Many birders mistakenly believe that compact binoculars don’t offer the same type of viewing experience that a full-sized pair of binoculars can, but these binoculars will prove them wrong.
These Gosky roof prism binoculars offer a large field of view, a durable design, and powerful magnification, so they’re the best birding binoculars that are perfect for birding, sporting events, hiking, hunting, and more. Their lightweight design minimizes user fatigue, promoting longer use. If you’re searching for a pair of binoculars that are easy to adjust, reasonably priced, and durable, then these Gosky binoculars fit the bill.
Our Verdict: These Gosky birding binoculars may not come with all the bells and whistles the serious birder is looking for, but the 10x magnification, highly adjustable eyecups, and top of the line optics make them a steal at this price. The lighter weight of the binoculars will allow you to use them for a longer period of time, without experiencing user fatigue like you would with a pair of full-sized binoculars. Their compact design doesn’t take away from their quality. In fact, they offer optic’s quality that’s comparable to higher-priced models.
We would recommend these binoculars for beginners or the serious birder in need of a lightweight pair of binoculars they can use for long trips through the backcountry. These binoculars offer the best of both worlds, with a viewing quality and FOV that you’d normally find in full-sized binoculars, and a lightweight design that allows you to comfortably bird for hours on end. While these binoculars may be small they’re packing some serious power.
Read on to learn what makes these binoculars one of Gosky’s best-selling models, why they’re so easy to handle, and how you can use the included smartphone adapter to share your birding adventures with your family and friends.
Overview and Features
At first glance, you may not believe the price, considering these binocular are equipped with roof prism lenses, but the manufacturer made it their mission to create a compact pair of binoculars that are loaded with top of the line optics at a price that’s affordable.
Gosky’s line of binoculars is known for their lightweight, ergonomic designs and easy handling. Beginners won’t struggle to correctly adjust these binoculars. Their intuitive design makes them perfect for birders of all skill levels, allowing the user to easily adjust the eyecups, and focus, in seconds.
Product Rating:
- Decently priced
- Durable construction
- Good amount of magnification
- Come with some great accessories
- Lifetime warranty
- Multicoated lenses
- Good color rendition
Unlike traditional binoculars, this pair features a compact design that makes them easier to hold and adjust, especially for birders with smaller hands. In terms of optics quality, these binoculars feature roof prisms and multicoated lenses, for an optimal viewing experience in a wide range of light conditions.
Magnification
Typically, binoculars in this price range have a magnification of 6x or 8x. These binoculars have a 10x magnification, which is perfect for birding, hunting, watching outdoor sporting events, hiking, and much more.
Lenses
The binoculars feature forty-two-millimeter multicoated objective lenses and eighteen-millimeter blue film eyepieces. The goal here is to improve the user’s viewing experience while minimizing glare and light interference. Grosky definitely delivers here, offering a better than average viewing experience that will allow you to capture every detail of the gilded flicker as it hops from branch to branch. The ability to capture even the smallest details when birding is important and can help the birder to sight and identify a species much faster, which is why we felt that these binoculars were perfect for birding in dense brush and other types of heavily wooded areas where lower-priced binoculars would typically struggle with clarity.
Construction
There’s no question that binoculars are a delicate piece of optical gear, but the manufacturer did a great job of reinforcing the housing and providing extra protection against falls or damage that can occur during transport. The thick rubber armor coating features a tight fit, protecting the binoculars against falls and inclement weather. The shock-absorbing case combined with the lens protection covers adds the type of protection you need in a pair of binoculars that can handle a journey through the backcountry.
Accessories
Other extras include a soft carrying case, lens and eyepiece covers, binocular neck strap, and cleaning cloth. The soft carrying case will not provide much protection in the event you drop your binoculars, but it does a great job of preventing scratches and dings. When not worn around your neck, you should always store your binoculars in the appointed carrying case for that extra level of protection.
Warranty
The binoculars are covered by a lifetime warranty and come with lifetime technical support.
Adjustable Eyecups
Eyeglasses wearers will appreciate the adjustable eyecups which twist up and down for a more comfortable viewing experience
Smartphone Adapter
The included smartphone adapter is compatible with both Android and iOS devices. To use, you’ll attach the adapter over one of the eyecups, switch on your phone and start filming. You’ll be able to record the view through the binoculars so you can share your birding experience with your family and friends. While this isn’t a new feature for binoculars, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another manufacturer that includes a free smartphone adapter in their starter package.
Field of View
At a distance of one thousand yards, this pair offers a field of view of three hundred and seven feet.
Prisms
The BAK4 roof prisms closely overlap and allow the objective lenses to line up perfectly with the eyepieces. This design results in a streamlined, slim shape for less weight and bulk, but also adds to the binocular’s rugged construction. The design of the roof prism itself is much more complex than that of porro prisms, which is why the manufacturing process is so costly.
Performance
These binoculars feel great in your hand. The rubber coating not only helps to protect against damage when they’re dropped, but they also work to improve your grip. The 10x magnification allows you to easily see long distances clearly. The forty-two millimeter lenses are wide and clear. The impressive field of view allows you to easily sight birds up to three hundred and seven feet at one thousand yards. While these binoculars don’t offer quite the same viewing experience as higher-priced models, they do offer impressive visibility at a shorter range, with excellent color rendition. The binocular’s housing and construction are top of the line. However, since this pair isn’t waterproof, you’ll need to be careful when using them in inclement weather conditions.
Advantages & Disadvantages
Pros
- Decently priced
- Durable construction
- Good amount of magnification
- Come with some great accessories
- Lifetime warranty
- Multicoated lenses
- Good color rendition
Cons
- A bit on the heavy side
- Can feel bulky if you are carrying a lot of other items already
Related Questions
How Do These Gosky Binoculars Compare to the Top Pair from Adorrgon?
Adorrgon recently came out with a pair of binoculars that are similar to these in terms of style, power, lightweight design, ergonomic grip, great usability, and durable construction. But while these binoculars do share some similarities, the Adorrgon binoculars tend to stand out simply because they offer a 12x magnification, while these binoculars feature a 10x. For most situations, a 10x magnification is sufficient. However, unlike these Gosky binoculars, the model by Adorrgon doesn’t come with a free phone adapter, which allows you to record your birding experiences. While more affordable, we felt that the Adorrgon binoculars also didn’t offer the same type of optical quality that these Gosky binoculars are known for.
What’s the Color Rendition Like?
The binocular’s color rendition can be best described as excellent. You won’t normally come across binoculars in this price range that are equipped with roof prism multicoated lenses, which is what makes these binoculars one of Gosky’s best-sellers. But not only is the color rendition excellent, but these binoculars also offer superior clarity even in low light conditions. Most birders are out at the crack of dawn in order to sight rarer species that are normally hard to spot during the day. Additionally, birders who enjoy sighting at dusk will also appreciate the clarity these binoculars have to offer.
Does the Compact Design Hinder Field of View?
No. As we mentioned earlier, these binoculars offer an impressive field of view for binoculars of this size. For birding, the FOV is perfect. The lens quality and the FOV combined will provide an excellent viewing experience, especially when you’re birding in wooded areas. In fact, these binoculars are so powerful you can use them at any type of outdoor sporting event, concert, for hiking, hunting and more. Their versatility, large FOV, and lens quality make them suitable for a wide range of activities.
Conclusion and Rating
Product Rating:
At this price, we weren’t expecting much in terms of viewing quality or extra features, but we were pleasantly surprised with their performance. When you’re birding in the early morning hours, you need a pair of binoculars that can handle low light conditions and binoculars that you can easily adjust on the fly and these binoculars fit the bill. This model is affordable, beginner-friendly and designed to last. The included smartphone adapter, rugged rubber armor cover, and the lightweight design definitely make these binoculars worth a second look. We gave this pair a rating of four and a half stars out of five.