NIKON MONARCH M7 Binoculars | Lightweight Waterproof Fogproof Binoculars with ED Glass & Multilayer Coatings | Wide View, Smooth Focus & Long Eye Relief for Birdwatching, Wildlife & Outdoor Use, 8x42

Why it's worth it

The MONARCH M7 is a full-size 8x42 with ED glass, a very wide view, and weather sealing that holds up to rain and cold. It's the binocular most birders can pick up, aim at a moving warbler, and simply use without thinking about it.

The wide view is the reason birds are easy to find. Nikon lists a field of view up to 435 feet at 1,000 yards, which is generous for an 8x42. That width does the work you don't notice. You lift the binocular toward a flicker of movement and the bird's already in the frame, instead of somewhere just outside it. In thick woods, where you get about two seconds before something drops behind a leaf, that's the whole game.

ED glass keeps colors honest when the light is against you. Birds spend a lot of time perched against bright sky, and cheaper glass paints purple or green fringes along their edges. The MONARCH M7's ED elements and multilayer coatings cut that fringing, so a silhouetted hawk keeps its shape and a warbler's throat stays the color it actually is. Published reviews have long put it near the top of the mid-range for exactly this reason.

From our review of 10 binoculars for birdwatching and nature, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +The wide view is the reason birds are easy to find
• +ED glass keeps colors honest when the light is against you
• +It doesn't mind weather
• +It's built to be worn, not just carried

What to know

• –It's still a full-size binocular, and you'll feel it by the afternoon
• –Eyeglass wearers should keep expectations moderate