Binoculars Recommendation

[knittingGal]

For Alaska cruise, binoculars can come really handy while doing whale watching from the cruiseship or during the inland excursion. We have been on multiple Alaska cruises in the last few years. We learnt our lessons and also enjoyed the scenary very much.

 

Don't take binoculars smaller than 30mm or larger than 50mm. They are either too small to bring enough light or too big to carry around. Mid-size 32mm to fullsize 42mm is what you need to bring. Also, I prefer roof prism binoculars (with straight line) over Porro binoculars (zigzag shaped) as they typically have better waterproofing capabilities. For magnification power, I prefer either 8x or 10x. Definitely do not get those higher power binoculars, which are also cheaply made. Also I found the zoom binoculars are mostly useless.

 

We currently use a pair of Swarovision 8.5x42. But it is a very expensive binoculars. Unless you plan to use it every weekend for birding, it's not worthy it. We also have a pair of Zen-Ray Summit 10x42 and a pair of Redfield Rebel 8x42. Both are excellent binoculars for the money. The summit will probably do 95% of what my Swaro binos does. But I cannot live without getting the other 5%.

 

Another thing to consider is to make sure the binoculars are truly waterproof, which can be immersed in the water. If it says weather proof, it is not waterproof, moisture or water will find its way into the binoculars and cause internal fogging. That will completely destroy the binoculars.

 

Lastly, read carefully on the coating description. The quality of the anti-reflection coating will make a huge difference between two apparently similar binoculars. The binoculars need to be fully multi-coated. It means every glass surface has multiple layer AR coating. Some high end binoculars like Swarovision also uses dielectric mirror coating to improve the brightness. Since most of the animals come out in the morning and evening, a good pair of binoculars that can bring in more light is essential.

 

Happy cruising.

Thanks for the advice. We took binoculars with us for the last trip, which saved us few hundred dollars from booking the whale watching trip.

[simbasmom]

We just came back from Alaska with our binoculars. Bushnell are good for the price. Also, check out eagle optics for good prices. Their own binoculars are excellent. And even though we use binoculars for birding every weekend, Swarovski brand are still way too expensive for us!

[NancyL2]

Really just how important is it to have fog/water proof binoculars for an Alaskan cruise?

[reney313]

Really just how important is it to have fog/water proof binoculars for an Alaskan cruise?

 

We have two identical pairs and took them both the first trip that included land and cruise. I'm very glad we had both. FWIW, they are Nikon, I believe. I think we bought the first set new at Bass Pro for around $100. The second set we bought on ebay for $25...a year later!

 

On our second cruise which was cruise only, we took both and pretty much took only one set out on deck with us and shared. We will do the same for the upcoming cruise and only take one pair to cut down on the weight in our backpacks (carry on).

 

We didn't use them all the time on the cruise only portion...but definitely did in Glacier Bay and Hubbard or College Fjord. Very good when whales are spotted in a distance as well as bears. I also enjoyed scanning further up the glaciers.

Edited July 8, 2014 by reney313

[Nanookz]

We have two identical pairs and took them both the first trip that included land and cruise. I'm very glad we had both. FWIW, they are Nikon, I believe. I think we bought the first set new at Bass Pro for around $100. The second set we bought on ebay for $25...a year later!

 

On our second cruise which was cruise only, we took both and pretty much took only one set out on deck with us and shared. We will do the same for the upcoming cruise and only take one pair to cut down on the weight in our backpacks (carry on).

 

We didn't use them all the time on the cruise only portion...but definitely did in Glacier Bay and Hubbard or College Fjord. Very good when whales are spotted in a distance as well as bears. I also enjoyed scanning further up the glaciers.

 

 

I agree.. We went 2 weeks ago and mostly used them in Glacier Bay. But I bought some for each person because when the whales, seals, and eagles come out you don't want to share. We bought Bushnell Bear Grylls 10 x 42mm Roof Prism Waterproof/Fogproof Binoculars, Black and the 8 x 42 and they worked great. they were a little heavy but I didn't mind. Got them on Amazon for $70 and $40

[knittingGal]

Really just how important is it to have fog/water proof binoculars for an Alaskan cruise?

 

when we cruise through the inside passage, there were several large pod of whales passing. It is pouring hard. But we did ok with our waterproof binoculars.

[Trip Biatch]

I guess the waterproof factor depends on how much rain you get. The week that we went, the weather was perfect! Not a drop of rain!:D

 

These are what we took and they worked out very well: and sell for $50.

Bushnell Xtra-Wide 4x30 Binoculars $50 on Amazon

With these binoculars your will never have a problem with the field of view being too narrow as these fit in a massive 900ft at 1000 Yards, this is a field of view that is more than twice as wide as that of most wide angle binoculars meaning you can see ALL the action.

These auto-focus, compact binoculars come with a hip pack, and as well as the impressive 900-foot field of view at 1,000 yards, they feature BaK-4 prisms as well as fully multi-coated optics for high resolution and enhanced light transmission.

 

We also took this set that were fine but I liked the ones above better because they had autofocus.

Nikon Travel Lite 10 x 25 that sell for $145

• Waterproof (up to 2m/6.6 ft. for 5 minutes) and fog-free with nitrogen gas
  
• Aspherical eyepiece lens eliminates image distortion
  
• High-eyepoint design provides a clear field of view for those who wear eyeglasses
  
• Close focusing distance: 2.8m
  
• Multilayer-coated lenses for brighter images
  
• Turn-and-slide rubber eyecups facilitate easy positioning of eyes at the correct eyepoint
  
• Eco-glass optics are free of lead and arsenic
  

[dhmom99]

I bought my 10x42 Zen-Ray SUMMIT during my first Alaska cruise a few years ago. They are very bright and sharp. I have used them for more than half a dozen cruises in the last few years.

 

that is what we got after the recommendation from this board. everyone loves it. It is really light and compact. To my eyes, it is brighter and tad sharper than our old Bushnell binoculars

[Hikini]

I'll let the experts help you with brand and zoom, etc. What I want to recommend is that you have more than one pair with you if you are traveling with others. When whales or bears, or any other wildlife is spotted, everyone will want to use the binoculars at the same time! We take along a pair per person.

[dhmom99]

I'll let the experts help you with brand and zoom, etc. What I want to recommend is that you have more than one pair with you if you are traveling with others. When whales or bears, or any other wildlife is spotted, everyone will want to use the binoculars at the same time! We take along a pair per person.

 

Yes, we brought 4 pairs with us so every person in our party can have a pair. It might be extreme. But we found it worthy the effort when we encountered a big pod of whales on our way to Juneau.