Explorer 12X50 High Powered Monocular - Bright and Clear Range of View - Single Hand Focus - Waterproof - Fogproof - for Bird Watching, and Watching Wildlife

I have a pair of decent 8x45 but was looking for something a bit more powerful for looking at birdlife at longer distances and thought this would ideal. I tried the Explorer out and found it very light and easy to focus and it gave a good clear image but, maybe because I am just coming up 70 and my eyes aren't quite as good as they were 50 years ago, or maybe because I was expecting a lot more of it, I couldn't see much difference from looking through my 8x45 binoculars, which do have course, have the much wider field of view simply because they are binoculars. My mobility is also very restricted so I tend to use the binoculars from the car or very close and I didn't feel I could get the full benefit from the light and compact Explorer, so I asked Amazon if I could return it for these personal reasons, and they agreed a full refund with a free reply label as well. I think the compact size and light weight make it ideal for walkers, and it will easily fit in a rucksack pocket for quick access if you don't want to be carrying it all the time. And the easy focussing plus 50mm object lens and decent optics means you are more likely to see wildlife before it moves out of view. There have been adverse comments about the little tripod, but I paid £49.99 for this Monocular and almost as much for a tripod for my binoculars, so I think you have got to look at this as a 'freebie' and take no notice of the moaners - but maybe I am a bit biased because although I only used the Monocular on the one occasion, I would have been able to make use of the 'freebie' by resting it on the car door with the window down. I think you will have to go a long way to find something as good at this price, and it has got to be worth every penny of 5 stars.

I had no great expectations here. Many items are advertised as vastly reduced in price (perhaps offered for the high price for all of a week!) but this really does seem to be £100+ value for £40. It is solidly made and the eye relief has a nice rotating 'click' action. The focus wheel is large with the right amount of resistance to prevent it from being easily moved by accident. Most particularly, though, the image is light, bright and sharp with no edge distortion- very good for a 12 x 50. Being a monocular the field (246ft at 1000yds) is inevitably rather limited, but is still quite acceptable. The biggest problem is holding it steady- of course with binoculars you use two arms, which makes a big difference and all optics beyond 10 x are sensitive to movement. Being a 50mm product there is a lot of glass here and at 500grms it is quite heavy for a monocular. I often use a monopod with my more powerful binoculars and that is certainly more practcal than the small 'Hama' tripod supplied- but, hey, they did not have to supply a tripod at all! All the features are here- fully multi - coasted optics (that means coating of all glass surfaces), Bak 4 prisms, waterproof/ nitrogen purged, etc. It is convenient to carry when I'm using my backpack since it takes up little space and is lighter than binoculars. A smart padded carry case is provided. At just £40 what's not to like? OK- how about the matt black colour. Why does the rubber armour of so many of these things have to be black- how about red, blue, etc? (Just a thought!). All considered, if you fancy a powerful monocular you won't beat this one for sheer value.

As a basic monocular it does a reasonable job. the monopod/tripod fitting thread is useful and the image it gives is pretty clear. Not too bad if you’re wearing glasses either, even varifocals, thanks to a two-stage setting on the eyepiece extension which is a plus point - many monoculars and binoculars are intended to be only used very close to the eye’s pupil which can cause problems for glasses wearers. It weighs a bit, but the construction is solid and rigid. lack of flexing of the tube is important with optics. Overall I’m happy with it for general purpose use.