Nikon Trailblazer 8x25 ATB Black Binoculars 8218 | Waterproof, Fogproof, Dual-hinge design, Compact Binocular, Black Rubber Armoring, Mutlilayer-coated lenses | Official Nikon USA Model

I will start with the most important thing where binoculars are concerned. The glass in the Trailblazers is Made in Japan, not China. Japan makes some of the best optics on Earth at a competitive price just about anyone can afford if they want value for their money. While it is true the Trailblazers are put together in China the glass is world class. I find them to be great all-around compact binoculars perfect for hiking or simply having at hand no matter what one wants a better look at. The glove compartment is ideal in my opinion. The Trailblazer binoculars are great for hiking, fishing, ball games, the Moon, and so on. While solidly built they are still relatively light. Much lighter than full size binoculars and easy to stash in a pocket.If you are not sold then my best advice would be to spend about $300 to $350 on a pair of Zeiss Terra ED compact binoculars. Both binocular lines are at the top of their class.... One thing I should add... Smaller Binoculars can be a little more difficult at first than larger binoculars to find the sweet spot for your eyes to fully benefit from them. Try going to extremes .. fully spread, then compare the view with less and less spread. Turn the eyepieces from short to long and just play with the glasses for a while and you will probably find the sweet spot for your face and eyes. Every time I have ever done this it may have taken a while but when I find the right adjustments it is definitely worth the time IMO, no matter which binoculars you buy. Happy Birding!

We originally purchased a bigger pair of binoculars that we thought were smaller. We kept them, but still wanted a travel size of decent quality. These are clear and nice quality optics and construction. We are very happy with this purchase.

Highly recommend - well designed and easy to carry ; love the camera styled case

I bought these for lightweight back packing.These offer a considerably wider field of view than most other 8x25's- 8 degrees vs. the more common 6 to 6.5 degrees. It's impressive that they can produce such a wide field of view with nearly no field distortion, while remaining sharp across the field.They feature a pretty solid close-focus distance, which makes them fun for observing flowers and insects.They produce a high contrast image in reasonable lighting, despite their lack of phase-coated prisms. This suggests excellent anti-reflection coatings and good control of stray light.Compared side by side to a similarly priced 8x25 porro prism binocular (Vortex Vanquish), the image has slightly less contrast, and slightly less sharpness in the finest details, but otherwise compare very favorably. The Trailblazer is lighter and far more compact, which makes them much more favorable for lightweight backpacking use.The one drawback is that they may be a little fragile- I dropped them, contained in their padded case, from waist height while removing them from my belt. To my dismay, this knocked them out of collimation. No binocular should ever be dropped, but it happens, and while it might not be a reasonable expectation, one might hope that the binocular mechanics would be solid enough to withstand a low level padded drop. (I was able to get them back to functional by manually bending the hinge armature, which suggests the issue might be in the hinges, not the prism alignments- the bridge is quite flexible. In any case, minus one star for loosing collimation a bit too easily.)

The glass on these are great for less than $100. Pros: Very easy to carry and use. Field of view is amazing for a compact bino. Form factor is a plus with a small footprint and reasonable build quality. For the size and price the glass punches way above its price. The best binos are the ones you are carrying and these are easy to carry.Cons: Lens covers will get lost. Eye cup adjustments are too loose. They are either up or down and too loose to stay set anywhere in between. Not so great for low light. Focus rotation is the opposite of every other set of binos I own (turn left for closer focus and right for distant focus). Not a big deal but just a heads up.Overall, if you are looking for a compact set that are easy to carry for hiking, sporting events, or a backup set these are perfect.

We just completed an Alaskan cruise and we thought these would be good to see wildlife from the cruise ship or the tours. Unfortunately all the tours were closed in Juneau due to the rough seas, so we didn't get to use them on that tour. Well going in mid Sept we didn't see much wildlife, but it was very neat to see the blue glacier ice using these binoculars. That's incredible!In my opinion the protective lense covers were way too loose. I think you could easily lose them. I did like how compact the binoculars were when folded up. Nice little protective case and easily fit in my backpack. They do provide a strap, but we never used it on this trip.Clarity was good. I also took my Nikon camera with long range lenses, but still enjoyed the binoculars!

Great compact binoculars for travel! Can easily throw these into a suitcase or even a Uniqlo mini crossbody bag for quick walks around the block. The eye cup covers could be improved - and there are no covers for the other lenses. These are compact, and can fold easily. Perfect for kiddos or even smaller face shapes.

For the price these are a great pair of travel binoculars. They work well for general birding, hunting, and uses that don't require high power and a tripod to hold steady.