[Public-List] Binocs

[Kurt R]

I have several binocs;
1) West Marine semi-compact type 7x50 IIRC, about ~$50-70? (They were a
gift)
2) Nikon Ocean Pro 7x50 - $250
3) Steiner Marine Navigator Pro 7x50 - $600 (on long-term loan to test)

If all you have in your budget is enough for the WM brand, go for it. For
the price, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Nikons are quite a bit of a jump in price, but you'll see why they are
worth every penny in low-light situations. The WM brand in this is no
competitor.
In my side-by-side, real world comparisons, the Nikons perform every bit as
good as, if not even marginally better than, the Steiners which cost more
than twice as much as the Nikons.

The Steiners are built very nicely and it is evident that they are indeed a
quality product. But at more than twice the cost of the Nikons, unless for
some reason they have a vastly longer lifespan (I have not had them long
enough to know this or not), then the Nikons are by far the best value of
these 3 brands.