90% people wanting to find compact binoculars would Google “lightweight binoculars” and get stuck in bunches of advertisements. Our direction from the beginning to write about advice to our audience is much tougher, yet we believe it would be more helpful: start by clarifying as detailed as possible with your demand. For the best lightweight binoculars vote, this is our personal favor for each of specific demand:
Best compact binoculars under 100: Bushnell Falcon 133410
Bushnell, this is definitely the top of mind brand in this best compact binoculars under 100 list. Bushnell Falcon 133410 is for sure the one to go if your most important criteria is cheap.
- Weight: 21 oz
- Dimension: 8.00 x 6.25 x 3.00 inches
- Magnification: 7x
- Objective diameter: 35 mm
- Field of view: 420 feet
- Eye relief: 12 mm
- Lens coating: Fully multi-coated
- Prism: BK-7
- Prism type: porro
- Waterproof: No
Above data in our best compact binoculars review was extracted from Bushnell homepage.
Priced at around $35, literally, this is the best binoculars compact for the money. But good price is meaningless if the quality is useless. Let’s see why this Bushnell binoculars our choice for the best compact binoculars under 100:
Pro
- Field of view: 420 feet is nearly the best field of view you could expect at a binocular. With this figure, you can use this Bushnell binoculars with almost all purpose: birding, sightseeing, hunting,…
- Image quality: To compensate for the low quality Bk-7 prism, Bushnell uses porro prism for better image quality. Usually porro prism binoculars result in sharp and nicely contrasted viewing experience. This was exactly what we enjoyed when testing these lightweight binoculars. Color fidelity is also another advantage of this.
- Weight: Actually we don’t have to mention this, as this article is supposed to talk about lightweight binoculars already. But this Bushnell Falcon 133410 will be the best option in this criteria of this list. 21 oz is absolutely lightweight for anyone, any type of body condition.
Cons
- Close focus distance: 20 feet is definitely a bad figure in this category.
- No waterproof ability: Quite a concern because most of our products here are waterproof. This also means you have to plan for every trip very carefully, and also take serious notice of it during that time.
- Eye relief: 12 mm eye relief shows that it’s not a good option for eye-glasses people.
Why should it be in the top lightweight binoculars list?
If you expect an excellent performance from a binocular under $100, that’s not very rational. But as a cheap option, Bushnell Falcon 133410 is something you could totally trust. Having stated 3 weaknesses, we think that the most considerable one is not being waterproof. Eye relief factor will depend on whether you’re wearing glasses.
Viewing performance while, for under $50 option, they’re worth the money. And of course, despite the odd design, they’re super lightweight binoculars.
Best compact binoculars for birding: Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 8×42
Nikon Prostaff 3s 8×42 is always in our all time favorite top list for birding binoculars. Check out these data:
- Weight: 22.9 oz
- Dimension: 5.6 x 5.1 inches
- Magnification: 8x
- Objective diameter: 42 mm
- Field of view: 420
- Eye relief: 17.1 mm
- Lens coating: fully multi coated, phase coated, dielectric coated
- Prism: Bak-4,
- Prism type: Roof
- Glass type: ED
- Waterproof: yes
- Price: around $280
Above data in our best compact binoculars review was extracted from Nikon homepage.
Pro
- Field of view: 420 ft is much more than enough for any purpose of use. For birding, this is an important factor as birds are usually in far distance to your position. In this category, we give 10/10 points for this Monarch ATB with no hesitation.
- Brightness: This Monarch ATB got every factor needed for wonderful brightness. The high glass prism type: checked. Fully multi coated, phased corrected and dielectric coated: checked. Our experience with this Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 8×42 bright so much pleasure about brightness. The viewing is bright, sharp and crystal clear.
- Image quality: The contrast is nice, we see enough details to enjoy. Color reproduction is also very nice, very natural. What makes this worth the money is the nearly zero chromatic aberration and distortion, which is a highlight in this market segment.
- Low light performance: Good brightness remained when we tested on a very cloudy day.
Con
- Lens caps are easy to fall off.
- Neck strap is not easy to be installed
Why should it be in the top lightweight binoculars list?
Looking for best compact binoculars for birding? Brightness and field of view are very important. While field of view is something very obvious to be proven excellent of this Monarch ATB, the light view is very special as well. Usually we watch birds in the morning, and the clarity, brightness of this viewing experience always make us feel fresh.
As for the compact factor in “best compact binoculars for birding”, 22.9 oz is enough to bring total comfortability. The price is not too heavy at all – around $280. That’s how Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 8×42 won our heart in best compact binoculars for birding rating.
Best lightweight binoculars for hunting: Vortex Diamondback 10×42
This is a very interesting option, but we’re sure that it’s the best you can get in this category.
- Weight: 21.3 oz
- Dimension: 5.7 x 5.1 inches (H*W)
- Magnification: 10x
- Objective diameter: 42 mm
- Field of view: 330
- Eye relief: 15 mm
- Lens coating: fully multi coated, phase coated, dielectric coated
- Prism: Bak-4,
- Prism type: Roof
- Glass type: ED
- Waterproof: yes
- Price: $250-$300
Above data in our best compact binoculars review was extracted from Vortex Optics homepage.
Pro
- Image quality: Contrast is the main highlight of this product. Everything was shown so clear, every detail was presented so sharp that our hunting experience was amazing. Vortex Optics never let us down for their image quality. Chromatic aberration, distortion, no complaints at all, nearly zero was found. The color fidelity was just natural and nice.
- Low-light performance: All the good stuff like fully multi-coated, phase corrected, dielectric coated lens, ED glass remained the great lighting performance in darker conditions. We tested our hunting trip to sunset, and never did any moment bring unpleasantness.
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- Focus: The central focus is just simply so smooth.
- Strong construction: Personally, this Vortex Diamondback is the best in terms of construction in this compact binocular review article. The Monarch ATB is good as well but this Vortex Diamondback is the star in here. The rubber cover is thick enough to endure well common shocks. At the hand-holding position of this Vortex, the texture is very tough to make you aware better of slipperiness.
Con
Actually we don’t feel that there’s actually a weakness for this at all. If we have to say something, maybe the blurring effect at the edge of FOV is not very pleasant. But for hunting purposes, you wouldn’t have to concern this so much.
Why should it be in the top lightweight binoculars list?
Usually Vortex Optics is not our priority brand for best lightweight binoculars. But 21.3 oz is so good, totally worth to be in this compact binocular review article.
Hunting experience while, as stated above, was so amazing. You would want to take notice of contrast, low-light performance, focus the most for hunting. Those would define the ability of watching an animal, emphasize it out of the similar color area, and observe the detail in their body. This Vortex showed that it’s the best compact binoculars for the money in this field (even the money is cheap!). And it even beats Nikon Monarch ATB in the lens cap field!
Best lightweight binoculars top list – our last suggestion
Whatever we proposed, the only one who can define the best compact binoculars for the money is yourself. Therefore, be clear about your demand. You want a beginner best compact binoculars under 100? You want the best compact binoculars for birding? You want the best lightweight binoculars for hunting? You just care about price or paying more for better optics would satisfy you more? Be very clear about it.
Do comment below for any other category you would like to see. We will update right in this compact binocular review article.