Thread: What binos? 8 x 25 or 8 x 42

Hi all.
Looking at getting some binos.
Was thinking about some compacts 8 x 25 as I am primarily bush hunting. But then I thought that perhaps I should just go for 8 x 42s as they would off a bit more versatility.
Been tossing up between se Swarovski 8 x 25s or tract Toric 8 x 42s.
Any thoughts? Recommendations?

For mainly bush hunting get the Swarovski 8 x 25s. They are very good and are compact enough that you wont leave them at home. Seen all the posts on here about bino harnesses?. That will be your next purchase to lug round those 8 x 42s.

Ive got the Tract 8x42 and cant recommend them highly enough. Very versatile. If you are in the bush just shove them down the front of your shirt - you don't need a fancy bino harness.

Look at the Swaro CL Companion 8x30, newer model. Best of both worlds, light and very good optics. You can buy just the binos without the strap and storage bag package for about $1500 and just use a fairly cheap but perfectly adequate camera neoprene strap and a small camera bag/pouch for storage.

If you’re primarily a bush hunter go with the swaro 8x25s. I tend to use binos infrequently in the bush, so lugging some full size 8x42s around and then not using them much gets annoying, but you won’t even notice a pair of 8x25s down your shirt. And being swaros they will still perform very well out in the open, although you will give up a little bit of performance at first and last light. FWIW I’ve used cheap Hawke 8x25s, swaro 8x30, swaro 8.5x42

Cheers for the advice gents.

There are some 8x30 options around, which might be better all round binos than 25s. I picked up some Zeiss 8x30s on here second hand a couple of years back and found them really good for bush and scrub, still plenty when you break out onto the tops