Bresser Montana 8x25

These high-end compact binoculars from Bresser are built around a super tough aluminum chassis with a double hinge design. For a compact, this is an important detail as it allows the binocular to fold down into a smaller shape than what is possible with a standard single hinge body and thus they are easier to pack away and take everywhere you go.

This double hinge design also enables these binoculars to have a wide interpupillary distance adjustment, ensuring that these binoculars will accommodate a wider range of users, even those who have narrow or far set eyes.

Optical highlights include a full broadband multi-coating on all optical surfaces and Schmidt-Pechan roof prisms that have been phase corrected and are made using quality BaK-4 optical glass.

The moderate 8x magnification works best at short to medium ranges and also facilitates the reasonably wide field of view. For uses like birding, this especially important as a wide view helps you to more easily locate and then follow small, fast-moving objects.

Whilst the small 25mm lenses play a major role is the compact size, the downside is that they are less able to collect light than larger lenses. So as with most compact binoculars, these are best used during the day when light conditions are reasonably good.

At 2.5 meters, the closest focusing distance is good, but not exceptional and thus these are fine for occasionally viewing things like butterflies from close range, but not the ideal choice if this is your primary interest.