Tasco Essentials 10x25 Compact Binocular Black

Customer Reviews

Good disposable emergency travel binoculars

2008-11-29
Good disposable emergency travel binoculars

I bought these binoculars to leave in my SUV as an emergency backup when I forget my excellent Nikon 7216 Action 8 X 40 Binoculars. They are much lighter and smaller and I can leave in my map holder on the door or even in my pocket and forget I even have them which leaves the old saying binoculars are only good if you have them with you. And that's where these binoculars shine they are very tiny and very light.

They do bring things in close and after a little bit of focusing and adjusting width you can make things out if you have plenty of light. The little case they come with is pretty decent as well.

Now for the bad parts. The eye relief is pretty bad, you will have to prop your eye glasses above them and or remove them to use. Also they are pretty dim which of course a lot of cheaper 10x25 binoculars are. The strap is a small little string that does the job but is pretty thin. But hey for the price go ahead and purchase a couple one for your coat pocket and one for your vehicle oh and maybe one for your camera bag.

These would be a great pair to have children learn on as if they drop or abuse them its no big deal.

Pros:

Nice case
Super small size
Super light weight
Disposable price tag
Great learning binocular to hand to small children

Cons:

So so focusing
Just Ok low light ability
Just Ok optics
Not water tight or resistant

Verdict:

Purchase as disposable emergency travel binoculars and or as a toy for children to learn birding with and no more.

12-3-2008 Update:

Went to the store and tested a lot of different small bincoulars trying to find a pair that are almost as good as my Nikon Action 7216 8x40's and found the perfect one. If you need small and want a good view and a good price get the Nikon 7508 Travelite 8 X 25mm V Binoculars. They are: light (8.9 oz), fit the hand well are well made and very bright in the viewfinder for their size.

You get what you pay for?

2007-03-10
For the price, it's difficult to find fault with these binoculars. Tasco is evidently trying hard to make a high-value product (not just a toy) at an extremely competitive price. They are light, small, reasonably solid, and for the price I never worry about taking them into situations where they might get a little wet or a little mechanical abuse (e.g., bumps or scrapes).

So these would be a great choice for occasional or emergency use (e.g., to throw in a glove compartment or emergency bag, or to take hiking or backpacking), when having a small, lightweight, relatively high-power set of binoculars would be beneficial.

If you'll be using these for extended periods of time, I would encourage you to keep looking. The eye relief isn't great, so if you wear glasses you won't be able to see the full field of view. Also, and it could just be my pair, mine do not focus very sharply (spherical aberration?), especially at larger distances.

Also, be aware that these are probably best for active outdoors activities (hiking, hunting, etc.) in bright light -- if you can put up with the extra weight and cost, you might be better served by a pair with larger effective aperture and corresponding exit pupil (e.g., 10x42 or even 10x50) for pursuits like astronomy or (more sedentary) birding. This is not a criticism of these binoculars; they are designed to be 10x25, so the only thing I might complain about is the transmission of the AR coating, but that's simply not fair at this price point.

If you do get a pair, do some thorough field testing as soon as you get them, and return them if they don't suit your expectations.

Three stars may be too tough on these, but they're just not good enough optically to warrant more. Still, especially given their price, they're a whole lot better than nothing in a pinch.