BruiseLee
Member
I just bought four Simmons Binoculars so I thought I'd write a quick review for those of you who might be interested. I want to make it clear I'm no expert in the field of optics, so don't expect any technical or scientific tests.
Here are the four binoculars. The full size one is a a 8x40. The smaller ones are 12x25, 10x25, and the smallest is 8x21. The large black one is my dad's old 10x40 Agfa binoculars. They have to be at least 40 years old, but that's all I had on hand to compare them to. At least it was made in Germany.
O.K., the big 8x40 first. I like it! Its light gathering capability is definitely better than the old Agfa. A huge plus they have over the Agfa is their anti-fog coating. It was pretty cold by the time I got home to try these binoculars out, and the Agfas would steam up from the heat of my body almost immediately, rendering them almost useless. None of the Simmons had that problem.
On the down side, the focusing lever was very tight. It required way too much pressure to adjust. Also, the binoculars came with no neck strap. The leather one you see in the pictures is from the Agfa. It did come with a nylon carrying case, though.
Also, to me the woodland camo treatment seemed kinda half-ass. I mean only a couple parts of the binocular is woodland camo, the rest is just black. But, since I'm not a Marine sniper, I can live with it.
A good bang for the buck. Good level of magnification without being too shakey. I think I'm going to use these a lot. They aren't Steiner's, but for non-critical work they are good enough.
These guys are obviously a lot smaller and easier to pack around. I found the 12x25 to be too hard to hold steady - it is my least favorite of the bunch.
The 10x25 is a good compromise between magnification and steadiness. It was a bit too loose when it came to adjusting the distance between the eyepieces. I also didn't find the extremely narrow nylon neck cord that all three smaller binoculars came with to be comfortable at all. Other than that it was fine.
The 8x21 was very compact and handy. It certainly wasn't as good as it's bigger 8x40 big brother for surveilance, but that's the trade off you pay for small size and weight. I found myself wanting more magnification, but it is still much better for viewing distant objects than the old MK I eyeball.
I'm sure there are much better optics available out there on the market. But, for the money I paid for them - less than $50 for all four! - I'm very satisfied.
Here are the four binoculars. The full size one is a a 8x40. The smaller ones are 12x25, 10x25, and the smallest is 8x21. The large black one is my dad's old 10x40 Agfa binoculars. They have to be at least 40 years old, but that's all I had on hand to compare them to. At least it was made in Germany.
O.K., the big 8x40 first. I like it! Its light gathering capability is definitely better than the old Agfa. A huge plus they have over the Agfa is their anti-fog coating. It was pretty cold by the time I got home to try these binoculars out, and the Agfas would steam up from the heat of my body almost immediately, rendering them almost useless. None of the Simmons had that problem.
On the down side, the focusing lever was very tight. It required way too much pressure to adjust. Also, the binoculars came with no neck strap. The leather one you see in the pictures is from the Agfa. It did come with a nylon carrying case, though.
Also, to me the woodland camo treatment seemed kinda half-ass. I mean only a couple parts of the binocular is woodland camo, the rest is just black. But, since I'm not a Marine sniper, I can live with it.
A good bang for the buck. Good level of magnification without being too shakey. I think I'm going to use these a lot. They aren't Steiner's, but for non-critical work they are good enough.
These guys are obviously a lot smaller and easier to pack around. I found the 12x25 to be too hard to hold steady - it is my least favorite of the bunch.
The 10x25 is a good compromise between magnification and steadiness. It was a bit too loose when it came to adjusting the distance between the eyepieces. I also didn't find the extremely narrow nylon neck cord that all three smaller binoculars came with to be comfortable at all. Other than that it was fine.
The 8x21 was very compact and handy. It certainly wasn't as good as it's bigger 8x40 big brother for surveilance, but that's the trade off you pay for small size and weight. I found myself wanting more magnification, but it is still much better for viewing distant objects than the old MK I eyeball.
I'm sure there are much better optics available out there on the market. But, for the money I paid for them - less than $50 for all four! - I'm very satisfied.
