Customer Reviews

Minox High Grade 8.5x43 Binocular

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

 

 

These are 5-star binoculars, probably the best for the money out there, at the price I bought them at, and probably still worth it (more on the $ later). The eye relief settings are indexed, the dioptic adjustment locks, they feel very well-made without being too heavy, and most importantly, they are very bright and sharp. The field of view is a little limited compared to others in this range, but I knew that before I bought them and that is the only reason I subtracted a star.

The annoying part is that Amazon took these fairly expensive binoculars and threw them in a much bigger box, with a 455-page book, and zero packing materials. The outer box was broken open during shipping, the Minox box was dented, and the book has a broken binding.

Luckily the binoculars themselves appear to be undamaged, as the price is now about $150 more than what I paid a week ago. While Amazon has a great return policy, they don't do exchanges. I will return the book and order another copy rather than try to repair the binding with rubber cement. Minox includes a limited 30-day warranty with this product, so that is reassuring.

UPDATE (less than 90 days after purchase): Sure enough, I just had to send them in to Minox USA to get a "ghosting" problem repaired, and I can only hope they do it under the warranty, as it appears to be the European, not the American, warranty. So I hope they do not treat it as a "grey market" product, but I can see why the price went up over $200!

Not to "beat a dead horse" or anything, but it really surprises me that Amazon would be so careless with the packing of fine optics for shipment, when they usually over-pack (a good thing) paperback books and other cheap, hard-to-damage items that ship by themselves. If I had to do it again, I would definitely order the field guide separate from the binoculars.

UPDATE #2: Minox did indeed repair the glasses without a fuss, and I have noticed that Amazon has improved the way it packages things lately across the board. Also I got them much cheaper than they are selling for now, so no complaints on the grey-market aspect. Amazon did replace the broken book as well, so kudos to them but I would have rather have avoided the whole repair/replace thing altogether.