I like the approach of cheaper marine binos, having had a pair bounce down
the companionway stairs and make rattling noises afterwards and having
dropped roughly the volume of a dumpster of stuff into salt water.
Then again, I tend to be frugal (if possible around a boat) as there are
irritations like mortgage payments, car payments, expenses related to a wife
and daughter, taxes and more taxes making vapire sucking noises on my
checkbook.
As part of this frugality, I have an old boat I own free and clear parked in
the canal behind my house. I can afford this canal house because I don't
have a big boat payment and don't buy expensive binoculars.
MMC

"Mys Terry" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:46:00 -0400, chuck wrote:

Mys Terry wrote:
On Wed, 07 Jun 2006 14:05:40 -0400, chuck wrote:

Harlan Lachman wrote:
In article ,
Mys Terry wrote:

On Wed, 07 Jun 2006 16:53:21 GMT, "Lester Evans"
wrote:

For my little old sailboat. Coastal cruising along the New England
coast.
I took a look on ebay. Wow,, there were binoculars and there were
binoculars. Many brands, so many I gave up looking.

What do you experienced cruisers use?

Thanks,,


Fujinon makes 7x50 binocs with a rubberized skin, that are
waterproof
and nitrogen filled for under $100. They also re-label essentially
the
same ones for various retailers, such as Defender, and West Marine.
For reading numbers off of navaids and such, they are fine. I would
recommend not going any higher than 7 power, though. 7x50 is pretty
much the standard for what you will be doing with them.
I concur with one exception. I bought a pair of the Fujinon's after
their great write up in one of the Practicals. For most usage they
work
great.

However, based solely on observation, if you are going to be doing a
lot
of night cruising, I found the night (or rather dusk) vision not as
good
as some of those really pricey kinds.

If you are doing that type of cruising, you might want to consider
the
pricey brands or a night vision system as a supplement.

h

Can you share the model number and source of Fuji
waterproof, 7x50 binoculars under $100?

Thanks.

Chuck


Defender has them for about $75

http://www.defender.com


Thanks.

Seems I misunderstood and thought real Fujis could
be bought for under $100.

Technically, these are Fujis because they are made
by Fuji exclusively for Defender. It's anybody's
guess whether they are identical to Fuji's branded
binoculars. It's my guess they are not in the same
league as Fuji's least-expensive binoculars. Which
does not mean they should be avoided, maybe just
approached with tempered expectations.

Chuck


The original poster recently posted questions about a GPS and
indicated budget was a significant concern. I assume that is the case
with his binocular search as well. The Binoculars I mentioned are
quite adequate for a coastal sailor who may need to spot a number on a
buoy or similar endeavors. I've used these binocs, and they are just
fine. Obviously you can spend a lot more money for something that lets
in more light, has more precise mechanisms, etc. For his use, as he
has described it, these should be fine. The major factor for these
over other sub- $100 binoculars is that they are waterproof and
nitrogen filled. That's fairly uncommon at the lower end, but for
marine use, it's very desirable.