Best Mid Range Binoculars for Christmas

Vanguard Endeavor ED 10x42 Binoculars

Great Christmas Deal
Apart from their physical attributes and optical performance, which are all mostly excellent for their class, there are a couple of added reasons why I am recommending these Vanguard binoculars as the ideal gift for Christmas in this price range:

These 10x42 Endeavor ED’s won the Best Value for Money Binocular Award in 2012 and 2013, so you know that you already get plenty of bang for your buck (or pound) and that was when they were being sold for about $350 / £320 (and were in the mid-high value category) – now their standard retail price has dropped to around $240 / £240 ($230 / £220 for the 8x42 version), which makes them even better value and must surely be one of the best mid range binoculars currently on the market…

… but wait, things get even better!

Vanguard currently have a $50 Rebate offer on the 8x version of these in the US, which remains valid until the end of November, perfect timing for early Christmas shopping and which now also makes them really incredible value for money.

The result is the person you gift these to gets a truly cracking binocular with many high end features including ED glass, fully multi-coated lenses, high quality roof prisms made from BaK-4 glass complete with phase correction coatings wrapped in a tough fog and water proof lightweight open-bridge body… and you get to pay, far, far less than you would normally expect to pay for a pair of optics that come with all these goodies. So everyone’s a winner for a very Merry Christmas!

Ideal For:
These Vanguards make cracking general use binoculars as they perform reasonably well to very well in most specific areas and are tough and waterproof as well. So they would really suit an all-rounder, someone who likes a little birding, camping, observing wildlife and if they are into it, hunting.

• My Review of these 10x42 Vanguard Endeavor ED Binoculars
• Buy & Compare Prices for these Vanguard Binoculars

Celestron Trailseeker 8x42 Binoculars

Great Value for Money
Knocking the Vanguard Endeavor (shown above) off the top spot in this year’s race to be crowned the Best Value for Money Binocular of 2014 the new Celestron Tailseeker is cheaper than the Vanguard (around $200 / £200), yet still offers the same quality in almost all areas.

Along with a lightweight fog and waterproof body, optics that have been fully multi-coated and they have dielectric & phase correction coatings on their BaK-4 roof prisms, which is something that you very rarely see at this price.

What is more, these 8x42 binoculars have a very, very wide field of view (426ft @ 1000yds) that is substantially wider than the majority and thus will bring a smile to most birders, hunters and other wildlife enthusiasts faces.

This along with a whole range of other great reasons is why I have no reservations in recommending these Celestron binoculars as the ideal gift for Christmas within this price range.

Ideal For:
As I have mentioned their really wide FOV, combined with their 8x magnification makes them a very good choice as an all-round birding, hunting and wildlife binocular.

• My Review of these 8x42 Celestron Trailseeker Binoculars
• Buy & Compare Prices for these Celestron Binoculars

Pentax DCF 9x32 Binoculars

If you know someone who likes to travel, enjoys adventure, camping, hiking, watching outdoor sports and maybe even goes on the occasional safari, then this compact Pentax binocular may just be their ideal gift this Christmas!

Winner of my award this year for the best lower cost binocular for travel and safaris and costing around $280 / £275 they come packed with high end coatings and features and sport a 9x magnification that gives you a little bit more detail than an 8x device, but without sacrificing too much on the width of your view as you would with a 10x pair.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Vanguard Spirit XF 10x42 Binoculars

Another great value offering from Vanguard in this price bracket: This time it is their Spirit XF that currently costs around $199 / £110 which makes them cheaper than the Endeavor ED’s above and you still get a cracking binocular but without the ED glass or phase correction coatings.

But having said that they still scored an excellent overall score of 78% on my scale when I tested them. Highlights for me included a great quality, lightweight, open bridge body, a good wide view when you compare it to other 10x42 binoculars and a more than decent standard of image for this class.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Minox BV BRW 10x42 Binoculars

Sitting well within this price bracket (approx. $240 / £180), these Minox binoculars offer you a slice of quality German engineering and workmanship at a very reasonable price.

Highlights include phase coated BaK-4 roof prisms, fully multi-coated optics and another binocular on this Christmas list with a really wide view when compared to most 10x42 binoculars. Perfect for wildlife observation, hunting and a more than decent birding bin.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Celestron Nature DX 8x42 Binoculars

Now available for only $140 / £130 on some online stores (check Amazon on the links below) these Celestron binoculars could make it into the cheap category. What is also very impressive is they still manage to fit in a good amount of higher specification components and features to match many higher value bins in this class:

These Nature DX’s have good quality BaK-4 glass and fully multi-coated optics which are protected in a fully sealed and waterproof polycarbonate body that is filled with nitrogen gas to prevent fogging of the lenses.

The result is a tough, lightweight (one of the lightest I have ever tested in this size) and well priced binocular that produces a more than decent view which is as good as or better than most in this price range.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy