Ranger by Celestron

by Nathan

I picked a pair of these up at a garage sale a few months back, and I have been quite impressed. They're waterproof, so I can take them out just about anywhere, from the beach, to some local swamps.

The quality of the optics is superb, and they have very large eye cups, which make them extremely comfortable to use for long periods of time. The best feature, for me, since I do a lot of bird watching with them, is their quick focusing. Not only is it extremely quick, it's extremely easy. I've used other binoculars where I just can't seem to get the picture in focus, but with these, it is a snap.

The only downside, in my opinion, is their weight. I'm not sure how they compare to other binoculars of their size, but I am used to much smaller binoculars, so maybe it's just me. They get to be a little much to carry around all day, but it is not anything that isn't manageable.

They have attached covers for both sides of the lenses, which is very convenient, but looks rather clunky. The one piece eye side cover sticks out to the left kind of far and can get in the way, if you hold the binoculars with your left hand, rather than right. I like it, though. I used to have lots of problems with getting mud on my lenses, but I can just cover these when I'm in situations which would normally make them muddy.

Overall, they're definitely worth buying.