Happiness
is a great new
binocular

Meet Chris, whose husband just gave her a new Vortex Viper binocular. Now that's what we call a happy-looking person.

At right you can read the email her husband Rudy sent us about how his gift was received. "Bit of a laugh, that," he writes.

We were smiling wide here at Birdwatching Dot Com, too, when we got his email. We really love to help people pick out just the right binocular. It feels good, knowing someone is going to have many happy experiences watching birds (or enjoying nature or sport) with some good optics.

Often people call to ask for advice on selecting a new binocular. We listen to what they're looking for and what they plan to spend, and we make some suggestions.

A lot of times, we end up suggesting Vortex Viper, as we did for Chris. It's one of the best bargains in binoculars. It has good optics.

It also has the best warranty in the business. (If it ever needs service, even from accidentally being dropped, Vortex promises to fix it — for free.)

It focuses close — as close as 5.1 feet! That makes it great for watching butterflies, as well as birds. (When you get a close look at a butterfly, you don't want to have to back up to focus on it through your binocular.)

It's pleasant to hold. It has a very nice, smooth focus knob, an indication of good engineering quality. It's relatively light weight (only 23 oz.). It gives a nice, sharp image.

And it works great with glasses. The 10x42 Viper has 16.5mm of eye relief, which is adequate for nearly all glasses wearers. And the 8x42 has 20mm of eye relief, which should work for virtually everyone. Of course, the Viper is also fine for people who do not wear glasses.

We love this binocular!

Copyright 2007 Michael and Diane Porter

Other optics articles of interest:

Birding Optics

Birding Binoculars and How They Work

Adjusting Your Binoculars

Eye Relief

10 Myths of Birding Optics

The Binocular Advisor

Binocular Picks for Every Price Range

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