Monoculars?

[huntsmanlance]

I am wanting to really travel light so i was thinking that a monocular would be better than a pair of binoculars....but i dont know a thing about either! What is the difference between a mono and a pair of those really small binos?

I have NO idea what all the different views are and what they mean.....6 x, 8 x and such. So what should i look for? and i have seen some pretty high prices out there. I am affraid to spend that much money on a pair that i will just drop and break    

Thanks for the help!
Lance

[John Nail]

Lance, go to Eagleoptics.com and do some reading. They have good stuff at good prices. 6X means a magnification of 6 times normal. you will see numbers like 8X42 or 8X30 both are 8 power, but all things equal, the 8X42 will gather more light and be better on a cloudy day, dawn/dusk, ect.
Different lense styles, coatings, and quality of grinding make a really big difference.
Optics is one purchase where it really does pay to do your homework.

[Raminshooter]

Lance,

This is my experience:  I whent on a public land hog hunt once and forgot my binos.  I ended up at a chain sporting goods store and bought an 8 power monocular for about 10 bucks.  I found the thing to be great to use as it was very light, easy to handle and perfect in a "spot-stalk" situation because you could bring it up so fast. Glassing for long periods of time would be a little tough but overall I liked it and have continued to use it in the right situations.

[Outwest]

Lance
I have a monocular and a pair of compact bino"s
also full size bino"s.
The full size are best but between the compacts and the mono the compacts are way better.
Take my word for it and forget the mono.
There is a reason that you don"t see to many people using a monocular.

Good luck.

John

[Kevin Lawler]

I often carried a monocular when I hunted from a treestand. This was a small cheap one. I often kept my bow hand on the handle of the bow while I peered at a deer in close with the monoc. I was looking for things like which directions it was pointing since I could only see the torso. Even a compact pair of binocs was too big plus I didn't like having to adjust it with a glove on. I used a wrist strap from a portable FRS radio to strap it to my wrist. It didn't seem to bother anything when I drew and it was dangling from my draw hand.

[raghorn]

I have a Ziess 5 power monocular that I made a cordura case for and ty-wrap it to my bow quiver. It is about 4"x1/2" super clear!!!!
So light I don't even notice it on the quiver. It's always right at my finger tips. It doesn't replace my 10x42 binos, however it sure is handy for certain uses.