Bushnell 120150 Legacy WP 10 x 50 Binocular

I've been using these almost every day (birding) for about a year now and I love them. I'm not ready to lay down several hundred dollars for some nicer ones so I chose these. They're waterproof, fog-resistant, multi-coated, and fairly wide field for this magnification. I couldn't be more pleased with the optics. I looked at different binocs for a few days on the interenet before coming up with these. I feel like they are the best quality product for this price range.

I am not new to the world of binoculars. I have a pair of vintage Bushnell 7X26 Custom Compact porro prism binoculars that were the reference standard of compact binos for many years. They are the iteration with the aluminum Bausch & Lomb bodies that were chosen by NASA for the U.S. Space Program. I also have some vintage Bushnell Explorer 7x35 and 7x50 porro's that still go for a premium on eBay. All three binos have camera quality optics and were ruggedly constructed. I bought each bino new between 20 and 30+ years ago. Each remains so precisely collimated that they can still resolve Venus down to a well-defined oval and only the brightest stars show any spiking. I also have a pair of Swift Audubon HR/5 8.5X44 Gold Dot porro binos that are my primary birders. Their reputation for crepuscular excellence is legend among birders. They are brighter and reveal more detail than nearly all but the most expensive binos in low-light conditions. Of my dozen or so binos these four pair have been for the most part my go-to porro binos over the years. I also have a compact "roof" prism bino purchased a couple of years ago that I am partial to when I travel. My Bushnell Custom Compacts have now taken their place on my memento shelf where they will wait until the day I give them to my grandson. Each bino represents money well spent. Very well spent in my opinion. Even a blind squirrel can find an acorn once and a while.

With that said, recently I may have found the best "Bino for the Buck" in its category with the Bushnell Legacy WP 8X42 porro prism bino. WP as in Weather Proof. O-ring sealed, Nitrogen filled, Bak 4 premium prisms, fully multicoated optics, and rubber armored they are great for any kind of weather. A hot and humid and/or rainy day of birdwatching, or a cold winter night of stargazing. At a maximum price of $150 I could not find a porro prism bino with more features or better specifications at my local Sporting Goods SuperStore. Their most obvious competition was a pair of Nikon Action EX 8X40 binos. This though the Nikons cost nearly twice as much at the time. I am not here to put down the Nikons. They are real binos worth real money. But after taking a close look at both I came to the conclusion that the Bushnell Legacy WP is the better of the two. Much better in my opinion.

I found the Bushnell Legacy WP bino to be optically superior to the Nikon Action EX bino. I was a bit surprised. I had assumed they would be about the same with a possible edge going to the Nikons. I was wrong. After some back and forth between the two for a week or so it became obvious to me that the Bushnell was the superior of the two. The Bushnell has much less glare in the bright of day. A lot less ghosting when looking at bright objects like the moon. Better contrast as well. I found the Nikons after just a brief period of use... tiring to my eyes. Far more so than the Bushnells. After closer inspection of the specifications for both binoculars I found where though the Bushnell' optics are "fully" multi-coated the Nikon's are simply "multi-coated". This is code for one or more of the surfaces of the Nikon's optics having only a single anti-reflection coating. Between these two binos I can easily see the difference "fully" multi-coated can make... I am left wondering what other cost-cutting measures Nikon might have taken. Perhaps the advertised magnesium fluoride coating on the Bushnell's optics is better than the unnamed coating on the Nikon's? Whatever the case, the Bushnell's optics are superior to the Nikon's. I returned the Nikons.

Then there are the little things:

The Bushnells felt better balanced to me. Stand them upright on their objective lens and they sit like a rock. The Nikons "want" to fall over. This though the fullsize Nikon Action EX weighs 107 grams, nearly 4 ounces, more than the midsize Bushnell Legacy. The Bushnells are solid and well balanced without being overly large or heavy. Very well made considering their price.

The lens barrels of the Bushnells lay against my chest with four pressure points as opposed to the Nikon's two. The Bushnells are easier on me and they don't move around as much. Overall I find the Bushnells to be more ergonomic than the Nikons.

The twist-up Bushnell eye-cups lock-in fairly tight. Set 'em and pretty much forget 'em. Though the Nikon's eye-cups have more detent settings what is the point if they won't stay put?

I barely had to adjust the diopter setting on the Bushnells which matched up well with my other go-to binos. But I had to go almost as far as I could with the Nikons. This could be just a poorly constructed pair of Nikons, stuff happens. But I thought I should mention it. I have 20/25 vision. My 20/10 days are behind me. If I had even just a little bit more than a slight astigmatism I don't believe the Nikons would have been usable by me at all without prescription glasses on. Both binos have sufficient eye relief for wearing glasses with a slight edge going to the Bushnells. Both share similar fields of view.

The lens caps on the Bushnells are not perfect but they do have a more supple feel and go on and stay on better than the Nikons's. The Bushnell's lens caps feel more like rubber while the Nikon's feel more like plastic.

If you have narrow set eyes you can probably forget about the Nikon Action EX bino. At their closest setting my wife still could not integrate the views from the two barrels. The Bushnell Legacy WP bino fits both wide and narrow faces. Young and old alike. Male or female.

For you birders the close focus on the Bushnell is about 12 feet. The Nikon about 16.

Bottom Line:

After a fairly close look at both binos I found the Nikon Action EX not to be in the same league as the Bushnell Legacy WP. In my opinion this Bushnell bino is a very good buy at anything less than $150. At $65 I almost felt guilty. Almost. Thank you Bushnell. Thank you Amazon.

PS: In my opinion both bino's accompanying straps leave something to be desired. Comfort. I replaced mine with the Bushnell Deluxe Binocular Harness for $15. I should mention that a more traditional strap like the Vero Vellini Slip Proof Binocular Strap is easier to attach and simpler to use than a Harness. The Vero from Amazon is about the same price as the Bushnell Harness. Some of the more rotund men and many ladies prefer straps over harnesses. To each his or her own.

PSS: This review was specifically for the Legacy WP 8x42 fixed bino. I have owned Zoom type binoculars and would not recommend their type to anyone as a general purpose bino. Zooms are strictly niche binos. It can be very difficult to hand hold anything over 10x steady enough to remain useful and no matter the brand or the model compromises are made in Zoom binos. That said... just about any binocular beats no binocular.

I concur with the basic company review which lists the many great features to this Binoc. I find these guys have always made great quality equip. The lenses are always good and on these they pick up and use low level light well for their size. I compare them in the store against several other makes in this class and thought these worked best for the money.

The zoom is pretty good, good enough (on full zoom) you won't use it much because it's hard to hold still enough on the subject, that's the only down side I can say about these. I've seen these same ones retail for almost $200 elsewhere.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars