Telescope Reviews: Would Like Binoc Recommendations

I have an old (25+ years) Sears 7x35 Wide Angle binocular. A search of their website did not find any hits so I do not know any other specs. I have been using them to compliment my new Orion XT8 Intelliscope but would like to purchase another pair so my wife and I can each have a pair. These 7x35 seem to work very nice for what I’m using them for but I don’t have anything else to compare them to.

I have been reading some of the posts regarding binocs and it seems like I could make a career out of researching all the different brands. Unfortunately, I live in the sticks so I can not easily drop in a non-big box retailer to test some out; all we have is Wal-Mart and K-Mart. I’m going to have to rely on recommendations then order online.

Besides star gazing we plan on using the binocs for wildlife viewing when we go on vacations.

I don’t want to spend a lot of money as the XT8 pretty much blew my budget. I’d like to spend in the neighborhood of $75 - $150.

Some folks have recommended I not exceed 7x (or maybe 8x) because I do not plan on using a tripod, we’ll be hand holding them. They say a higher power is hard to steady without a tripod or bracing yourself against a building or chair.

We’re both 50+ so Exit Pupil size comes into play if I’m reading the messages on the forum properly; too high of a number won’t match up to our eyes very well.

We both wear glasses so a high Eye Relief number would allow us to wear our glasses while using the binocs but we both can focus the current 7x35 binocs just fine without our glasses. As a matter of fact, we normally do NOT wear our glasses when using the binocs but it can be a pain taking the glasses on and off.

There are so many models available I thought maybe I’d just stick with Orion. Their Outsider 8x40 seems a little on the low end (fully coated instead of multi-coated; low eye relief number of 17.8, but a good exit pupil of 5.0), their Scenix 7x50 looks better on paper (some fully coated, some multi-coated, fairly high eye relief of 20, exit pupil of 7.1) and their UltraView 7x50 slightly better than the Scenix on paper (multi-coated, eye relief of 22, exit pupil of 7.1) but they also have “twist-lock eyecups” to improve viewing with glasses.

I read an Orion 8x Shootout review on CN and he actually preferred the cheaper Outsider but thought they were more like 9x being compared to 8x. Also, at 9x it is a ways outside my 7x or 8x self-imposed limit.

Are these specs really that important in a binoc of this price range or am I making a big deal out of nothing?

Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated.

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Orion Skyquest XT12 Intelliscope Dob w/ COL
Celestron G5 on a CG-3 Mount