Customer Reviews

Cstar Spy-Scope 8x20 Monocular

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Answer to the Title Question: the one that you have onhand.

I like to carry "optics" when I travel (touring), when I go out into the wild (for sights and birding), and I would always have some optics on me when I go tactical (like on my rifle, separately, or specialized, like NVGs). After messing around with various designs, magnifications, sizes, weights, and extra features, like lens coatings, I finally decided that the most practical utility vs. weight-size ratio was in the 8 X 21 or 8 X 20 compact monocular design. For me it's about the perfect balance of practicality, cost and portability/deployability... afterall, you may have the best $1000 Zeiss optics in the world, but if it's sitting in it's protective case deep in your backpack... well, it ain't doin' you any good. So it was for me. I carried around various nice (read: expensive) binoculars and spotting scopes for years, dutifully packed away in my pack, or the exterior side pocket of my pack, or on my belt in a holster, or as this huge 2.5 pound anchor around my neck. But really what I wanted was the ability to quickly get a closer, clearer view of something (birds, terrain features, points of interest) mainly for confirmation. In fact, sometimes it was just to scope out a street sign when I was navigating. Through the years I downsized to more practical sizes, and finally, I ended up with 8 X 20 monocular as my most practical solution.

With my monocular in a quickly accessible mini-pouch on my packstrap, I can whip out my optics in like 3 seconds and be already focusing in whatever object caught my eye, while my friends are still digging around in packs for their binoculars or more often, not even bothering to take the trouble. And just as quickly, I can put it back into it's case and be hiking. I'll tell you, it's made a world of difference to me.... seeing things more closely, at will, conveniently and quickly.

It's true the field of view for this monocular is limited. It simply is not large enough (diameter) to pull in a whole lot of light, so forget about low-light or night viewing (that's not to say that I haven't enjoyed some stargazing or looking at the moon with this scope). And, as has been pointed out, it's not even the best ergonomic design for focusing (without practice). But, for me, it's a functional, utilitarian design and the decent pricing makes it a device that I don't terribly fret about damaging. As a matter of fact, I have 3 and I've only destroyed 1 (so far) and parted it out for repairs.

There are many nice monocular designs out there. All I'm saying is that this one works for me.... cheap, practical, functional.

I purchased this unit to keep in my car for fast spotting. Its compact and very easy to focus. Person with big fingers will have problems. Its only good for day time and general spotting. The magnifacation is not much, but the view is pretty clear for such an inexpensive unit. I use a monocular over a binocular because I have trouble setting up the view without having double vision. This unit is fast to spot objects and easy to focus but not to strong, so I would only recommend it for emergency.

Kevin Sato

I volunteer at The Living Desert in CA and do nature walks with adults and children, this small scope is easy to carry and has really helped me bring birds and animals up close and personal. I would not recommend for use with small children because you need a steady hand to really get a good view, much better than carrying bulky bino's for fun use.

I'll admit it's overall size was smaller then expected. But, it gets the job done. I'm a visually impaired person and my eye sight is less then 1/10 of a normal person with 20-20. With this I was able to just about read a license plate across the street about 80 feet away. Which if you understand vision strengths you'll realize that's a HUGE difference in visual capability.

I did score this product a 3 star rating though. The reasons being. It is a bit small and the eye releif isn't the greatest for me and I'd expect not for other visually impaired buyers. But when you get your eye at the right spot it works great for it's power. You can definitely operate it with only 1 hand. The case in comes with isn't bad either. This product is really a 3.5 star product but there is no half stars on this site.I would definitely recommend this product for it's price to other people with a visual disability for the same reason I intend to use it. When you can't read a sign or a menu over head at a place like subway. Or if you travel a lot and can't read the signs that guide you through the air port too well this will certainly get the job done.

monocular arrived, obviously used, not new as advertised, and the lens was cracked. this damage obstructs the view. since the product in question is a monocular, it would reason that this one crack, in this one lens, on this not-new piece of merchandise, truly degrades its use and function. had the product not been damaged, i would give cstar spy-scope two stars, as it is greatly overpriced considering what a simple, small device you're getting (and thats for folks who actually receive a new, undamaged monocular.) return was super-easy

My first impression was it was smaller than I expected. So small in fact that it's somewhat awkward to hold. You just have to find what's most comfortable. Attaching a wrist lanyard will help you from dropping it as I did once already.
For such an inexpensive product the magnification and view are very clear. No noticeable distortion around the edges like other cheap optics.
This will be great for sporting events, etc. It's feather light and will fit in a pocket easily or on a cord around your neck without being bothersome.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Great for concerts, bird watching, anywhere you would take binoculars, but light and fits in the palm of your hand.