Alpen Optics 10x25 Monocular

This is an overall excellent value.Quality: I like the fit and finish an awful lot. The coating feels great, and it can take a lot of shock. The case is typical nylon, nothing special, but considering this is a lighter object, it's up to the job. The image is very good. Only drawback is that it has inferior reflection characteristics. It can be difficult to make out details in low light, or to see astral objects (not that the zoom was serious enough for much astronomy).Function: The 10X zoom is just at the edge, for me, of what's useful without being so much zoom that it's difficult to hold steady. Remember: you'll only be using one hand to steady this. Too much zoom and that becomes shaky. It's nice and light, and as useful as a good set of binoculars, but easier to use in many respects. Even if you're using much better optics, such as a rifle scope, binoculars, telescope or a nice camera, this is an excellent aid in understanding your far surroundings quickly and easily to identify something you want to use the other optics to see.It's also good for many uses on its own. Birdwatching, ballet or theatre, exploring, etc.For the dollar, it's one of the best.

I bought this monocular for simple usage when heading out to the light woods and open areas, etcThe focus is horrible, does not zoom into anything, and I seem to see things clearer and better when using my naked eye.This might be useful for kids wanting a toy monocular, but for practical purposes; uselessI do NOT recommend this product, invest a little more money and buy a better monocular.Took it out to a trip once, now is collecting dust in my garage, will never use again.

I confess. I was trying to be cheap, and it came back to bite me. I had been considering the Brunton monocular, and wanted to save some cash. Most reviews for the Alpen were pretty positive, so I decided to go that route. I think now that I'll return it and try again.Cons: I have several problems with this monocular, mainly optical. First off, there's a fair amount of chromatic aberration in the optics, so that it's difficult to figure out when you've finally gotten it into focus. Second, the amount of pincushion distortion is pretty ridiculous. And if you're looking for close focus, forget about it. The closest I could get was about 20-25 feet. Finally, fit and finish were fairly shoddy, with the cuts of the rubber armor pretty haphazard.Pros: Very lightweight. You'll notice this more for the space it takes (not much) than for the weight. And it is 10X - I was able to read a license plate from about 100 yards, so not bad.If you value price over performance, this is the way to go. Personally, I'm returning it to buy the Brunton model.

While this may not be as good as my Brunton Echo (despite the fact this this is 10X and my Brunton is only 7X), it's still a fine monocular, especially for the price. It seems to be quite sturdy, but I'd avoid dropping or smacking it into anything all the same. The only thing I found odd was that they decided to put the focus on the eyepiece instead of the end of the device. If you wear glasses this means you will likely smudge the lenses when focusing due to your fingers rubbing against the them. The entire monocular is covered in rubber, not counting the small piece of plastic that holds the neck strap on (which happens to come pre-attached, by the way). They also come with a relatively well made looking nylon case. Overall, for the price, these are a fine choice for those that don't want to lug around bulky binoculars yet still want to be able to see far away objects. You could do a lot worse.

I don't know very much about optics, however, this product does the job well for the price, it is very good for observing from a distance but will provide very little detail on objects within a range of thirty yards, ie: birdwatching.This product would be perfect for a kid; small enough to provide minimal discomfort, but powerful and durable enough to be effective. Furthermore, if the kid loses it they are ridiculously cheap to replace.