Reviews & Ratings for Nikon Monarch 5 8x42mm Roof Prism Binoculars — 13 reviews — Page 1

I purchased a pair of Nikon Monarch 8X42 binoculars for my husband for his birthday. We had a pair of Nikon binoculars we bought many years ago which we loved, but the new pair greatly surpassed the older one in several ways. First, these binoculars are much lighter so great for birding at our local botanical garden. Most importantly, the ED glass lenses give us a clearer vision from our balcony looking out at the Gulf in Florida especially at dusk and on hazier days. We love them! Also, working with opticsplanet made the purchase easy~ a very informative sales person and a quick delivery with the binoculars very carefully packed!

I have to say, these look perfect. I looked for any marking of use and could not find any. They are crisp, clear, and focus well.
I will compare these to a 15+ year old Nikon Monarch 10x25 which are still working well,but showing their age. The new 8x24 Monarch are so much brighter and clearer. I chose to go with the larger 42mm for my older eyes, the more light the better and 8 power for better hunting in close woods. The 8 power make is easier to pick up moving game as compared to my old 10 power.
You will not be disappointed if you purchase the demo binoculars.

These binoculars are excellent, but do not offer as wide of a field of view as some competitors. Regardless, the views are crisp and stunning and are excellent across most of the field of view. It gets 3 stars as Optics Planet is misleading you into thinking it is a factory demo with full 25 year warranty. In fact it is a reconditioned item with a 90 day warranty. The unit I received appeared to be new, so hopefully the warranty issue does not become a problem. The focus wheel squeaks a bit. Other than that and the warranty these are great binoculars that were priced around $150 with the 11 percent off coupon.

I've owned the Monarchs in 10x42 for years and use them extensively in my work, as well as for hunting & recreation. For the price point, they are a great value. The glass is clear and bright, color rendition is good, aberrations are minimal in this range. The armor is tough, the twist up eyepieces are nice, the right ocular lens adjustment is a bit too tight, but it stays put, The focus knob is smooth, not too tight or too loose, and the knob is big enough and rubber coated with serrations that work well with gloves or bare fingers. Field of view is good, too.

Beware the lens caps. The ocular (eye piece) lens caps are junk. The primary job of a lens cap is to protect the lenses. Lens are typically damaged in one of 3 ways, broken while dropped, scratched by an object, or damaged through improper cleaning. The ocular covers fit so loosely, they constantly fall off. Nikon Customer Support claims they are designed this way, so when you lift the binoculars, the cap naturally falls off & remains attached to the straps. Unfortunately, this "feature" is a big fail in the real world.

If you are active at all, while wearing these bino's; hiking, hunting, even moving from place to place on anything other than level ground, or in a windy area, the caps will fall off leaving your lenses unprotected. While they may not get scratched, they can. The real world problem is the lenses will get dirty and dusty. Blowing sand can be a disaster. You're outside, need to clean your lenses and the...
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I say "DEMO" because there was no sign of ever being handled and was as new. I'm no optics expert but everything seems 100%. I just used these at dusk in low light levels and they were very good. It was between these and the Vortex Diamondbacks. With the discount it was a no brainer to go with the Nikons. I'm loving these binos.

These are simply a must have if you enjoy hunting, fishing or any outdoors related sport, even just for traveling . I purchased a pair of Nikon 8x36 over 12 years ago. After 12 years of use I managed to break a piece off that was needed for my bino system to hold them. I sent these back for warranty and received and updated monarch 5 8x42 brand new!!! Needless to say Nikon has my business and word of mouth for the future. Backed by superior customer service I feel secure in any purchase made to Nikon. Similar experiences with other competitors did not end the same and they lost my business as well as those I talk to regarding their products. Thank you Nikon for being a great company. Do not hesitate to purchase these great light gathering binos for the upcoming deer season. Loyal customer!

Initial impression of these binoculars sure seem to indicate we made the right choice. Use for spotting, birding, and general travel. Taking them on a world cruise for 4 months. Couldn't be more excited to test these for hours on end. Super happy they can be used while wearing eye glasses. Will update later on in 2018 after the trip to report how they worked out for us. Optics Planet couldn't have been easier to buy from. Wonderful service!

Somebody at Nikon deserves a HIGH PRAISE for all the little improvements that make this a superior product.

First, the optical quality is TOP NOTCH, I have used many brands of binoculars over the year, including some that are more than triple the price and the tiny bit of resolution that might theoretically be available by spending more is very hard to justify.

Second, it is useless to have binoculars that are so heavy / bulky that they are unpleasant to use, and these are far and away some of the lightest top quality 8x42 binoculars that are available. Whether you are out for a casual walk or settled in for some serious observation these are comfortable enough to really be appreciated. I've also taken them along to sports events and again, the easy of carry of much appreciated.

Low light performance is first rate, and contrast / color in challenging light is among the best I have seen at any price.

The details that ensure that these will provide years of service are impressive -- full nitrogen charged design ensures waterproof / no fog use in all climate conditions, all exterior surfaces coated in rubbery material means slip-free grip, sliding eye piece extensions work well for eye glass wearers (that I sometimes am) as central focus with diopter adjustment means quick / no hassle adjustments for all.

You can spend more but you likely will not get a better value and if you spend less you very likely will not save enough to justify the trade-offs with cheaper options!

I can see things better using these than with my naked eyes. A must for birding. Like being in the eagles face.Great for a good view of the night sky. Not heavy at all with a very good strap. Need to get a special tripod adaptor my SkyMaster binocular is too thick. I would buy another..

I Compared these to several models that were much more expensive and these are equal to better. The rubber body feels great and they are very well built. The image is very sharp all the way to the edges. The neoprene neck strap is a bonus. The only thing I don't like is the plastic guard over the eye pieces which is very loose.