Time For an Upgrade

Recently I reread Seventy Years of Birdwatching by H.G. Alexander, and realised I had forgotten that he began his birdwatching career sans binoculars. Can you imagine? The notion of birdwatching without bins seems crazy in 2022, but at the turn of the 20th century I imagine they were both expensive and rare. How different things were when I began birdwatching. Even as a young boy I owned a pair of bins*. They were ancient, ex-military 7x50s with individually-focusing eyepieces, and they weighed roughly 10 kilos. I was still using them in the early 1980s when I started birding properly, but the need for an upgrade was quickly obvious.

With Sandra I visited Opticron, which I think was based in St Albans back then. We came away with brand new Opticron 8x30s for Sandra and second-hand Swift Audubon 8.5x44s for me.

Swift 8.5x44s in action on St Mary's in 1984. I wonder when I last went birding in a collared shirt?

They were great bins. At least, I thought so. Or I did until they started misting up inside after a rainy day in the field. In 1987 I upgraded to what were then considered the best bins on the market: Zeiss Dialyt 10x40 BGAT. This is what they look like...

This photo was taken in October 2015

In 2019 they had become a little hazy internally, so I had them cleaned and serviced. It made a difference, but in 2022 the haziness has returned with a vengeance, the rubber armour has come slightly unstuck by the bridge on one side, the calibration plate has fallen off the dioptre adjusting wheel, and so on. My bins are basically knackered, and need retiring. Which means I am obliged to consider my options...

I have to be realistic. First, I do not have a bottomless wallet. If that were not the case I would have upgraded long ago. Second, I am quite old. It's an unwelcome thought, but at 62 I am not expecting to require the 34+ years I got from my Zeiss Dialyts. Third, I do love a bit of quality. The idea of owning the best bins on the market appealed to me in 1987 and still does today. So where does this lead me?

Research suggests that the best bins right now are Swarovski's NL Pure range, Zeiss' Victory SF and Leica's Noctivid. No offence to Leica but I've never been a fan, so it is actually a two-horse race. Also, I really fancy the idea of diddy little 10x32 bins rather than the usual 10x42, and both brands offer that option. Why lumber myself with weightier bins if optically I don't have to? The only drawback is the two-grand price tag...

Or there is the second-hand route, and maybe an older model. Still amazing optics no doubt, and equally as likely to...er...see me out, but cheaper. I have just sold a couple of bikes, and some careful domestic 'negotiations' have resulted in my being able to convert income gained from one hobby into expenditure on another. Or so I am led to believe. Anyway, the upshot is that I have some money earmarked for new bins. So I'd better hurry up and spend it while the going is good.

PS. If any readers have experience of NL Pure or Victory SF 10x32s I would be glad of your opinions. Likewise any suggestions for second-hand options.

* Note for the screaming pedant: 'pair of bins' is the acceptable - but technically incorrect - name given to a binocular (singular) by the shoulder-shrugging writer of this blog and countless other birders who don't care.