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best lightweight Binoculars/compact binocluars for Safari?

KATSCAN2119

Hi, I am off to SA Elegant Safari in few months. Can anyone recommend the BEST or highly recommended Lightweight/ or Compact binoculars for best Viewing on Safari? I appreciate all advice from those who has done Safari!

Thanks!
Katscan2119

Comments

AshvEd

We did this trip last year and both of us used Nikon Travelite III (9x25 5.6 degree) binoculars. Very light, compact and bright optics. We generally got quite close to the animals while on safari and high power binoculars were not necessary. You will love this adventure.

KATSCAN2119

Hello AshEd, Thank you for your quick response! I could not fnd the Nikon Travelite III Binoculars on Amazon. Perhaps you purchased them elsewhere? Did you purchase them last year for the safari? I have seen the Nikon 10x 25, but not 9x25. Please Advise?

In addiiton, may I ask you to send me what information you may have on the Winery tours, or free day trips in Cape Town?
Were you able to go out to Robbin's island( pre tour)?

Thanks, Katscan2119

AshvEd

We purchased ours 3-4 years ago. It looks like they have newer models V and VI and are 8x25 and 10x25. The first number is the magnification and I would probably opt for the 10x25 if buying new ones today. They look very similar to ours.

We were the last tour that Tauck took to Robbin Island. It was a nice visit and helps one to better understand parts of the Apartheid times. You will have additional experiences around Apartheid in Johannesburg.

Regarding free time in Cape Town we did a one day trip to the wine lands with Hank Dairies and his company is called Ulungele Tours. We visited four wineries, had lunch, and saw the prison where Mandela walked from to his freedom. We also did a half day tour to several Townships with a non-profit called Uthando. It was an amazing and inspiring experience.

Ken from Vegas

The "best" binoculars might not be the best for you. Leica and Zeiss make some incredible binoculars (and camera lenses), but some of the prices would shock most people (i.e. thousands of dollars). Nikon makes very good ones in a reasonable price ranges (like $200-400) and for me that would be the best choice.

There are trade offs in size , power and price to consider. If you have a good specialty camera store in your area (harder to come by these days), I would go there. You can get expert advice and try out various models. If you don't, I would call a good online camera retailer (or two - like adorama.com or bandhphoto.com) and ask for advice. They should have experts that will help you narrow your choices.

Good luck and happy travels.

British

We take Binoculars on most of our tours and on all of our five Africa trips we have taken. They are very useful to us. I’m not technical about them at all, and leave that to my husband who has used binoculars since childhood, but they do the trick, cost about $50 and are compact and waterproof. Some people say binoculars are unnecessary. If you think you may never use them again, then I suggest being caution about spending big time on binoculars for maybe a onetrip use.