarchs which aren't anywhere as good.

You'll get them for approx £350 if you look hard enough.
 
Late entry here but its horses for courses if you are doing a lot of walking get the lighter binos but if part of your time is evening and up a high seat get your 56 cause it is unreal what you can see at last light not to shoot but to know it is there. well worth it mate. I was doing wild boar shooting at night and even by half moonlight they were a bonus and accounted for two of them.
You need to think about how you are going to stalk and get what suits your habits.
 
7X 50 WILL COVER MOST OPTIONS AND WILL NOT BE AS HEAVY AS THE 56 I CERTAINLY WOULD KEEP AWAY FROM YOUR FIRST CHOICE NOT BECAUSE OF THE 56.. BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE 12 TIMES AND FOR MOST STALKING SITUATIONS 12 IS JUST TO MUCH 7-8 OR AT A PUSH 10 BUT 12 WILL HAVE YOU SHAKING LIKE A FOOL AFTER A HARD CLIMB . ;)
 
tell me about it davie after getting round the ground last week i was using 10x50 and you need to stop for a break before you use them going down to 7x50 or 8x42 much better.
 
Recently I was lying in wait for some sika. Unfortunately they weren't playing ball and it had got too dark to shoot. As I stood up I disturbed something behind me which made a lot of noise. I could see nothing but with my 8.5X43 binos I was able to identify a sika stag with quite a good head. So, don't be too concerned that a 42mm objective will be a problem as in my experience I can see the deer with my binos a good while after I would risk taking a shot at one. I use Minox binos as a reasonable compromise between the big names and what any sane person might want to spend. However, the way things are at the minute the HG Minox are probably a bit out of your price range, I paid £400 for them from the US when the exchange rate was good. However, I've heard good things about both Nikon and Pentax and I imagine either will do your job.
 
scotsgun said:
Don't do it.

Get yourself pair of Pentax 8x43 DCF SP. I bought them after joining the bird watching forums and asking their advice (not letting on i was a deer stalker of course ;) ). You wouldn't believe how anal they are about their binos and spotting scopes.

Very good binos. My mate has a pair of Monarchs which aren't anywhere as good.

You'll get them for approx £350 if you look hard enough.

I'm glad you posted this, I wanted to have both powers of bino, to use in different conditions, 10x43s for open ground, & 8x43s for woodland stalking, or for looking at the ground by moonlight.
I know the die hard premium optics crowd will say I should have bought Swarovskis rather than two pairs of supposedly lesser binos, but I wont have the opportunity to shoot any deer if my binos are at home, my second set will stay in the car, It'll be a pair I can lend to a new start to deer stalking for an outing & I've still spent less than Swaro/zeiss/leica.

Decided on the 8x43 DCF ED

http://www.optics4birding.com/pentax-dcf-ed-binoculars-review.aspx

The Minox HGs are still fantastic, I just felt that as I had saved up these would come in handy.
 
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