SingAstro

Hi,
Did anyone experienced to bring binoculars for hiking?
I intend to bring mine to Mt. Kinabalu. Any advice?

what are you going to look at? stars/wildlife?

read somewhere that the "optimal" bino size is the 8x42. apparently this was borne out by officers in the war who found this combination most effective (could be wrong here, tried to google it but couldn't find the source)

if you're hiking, then you don't want something very heavy. definitely waterproof. maybe no too expensive if you drop it in the mud or something.

Hi,
I had the Nikon Monarch 10x42 for both birding and astro... good bino but I feel that the 8x42 might be better for me as my hand are not so steady. So if you had steady hand, the 10x42 will be good... if not, 8x42 will be a better choice.

Just my $0.02.

Have a nice day.

I use the Nikon Action EX 10x50 for almost everything. It has good optics, a wide (6deg) FOV although the outer parts of the FOV show some field curvature and is sealed for worry free weather protection It does cost I think close to $200 or more though and the front caps are prone to coming off.
If you want to get a set of binos, then I suggest either get a compact set for portability, understanding that they are less than optimally bright for darker scenes but they can stay on your neck with minimal strain (hence get used more) or get a larger (42 to 50mm) set but try to ensure its sealed so you don't have to worry about moisture, dirt or fungus inside

Sorry for this OT but related comment.

In addition to getting your bino there, it may be useful to prepare a list of interesting objects that can be seen there if the nights are clear and when they can be seen or best time to see them.

You can use Stellarium and plan ahead and familiarise yourself how to find them quickly, if possible by memory without star charts. If there are clear nights here in Singapore before your trip, make use of them as "training/rehearsal" for the trip.

It is better to bring a average bino there but know when and where to look at the sky when it is clear than a very good bino but just randomly scanning the skies. Especially for bino when you want to get best bang-per-second-of-neck-strain if you are hand-holding it all night.

Once you have seen some of the objects high on your list, you can "afford" to randomly scan the skies which can be very fun too (especially the Milky Way region). But don't assume once the sky is clear it will remain clear all the way so see the showcase stuff on your list first if possible.

Also, try to bring alone a green laser pointer so you can guide your friends to see those objects when they are using the binocular or vice versa.

Have fun and do let us know how the stargazing trip turns out! Good luck!

Check out this nice video:

alweek, weixing, cloud_cover, Gary thanks for the reply

Yeah, I'm thinking for wildlife and stars as well.
I still had something in my mind about moisture & fogging, considering cold weather at Mt. Kinabalu.
I also want to bring my dslr camera. Is that need more protection for dslr and binocular?

Gary wrote:Sorry for this OT but related comment.

In addition to getting your bino there, it may be useful to prepare a list of interesting objects that can be seen there if the nights are clear and when they can be seen or best time to see them.

You can use Stellarium and plan ahead and familiarise yourself how to find them quickly, if possible by memory without star charts. If there are clear nights here in Singapore before your trip, make use of them as "training/rehearsal" for the trip.

It is better to bring a average bino there but know when and where to look at the sky when it is clear than a very good bino but just randomly scanning the skies. Especially for bino when you want to get best bang-per-second-of-neck-strain if you are hand-holding it all night.

Once you have seen some of the objects high on your list, you can "afford" to randomly scan the skies which can be very fun too (especially the Milky Way region). But don't assume once the sky is clear it will remain clear all the way so see the showcase stuff on your list first if possible.

Also, try to bring alone a green laser pointer so you can guide your friends to see those objects when they are using the binocular or vice versa.

Have fun and do let us know how the stargazing trip turns out! Good luck!

hmmm interesting. Thanks for your tips!
And I still have a few months for training here ;)
Where can I find that laser pointer and roughly how much its cost?