Binoculars for Alaska

[DisDiana]

Hello, all!

Does anyone know if binoculars are available to use or rent on the Alaskan sailings?

If so, how much is the rental fee? If not, what type of binoculars do you recommend that I pick up for the trip?

Thanks in advance!

 

[adamki]

If not, what type of binoculars do you recommend that I pick up for the trip?

It really depends on what you want to carry around and how much you want to spend.

Personally, I'd look for a set of compact zoom binoculars. This will provide versatility in magnification and be small enought to carry around all the time. Viewing will probably be mostly during the day, so you don't need anything with huge lenses to capture every speck of light (nor would I wan't to travel with that).

Take a look at the Nikon Aculon T11 or Pentax UP-8. If you have an REI nearby, they have a nice selection to try out and some nice house-brand models. You can also get a feel for what size you would be willing to haul to Alaska.

 

[dmunsil]

Does anyone know if binoculars are available to use or rent on the Alaskan sailings?

On the ship itself, no. On some of the excursions, binoculars may be provided. For example, our whale watching excursion boat had binoculars you could use. It varies from excursion to excursion.

If not, what type of binoculars do you recommend that I pick up for the trip?

I did a bunch of research, and bought binoculars for our whole family last summer for our Alaska trip, so I'll share the high points. The short answer is Bushnell H2O (or Bear Grylls) 8x25 compact waterproof ($40) or 8x42 or 10x42 compact roof prism waterproof ($100) is what we ended up getting. I got one pair of Bushnell Legend Ultra HD binoculars for myself as an indulgence (they're $200), and the contrast was so much better than the regular Bushnells that I ended up getting another 10x25 Legend Ultra HD as my go-to compact binocular. I also had a big pair of decent Russian 7x50 binoculars for whale watching from the verandah and deck (they're pretty big to carry on an excursion).

The numbers on binoculars are the magnification and the objective lens diameter. So an 8x25 has 8x magnification and 25mm objective lens (the lens furthest from your eyes).

Higher magnification is generally good, but it becomes very hard to use a pair of binoculars when the magnification goes over 10x; your hand shake is heavily magnified and the field of view gets pretty narrow, making it hard to find what you want to look at. So 8x and 10x are the most useful and the most popular. 8x is a great intro magnification, and 10x is better once you get good at using them and finding the target quickly (see below for important tip).

Higher objective numbers are good because larger lenses bring in more light and increase the field of view. More light means you have a decent shot at seeing wildlife in the shadows and seeing whales at dusk and so forth. But bigger lenses increase the size and weight of the binocs. Anything smaller than 25mm is going to have too narrow a field of view to be usable and only be usable in bright sunlight. Anything bigger than 42mm is going to be pretty bulky. As I said, we did bring a 7x50 porro for ship viewing, and we used them a lot. The low magnification and high brightness made them great for grabbing off the desk and looking at wildlife and scenery quickly. But they're big. You could certainly bring them on a hike if you had to, but even the 10x42's felt a little bulky after hiking a mile or two.

Roof prism binoculars are lighter and straighter. Porro prism binoculars are wider and heavier, but slightly cheaper for a given level of quality. I decided if we were spending thousands of dollars to go to Alaska I could spring for roof prisms. And that's also how I convinced myself to get the Legend Ultra HD binoculars.

Waterproof is important for situations where you're around water and might get some rain or spray, which describes just about everywhere in Alaska.

So if you have the money, get a pair of 10x42, 8x42 or 10x25 Bushnell Legend Ultra HD binoculars. They're about as good as anything out there. Super sharp, super contrast, light, waterproof. The bees knees. But the Bushnell H2O 8x25 8x42, or 10x42 are also good and a lot cheaper. The Bear Grylls versions are identical optically to the H2O models, but have orange trim and the Bear Grylls logo on them. I'd get whichever is cheaper.

And here's a useful tip I learned from a National Park ranger (who carried Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x42's): when looking at something through the binoculars, the novice tendency is to look down at the binoculars as you bring them up to your eyes, and then hunt around for the target while looking through the binoculars. Instead, look directly at the target, and without moving your head or eyes, bring the binoculars right up to your eyes in one smooth motion. If you manage to keep your focus on the target and not move your head, you should be looking directly at it. If not, take the binocs away from your eyes, re-locate the target and try again until you can bring the binocs to your eyes without moving your head or looking away from the target. This is just a fantastically useful technique; practice it at home when you get your binoculars. It saves you so much time trying to re-find the thing you're trying to look at.

Hope that helps!

Don

 

[dmunsil]

It really depends on what you want to carry around and how much you want to spend.

Personally, I'd look for a set of compact zoom binoculars. This will provide versatility in magnification and be small enought to carry around all the time. Viewing will probably be mostly during the day, so you don't need anything with huge lenses to capture every speck of light (nor would I wan't to travel with that).

Take a look at the Nikon Aculon T11 or Pentax UP-8. If you have an REI nearby, they have a nice selection to try out and some nice house-brand models. You can also get a feel for what size you would be willing to haul to Alaska.

I'm not a huge fan of zoom binoculars; there are always compromises in field of view and light gathering, and they tend to be bulky. That said, those are two of the best zoom binoculars out there (I'd add the Bushnell Legacy WP 10-22x50, which are waterproof). I totally agree that going to REI or other good outfitter is a great idea. Being able to see the differences in field of view, contrast, etc. is really enlightening. And yes, once you actually hold some of them in your hands you may find compactness and lightness more important than you thought.

 

[xlxo]

Some thoughts...

• I faintly remember they are available for rent in the Vancouver cruise terminal next to the wheelchairs in previous years.
• love modern binoculors with stabilization at high zoom.
• I prefer to pack a DSLR with a 18-300mm zoom lens... In addition to the magnification and stabilization... you can also share the images with friends afterwards.

 

[DISGRL13]

I do not remember binoculars being available for rent on the ship. That said, binoculars are a must! We used ours ALL the time. There is so much to see along the coast as you are sailing. Eagles were everywhere in the trees along the waters edge and seals were on the icebergs in the water near Tracy's Arm. Binoculars really helped to get a close up view of many wonderful things! Enjoy your cruise.

 

[Donna3271]

binoculars are a must!

YES!!! My husband, son and I had high power, high quality ones. I went to a sporting store and bought my 2 younger ones cheap ones so they had their own (spent around $30), and I did not have to worry about them dropping and breaking ours.