What marine binoculars to buy

[Flair1995]

I am wanting to buy some binoculars for our new boat. We have sailed a lot but we now want to do longer trips on our 35 foot Jeanneau. We are based in the UK. Any tips on what binoculars to buy would be greatly appreciated. Looking to spend no more than £300 so not Steiner sadly!

[rslifkin]

The Fujinon Mariner series are a solid budget option. Not quite as good as a set of Fujinon Polaris, Steiner, etc. but still a solid set of binoculars and relatively inexpensive.

[Jammer]

I would recommend getting a good pair of 7x32 or 8x32 roof prism binoculars. There are many choices in your price range, for example: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...binocular.html

I have a similar pair from Fujinon (the now-discontinued KF series) and use them often. They are fine for use during daytime and at dusk and OK at night. They are much lighter, cheaper, and more practical than the traditional 7x50 porro prism marine binoculars, and all you give up is night performance.

I have a pair of 7x50 Fujinon Polaris, they're great to be sure, but the differences are only visible at night, and they're big, heavy, and expensive.

[barnakiel]

We have a pair of Nikon full size. They are waterproof and fogproof and multicoated lenses.


After 25 years of heavy use and being fished out of seawater filled cockpit once they are and function like new.


So +1 for Nikon Marine glass.


And YET I sometimes find a slightly less magnifying set would do me good. Or a quality monocular or else a nice stabilised set (e.g. Canon's). Reasoning : we have a small boat that will move a lot in heavy seas. In this case the huge magnification of a regular marine binnocs is a disadvantage.


ymmv


barnakiel

[Dockhead]

I use an ancient pair of Fujinon Meibos handed down from my father, which are still the best binos I've ever used, optically. You can sometimes find those on Fleabay for a couple hundred or even a hundred quid. These are the same optical formula as the Fujinon Polaris and far better than any of the cheap new ones. The optics are so gorgeous that it's just a pleasure to look through them, like playing with an old Leica.

I'm in the market for compass binos as a more precise type of hand bearing compass and I haven't quite decided what to go for. I hate to spend the money, but it looks like Fuji Polaris might be the way to go.

The Steiners used to cost the same as the Polaris but the prices went crazy a few years ago and I'm not going to pay double for those.


Speaking of Leica, I have a compact pair of day glasses, 8 x 25 I think they are. These are also good, but believe it or not, a step down from the Fuji Meibos, optically. They're bright enough for day but the eye relief is not so good and the apertures are narrow.

[Scubaseas]

A bit over budget maybe but I am very happy Canon IS series. Canon 10X30 IS 2 which are image stabilized but not water proof might work for you.

The Canon 18X50IS are outsanding especially in low light and having both Image Stabilized and regular binos I much prefer the IS ones. Poroprism, multi coating and waterproof are ideal for boats but I still have some non waterproof binocs that have been on the boat for over 30 years and are still fine.

[LakeSuperior]

Take a look at the Vortex line of binos. Although maybe more for hunting they give great performance, are waterproof and tough, have a lifetime warrantee, and are a great value at all price points.

I use the Vortex Diamondback 10x42 for both hunting and yachting. I also have the Fujinon Polaris binos which are awesome. The Diamondback lists for $329.

[osprey877]

Things to consider:
1. Magnification: Anything greater than 8x can’t be held steady enough on a tossing boat. You also lose field of view with more magnification., so even with image stabilization you will miss the wider field of view that 8x gives.
2. Roof v porro prism: Roof is heavier but cheaper. You are not carrying your Binos around for hours like you would be if hunting or birding, so roof is okay.
3: object lens size: Get 50mm as it lets in more light for twilight, night use, and has a larger field of vision so is easier to find needle in the haystack.
4. Eye relief: very important. Need at least 15mm if you wear glasses. Needs to be screw in/out design, not cheap rubber folding type.
5. Lens covers: These should be permanently attached to the binoculars so that you just flip them down when you use the Bono’s, then flip them back up when done. If not permanently attached, you will lose them.
6. Coated lens: you get what you pay for. Good glass is expensive and heavy, but worth it in terms of acuity and brightness. Any good brand such as Nikon, Pentax, Vortex, will work. Test before buying.
7. Warranty: Good glasses should have a good warranty. My Vortex binos have a lifetime warranty, no questions asked.

Good luck.

[Johan Leopard51]

I’ll echo looking at Vortex. I bought 15y ago after a review I saw on DPREVIEW website. They took brand snobbery out by comparing different units through mounting them all on a camera in a controlled range looking at a target with mix of optical features. The ego brand $2000 binoc fared worse than the viper at an objective evaluation of the digitally captured image wrt light, detail, color, etc.

It is like blind wine tastings versus telling somebody they are now tasting a Saint whatever $200 wine and it must taste good. You can buy a 8x and 10x Vortex in two different objects sizes for the price of one Zeiss, swarovski, etc

[AndyOz]

This might be unpopular, but I'd suggest cheaper.

The usual failure modes with binoculars are (1) dropping and the lenses become mis-aligned/ you see double (2) mould due to moisture entry (3) sliding into the water

You can get decent waterproof 7*50s with a built in compass (surprisingly useful) for around ukp65. I find them perfectly adequate and better than some of the name brands. And losing one overboard won't make you weep.

[Bowdrie]

While hunters have long depended upon Leupold rifle scopes and binoculars for their clarity and ruggedness, they slide under the radar for marine use.
They have some surprisingly affordable binoculars with pretty good specs.
A lifetime warranty even if you're not the original owner is hard to beat, and they'll take hard use.
Made in U.S.A.

[Pawelg]

Just got my hands on the Steiner Navigator 7x50 C with compass and wanted to share some first thoughts for those considering it. I know there's a new AutoBright version just released (same happened with Commander series a while back), so the "older" Navigator models are now heavily discounted — in some cases up to 60% off. That’s exactly why I decided to pull the trigger.

Image quality
Bright, sharp and high-contrast image across nearly the entire field of view. I haven’t had a chance to test it at sea yet, but onshore up to 500 meters the clarity is genuinely impressive.

Autofocus
In theory, everything beyond ~20 meters stays in focus once you dial in your diopters. In practice? It works well. It’s great not having to adjust focus constantly when scanning the horizon or tracking a moving vessel. I'll still need to test it properly on open water to be 100% convinced.

Build quality
This thing feels bombproof. Steiner claims it's waterproof to 5 meters and impact-resistant up to 11G. It’s rubber-armored, solid, and the shape makes it easy to hold with one hand — though it’s not exactly light at ~750g. Still, very manageable.

Compass
One of the nicest features. Built-in, liquid-damped, and visible in the right eyepiece. The needle is stable, no jitter, and it has LED illumination for night use. For coastal navigation or just quick orientation — really handy.

N2
Steiner fills these with dry nitrogen, so no internal fogging, even when going from a warm cabin to a cold, windy deck. I haven’t stress-tested that yet, but I expect it to be a game-changer on early morning sails.

Price
I managed to grab it for €450 incl. shipping, which feels like a solid deal given the optical quality, ruggedness, and the 10-year warranty.

[Sos]

I bought a very good second hand pair of Steiner Navigator Pro 7x50 from UK Ebay for less then £300. Ebay

[Benz]

Whatever you get, make sure they have the built-in compass. Absolutely crucial for coastal piloting. I almost never resort to a hand-bearing compass, since the one in my cheap WM binos is so much easier to use.
One day I'll get a pair of Steiners, since I value good optics, but I'm still rather poor for that.

[El Pinguino]

Do you wear glasses as you go about your day? If so how the manufacturer deals with eye relief may be an issue. These Nikon Action Extreme 7 x 50s are good value and have 'click stop' eye relief adjustment which I find - in my other Nikons - to be quite good. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...X_Extreme.html

If you can spare a bit more cash you could spring for a pair of Nikon Ocean Pro 7 x 50s. I think they have fold down rubber eyecaps which work equally well but may fail over time. (I've had them fail in both an old pair of Nikon 8x40s and my sooper dooper Fujinon 7 x 50s.)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...Binocular.html
Do you use an HBC often? If not I would pass on the inbuilt compass option.

Don't buy sight unseen , check them out 'hands on' in the High Street.