best binos under $250

[GreyWolf]

+1 more for the VORTEX. I went with the Diamondback 10x42's.

I own a few Nikon Monarch scopes so I originally thought I would get the Monarch Binos. Checked them out side by side with some Bushnells in the same class & I liked the Vortex best, + the price, $229 (Opticplanet, no tax & free shipping) & warranty is a bonus!

[polyanskiyalex]

thanks guys.... i was looking into the vortex ones.... ive heard good things about them.. to tell you the truth im stuck between nikon and leupold, but its still open for me.....

[SkookumHntr]

Steiner Military marine 8x30's are right at 250$. Excellent Binos and durable!

[Bigshooter]

If i could only afford $250 I would by vortex without a doubt.

[ZRS-8x42]

thanks guys.... i was looking into the vortex ones.... ive heard good things about them.. to tell you the truth im stuck between nikon and leupold, but its still open for me.....

Hi polyanskiyalex,

We just released the last sets of 8x43 ZEN ED2 on demo sale for $285.

http://www.zen-ray.com/shop/demo/zened2-8x43-demo.html

Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

[columbiaman]

When your looking for good glass you really get what you pay for...$250 can buy decent bino's but your not going to get Zen Ray quality optics, and when it comes to taking them in the field your going to probaly wish you'd spent that little extra....seems thats the way it always works out 

If you want Zen Ray optics for less than $250, get Zen Ray optics.  Its called the ZRS HD.  They are very compact for full size 42 mm glass and one of the very best in their price range.  Vortex has none at that price that good, it takes the more expensive Viper to get there.  The Theron Wapiti LT series, particularly the 8x32 ,is very good too.  The Bushnell legend Ultra HD as mentioned CAN be pretty decent.  These have a lot of field curvature and CAN in "some specimens" have very small sweet spots and distracting distortion quite far away from the edge of the field.  I've owned a couple and they didn't last very long.

Aside from the lack of ED glass, the ZRS HD is very close optically to the ZEN ED series of binoculars.  Unless you are pretty sensitive to chromatic aberration, you will likely never know the ZRS is a non ED glass binocular.  The HD is for HD glass in the objective which is part of a field flattening design in the ZRS HD eye piece. 

Today's lower mid price are every bit as good as binoculars of even five years ago that cost 2x that level.

I am also quite impressed by the ZRS HD binoculars. It's way better than Vortex Diamondback, similar to Viper.

-CM

[passing-thru]

The Endeavor binoculars by Vanguard are the latest deal on campfire.com
$149 compared to reg $399. Good deal in my book

[cem3434]

thanks guys.... i was looking into the vortex ones.... ive heard good things about them.. to tell you the truth im stuck between nikon and leupold, but its still open for me.....

Hands down, Vortex are better than comparable Leupold or Nikon glass. I have Zeiss binos that I use in ths field, but my wife has a pair of Vortex and I keep an extra pair in my truck just in case I need them. They are the best bang for the buck in my opinion and have a great warran :twocents:ty.

[pope]

Read about the 8x42 Nikon Monarch here: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/LivingBird/Winter2005/Age_Binos.html

[summit creek]

what ever you do dont buy bushnell they suck and always will try stiener there ok

[Snopczynski]

Someone should take the top recommended models and set up a poll for people to vote on for the best under $250 in their opinion.

[cem3434]

Someone should take the top recommended models and set up a poll for people to vote on for the best under $250 in their opinion.

[rsarkks]

Leupold BX-2 Acadia, hard to beat for under $200.

[royalbull]

no such thing as best bino under $250 if that is all you can afford to spend you probably dont really need them anyway, put your money somewhere safe and keep saving otherwise you will probably be posting which are the best binos under $500 in a few more years and with inflation it will be the same binos you currently own, keep saving you will be glad you did

[bobcat]

There are lots of functional binoculars for less than $250. If you really want to save some money go with a porro prism model. No they won't be as light or as compact as the roof prism binos, but optically you'll get more for your money.

Look at these Pentax demo models for $130 at camera land:

http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/pentax.pl?page=pentax65807