Does anyone have any binocular recomendations? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

--John

You know, I'm also looking for a good pair of binoculars, I'd be interested to see some of the posts.

John, if your going to use them for saltwater use save up and spend the extra $$$$ for a decent pair of gyro's.....You pretty much get what you pay for with binocs....The more you spend the brighter and more durable they will be........Warren

Dude, Warren is right, a pair of Gyro's will cost you some chedda', but damn they are sweet, I think Fraiser Volpe, makes a decently priced pair, and I believe they float, I guess they had better, for that much!!!!! Also, Melton International Tackle, in Anaheim carries these, check em' out anyway!

I have a pair of Stieners for the boat. They are durable and have held up fine in rain, snow, hail, and lots of water splashing around. With these are not the best optics out there for the price they are hard to beat for their quality. When hunting we carry Nikons and Leupolds. Nikon has great customer service and has rebuilt several pairs over the years. Both Leica and Swaroski make great products too but they're pricey and heavy. Hopefully I didn't misspell the names too bad.

What are you wanting to do with them? I have alot of experience with bins, primarilly for bird watching. First and foremost, you get what you pay for. I couldnt afford what I wanted but settled on a pair of Rangers by Celestron, they cost about $350.00, and are 10x50. For a mid grade pair of bins, you cant beat them. But remember, the first number is the magnification, and I cant remember what the second number is. But heres what you need to know. The 10x50 has a very high magnification, but the field of view is smaller (I like looking at little birds high in the canopy), and with the higher magnification, any shake you have (like in the morning after a cup of coffee) will be magnified. On the high end of the scale, you cant beat Zeiss. Right now Zeiss is phasing out there 10x40 ClassiC (a great all around magnification), so they are selling them much cheaper than ever before. This is the pair I have always wanted, and it is the gold standard in the birding community. The resolution is amazing, the edges of your target are extremely sharp, and they allow a brightly lit target in low light conditions (I have used them extensively in the ocean and they performed great). To be honest, I think I can see crisper, clearer and brighter targets using these bins than I can with just my eyesight. They are currently selling for $700 through Cabelas, quite a drop from the original tag of $950 or more. If both those models are out of youre price range, think about the Nikon action series, had a pair for years and they were very good at a reasonable price of around $100. However, after a while this model got out of "tune", but someone who hasnt used bins all that much probably would never notice.

I DO HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS!
DO NOT BUY CHEAP CHINEESE STUFF!
I broke my just after one(sic!) year!
(My previous russian military pair from WWII!!!!! Was fine after 50 years of usage!!)
RECOMENDATION: Buy some military ones!