Best Low Cost Binoculars for Xmas

Kowa YF 8x30 Binoculars

These mid sized Kowa binoculars are in my opinion the Best Low Cost Binocular that I tested and reviewed in 2013 and so it only makes sense that I include them in this section on this list.

Porro Prisms
You may have noticed by their shape, that these Kowa YFs use porro prisms which often perform better in this price category than similar priced roof prisms.

This is largely because porro prisms do not require expensive high reflective and phase correction coatings on the glass to equal the performance of a roof prism. So in this price bracket many roof prism binoculars either don’t use any coatings at all or only a few sub-standard ones and thus do not perform anywhere near as well as roof prisms with these coatings that cost more… or indeed porro prisms that cost the same..

So despite their small price tag, I was still was really impressed with how well they performed optically when I tested them and thought that their specifications, design, build quality and included accessories were as good as plenty of options that cost a whole bunch more than they do.

Ideal For:
These make the ideal Christmas gift for those looking for a low cost, low weight and fairly tough and compact binocular that will perform well for those interested in general wildlife observation and camping.

Their really wide field of view makes them an ideal general birding binocular and because of this and their reasonably compact size they are perfect to take along to most outdoor sporting events.

Also perfect for women, older children or young adults:
This small size also makes them ideal for those with smaller hands and this in conjunction with their close minimum interpupillary distance makes them perfect as a women’s or an older child’s first serious pair of optics.

• My Review of these Kowa YF binoculars
• Where to Compare Prices & Buy – Kowa YF 8x30 Binoculars

Hawke Nature-Trek 8x42 Binoculars

Costing less than $150 / £120 and with a long list of higher end components that translated to a view and build quality that really surprised me when I reviewed them, it is easy to see why the new version of the 8x42 Hawke Nature-Trek Binoculars won my award as the Best Low Cost Binocular of 2014.

The modern open bridge body looks and feels great and is fully water and Fogproof and because the chassis is aluminium they are fairly light as well.

A great looking and well built body that is water as well as fog proof protect fully multi-coated optics with BAK-4 roof prisms to produce an image that is far superior than many in this price range.

These Hawke binoculars have a wide field of view which will please birders, a good close focus for those interested in insects and flowers and plenty of eye-relief fot those who wear glasses and thus will make a great all-round, general use full sized binocular for Christmas.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Celestron Nature 8x42 Binoculars

At under $100 / £100, I am quite amazed that these come with as many high end components and features as they do.

The modern open bridge body looks and feels great and is fully water and Fogproof and because the chassis is aluminium they are fairly light as well.

The optics are fully multi-coated and they use quality BAK-4 prisms to produce an image that is far superior than many in this price range.

These Celestron binoculars are well worth adding to your Christmas wish list if you are after a full sized binocular that comes without a full-sized price tag.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Vanguard Orros 10x25 Binoculars

Compact binoculars that cost less than $100 / £100 tend to use porro prisms because this design does not require some of the expensive coatings that are needed on roof prisms to achieve the same transmittance levels and image quality.

However the down side to a porro prism is that it’s shape means that you cannot make the binocular as compact as a roof prism one and on top of this, the more complicated shape makes it harder to completely seal the body and so most cheaper porro prism compacts are not water or fogproof.

Not only are these roof prism Vanguard Orros binoculars smaller than almost porro prism compacts, but they are water & fogproof and they are multi-coated and use BaK-4 glass in the prisms to equal or best the performance of most compacts in this price class, be that porro or roof prism ones.

A unique feature on these Vanguard binoculars is the offset hinge, that has a number of benefits:

It enables them to fold up into a more compact shape that all other single hinged compacts that I have used, making them a true pocket binocular. The increased distance to the focus wheel when adjusting the focus with your right hand makes them feel much more like a full sized bin and so less fiddly than many compacts, especially for those with larger hands. On the flip side, the closer distance on your left hand is ideal for those with smaller hands, which makes them a great Christmas binocular for older children.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy

Tom Lock ‘Series 1′ 10x42 Binoculars

Whilst I don’t often test or indeed reccomend binoculars in this price range, I was recently sent a new brand of binoculars to try out that really intrigued me.

The Series 1 is the first binocular from Tom Lock and is aimed at the very budget end of the market, yet contains some good components and was thus able to achieve a level of performance that took me a little by surprise whe I tested them.

To achieve this level at this price, Tom Lock has obviously had to make a number of sacrifices, but the cleaver bit is that these sacrifices have been made in areas that don’t affect the quality of the actual binocular:

For example unlike most optical companies they have done away with an expensive marketing department and advertising budget. The bins do not come in a fancy (but expensive) box, Opticali , the owners of the Tom Lock brand also don’t have a large warehouse, nor do they use an expensive sales force and so they have been able to keep the cost of the binocular to an absolute minimum.

Now I won’t pretend that the Series 1 competes with more expensive binoculars, but I do feel they perform a better than almost all of their direct competition in this price range (under £50) and so I feel they are worth looking at if you are on a really tight budget. Please note, at the time of writing, they are only available in the UK.

• Full Review
• Where to Buy