Monocular review

[HenryC]

I was originally interested in the Barr & Stroud Sprite 10x50 monocular because I read a glowing review of it on the internet. It sounded exactly like what I was looking for.  I also read it was identical to the Bresser 10x50 monocular, although this is not unusual.  In consumer optics, very often, the same chassis is marketed under different brand names, with the finished products similar in appearance and identical in specs.  Unfortunately, neither of these items were available in the USA, as a communication with the Bresser company assured me.

I did notice that Hawke Sport Optics in the USA did offer a very similar product (HA 3935) in appearance and specs to these items, so I decided to go for that.  It looked the same in the pictures, and it also came with a nice carrying pouch, a nifty little tripod, and an attached objective lens cap.  If it wasn't the same chassis, someone went to a lot of effort to copy it as closely as possible. The price was about comparable, too, about $90, although I ordered my unit  from Wayfair for about $10 cheaper, free shipping.  It got here in three days.

All three of these items are specced out as follows: 10x, 50mm objective diameter, and a close focus of 8.2  feet.  This is good for birdwatchers, because sometimes you can creep up pretty close to those little buggers. They are equipped with roof prisms (the other alternative is Porro prisms, which I would have preferred) as are most compact binos and monos today.  The Porro design is a bit bulkier, cheaper, and more robust, but the straight-through tube of the roof prism has become very popular.  I also understand that the quality of the roof prism has gone up, and their price for a given quality come down, so I decided to take the chance.

The focussing mechanism is mounted on the side of the glass, so you can focus while you look through it, a very nice feature, focussing is smooth and easy and can be done with one finger.  The objective lens cap is attached to the body with a rubber ring, but is easily removable if you don't like it flapping around while you carry it.  There is no lens cap provided for the eyepiece, but you should be able to improvise something to do the job easily.  The eyepiece lens is partially protected by an extendable hood that can be pushed in and out to space your eyeball properly to the eye lens, and protect it from scratches from your spectacles, or eyelash grease. It also keeps stray light out of the line of sight. Eye relief (the distance your eye should be from the eyepiece) is 0.7". That's not very good for eyeglass wearers, but will be fine if you can view without your spectacles. The field of view is 304' at 1000yd.

The unit is rubberized, green, light (about 14.6 oz), and compact ( 6.5"). It is advertised as waterproof and fogproof, fully-multicoated lenses with Bak-4 prisms.  That is good.  Whether it actually holds up under field use, I can't tell.  But just handling it and looking through it, it looks like a good value and solidly built, a nice little performer. . A top-of-the-line, first rate monocular of similar specs would probably cost several times as much, but I was interested in something under a hundred $. I believe this unit will do the job.  It's not a precision piece of gear, but it is not a cheap toy, either. It feels right.

Next clear night, I'll see how sharp the star images are, and check for pesky internal reflections by looking at the moon. That's the acid test, but for under a c-note,  I'm satisfied with what I've got.  This model is also available in 15X, but I feel that's a little too much power for night use, and for hand held work.

http://www.wayfair.com/Hawke-Sport-Optics-Nature-Trek-10x50-Monocular-in-Green-HA3935-HSO1244.html

[GretchenG]

Henry, thanks for this informative review!  I wonder if you have any feedback now that you have used the monocular for a season?  I do believe I'll purchase a monocular rather than binoculars for my soon-to-be-bought CP-16, but I'd still be interested to hear your experience.

[HenryC]

Hi Gretchen,

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

I'm very happy with my Hawke 10x50.  My only complaints with it are that it doesn't have a place to hook up a strap so I can wear it around my neck, and that it doesn't come with a lens cap for the eyepiece end.  (I've gone through every spice jar in the pantry and every pill jar in the medicine cabinet looking for a lid that will do the job and found nothing the right size!)

However, I would not recommend this model for boating.  I use it for astronomy, sporting events, concerts and nature study.

The ideal for boating is 7x50, which has a low enough power that it can be held steady on a rocking, rolling boat.  It is the perfect combination for stability, field of view, low light performance and magnification. A 7x50 binocular would be preferable for a larger, more stable platform such as a large sailboat or cabin cruiser.  You can fumble around with getting the two sides focussed and balanced properly because you can use both hands, and you probably have a shelf or lazarette handy where you can store the glass safely when not in use on a bigger boat.  This application requires faint light performance more than it does higher magnification.  If you are a younger than say, 40, your pupils can probably open wider, too, so the lower power will give you a brighter image at night, which is what you really should optimize for.

I have other articles here on "Articles" you might like to read in addition, one on how to select binoculars, and another on the relative advantages of the monocular, as well as other boating optics issues, and some of the other posters have provided valuable comments as well..

BTW, are you the lady that bought Bob C's CP16 down in S Florida?

[GretchenG]

Hi, Henry--  Thanks for your response--good advice.  My 58-year-old eyes need all the help they can get!

I bought my CP-16 in Shelburne VT, so no, it wasn't BobC's Florida boat.  Mine is hull #710, and it is in pretty good condition but it's basically a bare boat.  No motor, no lights, nothing but 2 berth cushions in the cabin, and the 2 standard sails!  So I'm enjoying reading the forum and various trailer boating books for ideas on how to fix up my boat.  :-)  Should keep me out of trouble for the winter.  I'll be checking out your other articles, too.  Regards--  GretchenG