Explorer 12X50 High Powered Monoculars

Great for hunting: I purchased the Explorer for use during the elk and deer hunt in Utah this year - we hunt in rugged, high altitudes and I wanted to shed some weight. The explorer worked great; the 50mm primary gathers enough light that you can scan far ridges and distant meadows well before and after legal shooting light. The 12x power is plenty of power for ID-ing the general size of bucks and bulls at ~1000yds, but not for scoring at that distance. The focus has a lot of variance, giving you great control of focusing at different distances - I think the amount of play in the dial is a bonus, but others feel that it takes too many turns to get dialed in, so take your preferences into account. FYSA these are not Swarovskis, and at this price we shouldn't expect them to be able to compete with such clarity. So yes, while you can focus these very well and get a nice view, they aren't as crisp and jaw dropping as other optics I've used. However, their portability and functionality made them the go-to glass with all the hunters in my group. We...ah...don't own any Swarovski glass, but they did replace my Wind Rivers, and for the weight/functionality, I will not be going back. Hints: 1) We found holding them focus ring down and dialing the focus ring with your thumb to be the most comfortable way to hold these. 2) Why the rear eyepiece cover doesn't come with a lanyard like the front one does I don't know, but I just took some 5/50 and tied it to the front lanyard where it secures around the tube. Both covers then fall down in a straight line away from your hands when viewing, and are easy to find and reattach without taking your eyes off your subject. 3) While the case is fairly rugged, the belt strap is not - after only a few days on my belt I could see the stitching coming loose. So before heading to the mountains I'd recommend some superglue and some double stitching. If you have more time/talent, remove the belt loop entirely and attach a new, wider one out of better materials. These do fit fine in most jacket pockets, but I preferred using the case so that I didn't have to keep moving it around when I shed or donned layers. 4) The small tripod that comes with this is nice, but it's really only useful when you can set it on the hood of your truck or something else that's kinda high and flat. For those times you're in your blind or stand, I'd recommend buying something taller and more adjustable. The mount takes standard photography heads, so I'm thinking of something like the Fotomate CT15-8C tripod for my next trip. 5) For long duration scanning, cover your non-dominate eye with something to keep it from getting strained. I would just pull my beanie down, or switch eyes. These are pretty standard tactics for use with other, similar optics like a spotting scopes.

Incredible optics!! I am a Bowhunter, need field view far and wide. I purchased this by accident and Called to cancel it right away, because...ended up ordering a Eyesky 10X42 instead due to a lifetime warranty, IT STILL CAME IN!!! I am glad that it did. IT receives the light much better evening with starlight/moon in the night, but it IS NOT night optics. I must say, that this has much better optics, much better vision clarity by far than the Eyesky one. Note: the Polaris is a 12X50. Eyesky 10x50. I am still kinda experiencing HOW it is using a monocular,...no harm done to keep both,....because the Eyesky has a lifetime warranty. Still have to say, that the outer quality of workmanship is much better quality. Just the feel of using and in hand it fits my small hand quite comfortably, and material wise, like more quality synthetic rubber than that of the Eyesky. I am a bow hunter, using only my dominant eye contacts usually, makes focusing my great Arcadia Binoculars by Leopold a bit lopsided but because of the wind that dries out my eyes that cuts my day out shorter, I can now use both contacts and know I can rest one or the other eye...using only one to view. The eye relief is much better than the eyesky... that perhaps I will now return the eyesky. The Polaris is great handling, little stiff focusing, but it loosens with a tad bit of lube ( clipper oil, or WD40) it focuses quickly farther than closer and getting used

All I can say is "WOW"! I didn't expect this much clarity from such a small device. I live in rural New Hampshire and picked this up to enhance my hikes in and around the hills and mountains. This is way better than my high quality binoculars that I have carried in the past. It's far more compact. Ideal if you are into bird watching, which is one of the things this monocular is designed for. This comes with a small tripod, but I would recommend setting it up on a normal sized tripod for added stability. You can even purchase an adapter that enables you to hook up your smartphone to take either video or photographs of what you are observing. This monocular is NOT a night vision device, even though it comes up as one on the Amazon sight, there is a strong disclaimer about it being used for that purpose. My guess is people have not properly done their research and expected a night vision device. I could see this being of great benefit to any hunters out there. I was blown away by the clarity of this monocular and would recommend this to anyone.