Vortex Optics Solo Monocular 8x36 - Utility Clip, Adjustable Eyecup, Fully Multi-Coated Lenses, Rubber Armor, Non-Slip Grip, Fogproof, Waterproof - Unlimited, Unconditional Warranty

I bought both the 8x25 and 8x36 model, and kept them both.The 8x25 I will keep for traveling. The optics are clear, I like the focus mechanism, the entire thing is solid.The 8x36 one I prefer a lot. It’s bigger, but fits better in my normal size male hand, feels even more solid, and is brighter. I will keep it for boating, where it has almost completely replaced my use of the binoculars. Being able t use it with one hand means it’s easier to steady yourself and so there is less jiggle to the image. Has a very solid belt clip that I’m not using at the moment but I bet it’s good.

Very nice monocular. The focus ring is a bit tough to get the hang of, but it works well. The case is pretty basic.

True to description

The rubberized coating is nice and allows a consistent grip regardless of rain or humidity. The focus ring is "firm" but even with my crappy arthritis I can manipulate the ring while holding it one handed. The optics are good quality because I get a clear image even in low light. Glad I opted for the 8x36 because it increases the functionality before and after sunset. The 36mm objective lens really brings in the light. This is also handy in SE Texas where we get frequent overcast and stormy days. The reason I said this monocular is better than binoculars is the balance between size/weight and enhanced vision it gives me to identify objects at distance. That can be a safety issue depending on your use case. I can have this mono on my belt, pack or rig and it's much easier to grab and use quickly than any of my binoculars. The larger binocular case gets in the way too. Currently I have it in a radio case on my chest rig for walking dogs and other outdoor activities. Unfortunately the lanyard was missing so I'll have to rig up something with shock cord or similar material.

I have had this thing for years now. It’s been hiking and hunting from the swamps of Florida to the mountains of Tennessee and everywhere in between. The only issue I’ve ever had with it was when my young child got ahold of it and pulled the rubber cap off the eye relief adjuster. But it wasn’t worth warranting it out for me so I just stuck it back on and it’s stayed put.The clip on the side is super convenient and I managed to get the case to mount on my kidney straps so it’s right there in the stand or on the move. It works awesome and it’s very light and easier to deal with than a pair of binoculars. It’s held up great and is an awesome choice for anyone.Only bit of advice I can offer is that holding a lot of magnification steady in one hand isn’t easy for everyone. 6x - 12x power is the range I’d always suggest for a monocular. Personally 8x is wear I keep to now if I’m using it on the move.

The field of view is large and can focus extremely well. The twist focus wheel is easy to use but a bit hard to rotate. Its focus function looks very nice and very clear and has a very large focus view area. It can fit in even XL hands and is very tough and the case is very tough and won't break if you drop it from about 5 feet to 6 feet. The lenses are very tough and won't fog up in a humid environment. Great buy for a bug-out bag situation to see threats coming ahead. Very wise purchase tool for tactical and regular uses as well. Like bird watching, hunting, etc.

I'm an optics snob and really want good optics, and this little monocular gets oh so close to getting it right. The problem is that the optics inside this thing are not served up well by the housing holding them. The eye relief is advertised at 18mm, but as you can see in my attached photo, the eye cup, even when fully retracted for maximum eye relief, still protrudes 5mm above the lens. This means the actual eye relief - for those who wear eyeglasses - it much closer to 13mm, which is very marginal and ensures that the eye cup will make contact with your eyeglasses, possibly smudging them, and that's irritating. The only time when eye relief is actually close to 18mm is when focusing on something close - the eyepiece moves with focus and the eye relief is therefore increased when observing objects that are closer.Silly - but I care about eye relief while looking at distant objects, so this item really misses the mark on this detail.Close focus is limited to about 15 feet, not bad.Optically, the lenses provide a nice sharp, bright view with very low amounts of chromatic shift. Distortion is low - I don't perceive any. The magnification matches my high-end 8x binoculars very closely.Ergonomically, I don't like some things. Focus is good. It's a bit stiff, but I personally like that. I have a strong hand, so I can with one hand hold this and adjust focus using my index finger, and that's great. But people with smaller hands won't find this possible, I think. The belt clip is really too large - too wide, and attaches with screws. But when the screws and clip are removed, there is an ugly hard plastic protrusion (with sharp corners/edges) sticking out from the side, and that's frustrating - it snags on any pocket. If the belt clip is installed, it's so large that it interferes with the side grips. It needs to be removable without having a huge protrusion sticking out.The eye cup has a piece of rubber that was bonded to it with super-glue, and the manufacturer did a lousy job with that process - it quickly came loose. So, I'll need to get out the super glue to fix that. But ultimately, I hate the eye cup since I wear eyeglasses, and the eye cup doesn't sit down flush with the lens. The eye cup needs to be removable, but it seems to be snapped on and I don't see how to remove it without breaking something.Ultimately I really like the optics, and it's such a tragedy that good optics are sitting inside a package that doesn't showcase them sufficiently well.If the manufacturer were to fix the issues with the eye cup and belt clip, this would be a top notch monocular.