Tasco Essentials 10x25 Compact Binocular (Black)

Tasco's best-selling Essentials line balances optical performance and quality construction, offering an affordable way to add a pair of high-quality binoculars to your household, pocket, or suitcase. The handsome, rubber-armored housing not only absorbs shock and protects them from bumps and bruises, it adds in a weather resistance factor should it decide to rain--or snow--at the big event.

With extra-powerful magnification, these compact binoculars are ideal for glassing long distances or examining small details.

25mm objective lens
Roof prism system
Field-of-view (at 1,000 yards): 288 feet/94M
Features: Rubber fold-down eyecups, black rubber armor, carrying pouch and neck strap
Weight: 9.2 ounces

Tech Talk

Magnification: Magnification is indicated by the first number given. For instance, "7x" means that you will see an object seven times closer than if you were viewing with the naked eye.
Objective Lens Diameter: The objective lens diameter is indicated by the second number (e.g., 21mm), which indicates how much light is able to enter the binocular. The larger this number is the better your sight will be in lower light conditions.
Roof Prisms: Roof prism binoculars are streamlined and compact because they utilize trim roof-shaped prisms to elongate the light path. Roof prism binoculars are usually more expensive than equivalent porro prism models.

Owner Reviews, Ratings, Comments and Criticism
For the price, it's difficult to find fault with these binoculars. Tasco is evidently trying hard to make a high-value product (not just a toy) at an extremely competitive price. They are light, small, reasonably solid, and for the price I never worry about taking them into situations where they might get a little wet or a little mechanical abuse (e.g., bumps or scrapes). So these would be a great choice for occasional or emergency use (e.g., to throw in a glove compartment or emergency bag, or to take hiking or backpacking), when having a small, lightweight, relatively high-power set of binoculars would be beneficial. If you'll be using these for extended periods of time, I would encourage you to keep looking. The eye relief isn't great, so if you wear glasses you won't be able to see the full field of view. Also, and it could just be my pair, mine do not focus very sharply (spherical aberration?), especially at larger distances. Also, be aware that these are probably best for active outdoors activities (hiking, hunting, etc.) in bright light -- if you can put up with the extra weight and cost, you might be better served by a pair with larger effective aperture and corresponding exit pupil (e.g., 10x42 or even 10x50) for pursuits like astronomy or (more sedentary) birding. This is not a criticism of these binoculars; they are designed to be 10x25, so the only thing I might complain about is the transmission of the AR coating, but that's simply not fair at this price point. If you do get a pair, do some thorough field testing as soon as you get them, and return them if they don't suit your expectations. Three stars may be too tough on these, but they're just not good enough optically to warrant more. Still, especially given their price, they're a whole lot better than nothing in a pinch.