Good, Cheap Binoculars

Jim Mobley

Member II
Last time they were on sale, I picked up a pair of West Marine's low-cost 7 x 50 binoculars, the Huahines. I figured I couldn't be too disappointed as they were just $40.00.

They are really quite nice and I'm very pleased.

Good points:

Sharp clear image, not Fujinon or Steiner, but I can easily read hull numbers at 200+ feet.
Just one image (many cheap binoculars are poorly aligned)
Bright image
Smooth focus
High eye relief, you can see the full image when wearing glasses

So-so points:

Case is just lightweight nylon
Strap is cheesy 1/2" webbing

Bad point:

Eye piece caps are cheap, individual covers with no leashes

West had these on sale for $39.99 at least three times this year, IMHO they're a good bargain.
 
Top