Compact binoculars and eyeglasses

[Flinttim]

What's the story here ? I confess I know nothing much about optics but is it a common problem using compact binos for those of us who wear glasses ? All specs mention objective lens size but no the other end of the binos. I'm guessing my problem is relative to the size of the "smaller " lens ( I don't even know the correct term for them) Are we relegated to using the full size binos ?

[Mo. Huntin]

I know I have to lift my glasses up every time I look with my cheap binos.  I think Good eye relief is the key but I doubt you will find much eye relief on compacts.  I am getting contacts soon just for that reason.

[Tim Fishell]

You should be able to use compact binos with glasses.  The key is making sure they have a flip down eye cup or something like that.  When I started hunting I had (and still have) a pair of cheap Busnells that cost less that $50.  They had a flip down eye cup and I was able to use them with glasses.  My dad still uses these types of binos and he wears glasses.

[wharvey]

Exit pupil and eye relief are two important things to look for when using them with glasses.  

Exit pupil diameter can be found by dividing objective diameter by the power. 7 x 35 binoculars have an exit pupil of 5mm diameter. The larger the pupil the more leeway you will have with eye position. If the pupil is too small you will have to have your eyes perfectly positioned.

Another thing to look at is if the binoculars are wide angle.  The wider the angle the harder they are to use with eye glasses because the eye relief becomes too short.

I have a large 10 x 50 pair I bought for star gazing. They are wide angle and even with the rubber cups mentioned above folded back I still have to remove my glasses to be able to see the full field of view.

[Ron Haines]

Just wondering if you considered full size binocs.  Personally I do not like compacts at all.  They give me headaches if looking through for more than 30 seconds.  I wear a pair of Bushnell H2O Roof Prism 10x42 with the Bino system.  I have never had a problem shooting the bow with them on.  I have spent many hours a day wiht they things glued to my face on caribou hunts.

I do not personally wear eyeglasses, but my father does.  I got him set up with a set also.  He loves them.  He likes the Bino system also, once I got him to adjust it tight to his chest.

[kevgsp]

I just started wearing glasses.

I have the leupold yosemite 6x30...one of the longest eye relief for glasses.  

You need atleast 17mm+ of eye relief to be comfortable, the yosemites are 19 or 20mm.  Screw the eyecups all the way down and your good to go.

[non-typical]

The only ones I have found that work without a hitch with glasses are the Sightron 8x40's. They are a great buy for the money (usually $230 if you web search...otherwise around $300).

[Mr.Chuck]

Most of your high end glasses have the long eye relief for eye glass wearers.  In the mid-range cost, you have to "read the label" to find which ones have the long eye relief option. When it comes to optics,  I don't skimp!   I have a set of Leica 8X20 that I use for target shooting, and have used them on a couple of hunts. My go to's are 8X40, and when I'm feeling real strong, I use my 12X50's! The 8X20's perform very well except for real low light situations. And I'm a hard advocate for good optics whether I'm shooting 3D's or hunting!

[stevewills]

no problem with mine i dont have to raise my glasses up to look through mine.i dont use really high pwered ones cause i use them in the woods no need for really high powered lenses.i got a cheap pair that i got at scotts ace in scottsburg.i dont invest alot into optics i lose them,break them,drop them out of the tree.ive even had to throw them out of the stand too spook deer out of the field,so the woudnt see me...god there a great tool

[Flinttim]

I have a good pair of full sized Bushnells and have no problem with them. I'll look into the bino system.

[JL]

I too have had my fair share of different brand/size optics. The smallest I currently own are a set of 8x25 Minolta activa wp's. Pretty good little glasses but I rather much prefer full to mid sized glasses. My go to glasses are Eagle Optic Platinum Ranger 6X32's. Nice glasses that have sharp optic's. 99% of the time, I lift my glasses up to use the binos. I just don't like the extra light thats allowed in when viewing bino's with glasses on.

JL