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Winter nightmares.... (1 Viewer)

Binoseeker

Binoseeker

Mostly using spectacles (myopic) with binoculars.
Have you done the overnight freezer test (OFT ;-) on a bino and got disappointing results that you would like to share?

I did it on the Viking 6.5x32 MD, the focuser was very hard to turn. My freezer had an internal temperature of -18°C (-0.4 Farenheit)
I don't recommend the bino at all for wintertime use. The bin manufacturer should advertise focuser cold temperature performance in the specifications...
maybe there is a standard for this :smoke:

Cheers,

Anders
 
Binoseeker said:
Have you done the overnight freezer test (OFT ;-) on a bino and got disappointing results that you would like to share?

I did it on the Viking 6.5x32 MD, the focuser was very hard to turn. My freezer had an internal temperature of -18°C (-0.4 Farenheit)
I don't recommend the bino at all for wintertime use. The bin manufacturer should advertise focuser cold temperature performance in the specifications...
maybe there is a standard for this :smoke:

Cheers,

Anders
Click to expand...

Keep it just inside your coat where you can reach it.
 
I actually employ both the techniques mentioned above. I usually carry my binos over my insulating layer but under my goretex layer. I also usually set my binos at the hyper focal point as well, can't often get very close to the birds with the foliage gone from the trees and don't often see my favorite close up subjects (butterflies) in the winter.;)

Steve
 
I think most binos except Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss(?) and to some extent the more expensive Nikons get pretty stiff in temperatures below the freezing point. Porros are worse than roofs, in my experience.

I once tried to use a Swift HHS at about -30°C, and I don't think I could have turned the focus barrel even with a crowbar. Not like you want to hang around watching birds in that weather anyway... the eyepieces got fogged up just by looking at them.
 
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Even in wintertime, I usually don’t want to lift my spectacles and look directly with my eyes into the oculars every time I want to look at a bird. Having spectacles/glasses between the ocular lens and the eye might make it a bit more difficult to fog up the ocular lens, at least concerning humidity coming from the eyes, which might be a problem if you are jamming the eyecups into your eye sockets and look too long time.

Of course you and I need to keep the bin warm if the manufacturer failed the design….and we still want to focus as normal.

The OFT is nothing I recommend you to do with non-waterproof bins if the humidity in the surrounding air is high, I guess you might get condensation internally if humid air comes in, specially if you turn the focuser on, for example most porros, and air goes in/out of the bin. This has been discussed earlier in a thread but then about mould/fungus inside bins if I remember correctly.

Well the thread title should have read “Winter nightmares and dreams” of course, it is also interesting to know bins passing the OFT…..:t:

Anders
 
Cold weather use...another excellent reason to buy an alpha roof. Perhaps that's why so many game pursuers buy alphas.
 
I just remembered that Allbinos made some serious testing of sub zero performance (-22°C) in their endurance test here: http://www.allbinos.com/18.2-binocu...est_of_8x42_binoculars_Testing_procedure.html
Please visit their website for more in depth analysis of cold performance.

So I have made a list using what I have read here and on the web about focuser performance in cold, tested at, for now, -18°C and -22°C :

Good sub zero focuser performance
Alpen Optics Rainier 8x42 HD ED
Bushnell Elite 8x42 ED
Carl Zeiss Victory 8x42 FL T*
Docter 8x42 ED
Leica Geovid 8x42 HD-M
Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD
Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Swarovision


Good sub zero focuser performance, but first after some initial turning of the focuser
Kowa BD42-8 8x42
Pentax DCF ED 8x43


Acceptable sub zero focuser performance
Opticron Countryman 8x42 BGA T
Nikon HG 8x42 DCF
Nikon EDG 8x42
Steiner Ranger Pro 8x42
Tasco Essentials 8x42
Vixen New Foresta HR 8x42


Bad to very bad sub zero focuser performance
Delta Optical Forest II 8x42
Delta Optical Titanium 8x42
Fujinon 8x42 MF
Olympus EXPS I 8x42
ZEN ED2 8x43
Viking 6.5x32 MD
Swift HHS


Anders
 
You can ad Leica Ultravid 8x20 to the good list and Opticron SR.GA 8x32 (porro) to the (very) bad list.
 
Equally or more important is to have gloves or mittens that allow manipulation of the focussing dial. There are various solutions for this, but one of the best is the mitten design that folds back to expose the fingertips. If you pay more, you can also get fingertip protection, non-slip palms and fingers, and other features including the conductive ability to use touch screens.
 
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An update...


Good sub zero focuser performance
Alpen Optics Rainier 8x42 HD ED
Bushnell Elite 8x42 ED
Carl Zeiss Victory 8x42 FL T*
Carl Zeiss monocular 8x30 B
Docter 8x42 ED
Leica Geovid 8x42 HD-M
Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD
Leica Ultravid 8x20
Leica 8x32 BN http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1491368&postcount=8
Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Swarovision
Nikon LX 10x25 http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2018275&postcount=13
Zen Ray Prime HD http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2504993&postcount=261


Good sub zero focuser performance, but first after some initial turning of the focuser
Kowa BD42-8 8x42
Pentax DCF ED 8x43


Acceptable sub zero focuser performance
Opticron Countryman 8x42 BGA T
Nikon HG 8x42 DCF
Nikon EDG 8x42
Steiner Ranger Pro 8x42
Tasco Essentials 8x42
Vixen New Foresta HR 8x42


Bad to very bad sub zero focuser performance
Delta Optical Forest II 8x42
Delta Optical Titanium 8x42
Fujinon 8x42 MF
Olympus EXPS I 8x42
ZEN ED2 8x43
Zen-Ray 8x42 ED http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1912304&postcount=15
Zen Ray 7x36 ED II
Viking 6.5x32 MD
Swift HHS
Sightron Blue Sky SII 8x32
Nikon SE 8x32 http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2018275&postcount=13
Nikon EII 10x35
Leupold Cascade porro 8x42
Bushnell Custom 7x26
Bushnell Custom 7x35
B&L Zephyr 7x35
Opticron SR.GA 8x32 (porro) http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=2795632&postcount=9
 
As a contrast, I (of course) have to mention the Fury 6.5x32. In January 2012, the weather was very cold here, pretty much like the freezer. A Dusky Warbler was observed for about a week at Getterön but it wasn't all that easy to find.
The virtues of the Fury, in particular the smooth and easy focus, were really helpful the day when I finally managed to see it.

//L
 
LS, that sounds great.... then I should put the Fury on the "Good" part of the list..was the bin completely frozen solid so to speak? If you are not sure, just do the OFT ;)


I just picked out my Leupold BX-4 McKinley HD 8x42 from the freezer...it was -21°C, I was surprised since I could barely move the focuser so it will end up on the "bad" part of the list...

Well, I am totally baffled that Leupold that sells stuff for military use, which must include sub zero use, didn't bother to put in the right grease in the McKinley...how much did they earn using that bad grease instead, it must be a very small amount of grease in a bin...small earnings, how cheap is that... Stiff focuser on that kind of product is a lot of badwill....in my mind. I will think twice before buying a leupold product again.

Anders
 
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Binoseeker said:
LS, that sounds great.... then I should put the Fury on the "Good" part of the list..was the bin completely frozen solid so to speak? If you are not shure, just do the OFT ;)


I just picked out my Leupold BX-4 McKinley HD 8x42 from the freezer...it was -21°C, I was surprised since I could barely move the focuser so it will end up on the "bad" part of the list...

Well, I am totally baffled that Leupold that sells stuff for military use, which must include sub zero use, didn't bother to put in the right grease in the McKinley...how much did they earn using that bad grease instead, it must be a very small amount of grease in a bin...small earnings, how cheap is that... Stiff focuser on that kind of product is a lot of badwill....in my mind. I will think twice before buying a leupold product again.

Anders
Click to expand...

Right now, and also historically, the world's military is focussed on well known places in the middle east and South Asia. As a rule there is never much consideration given to the possibility of cold weather military necessities, so the bin company in question is no exception.

EDIT: I suppose I should mention that true, specially made, dedicated-purpose military bins will operate under any conditions on earth and probably beyond. But you don't want to have to pay for them.
 
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Binoseeker said:
LS, that sounds great.... then I should put the Fury on the "Good" part of the list..was the bin completely frozen solid so to speak? If you are not shure, just do the OFT ;)


I just picked out my Leupold BX-4 McKinley HD 8x42 from the freezer...it was -21°C, I was surprised since I could barely move the focuser so it will end up on the "bad" part of the list...

Well, I am totally baffled that Leupold that sells stuff for military use, which must include sub zero use, didn't bother to put in the right grease in the McKinley...how much did they earn using that bad grease instead, it must be a very small amount of grease in a bin...small earnings, how cheap is that... Stiff focuser on that kind of product is a lot of badwill....in my mind. I will think twice before buying a leupold product again.

Anders
Click to expand...


I never tried or had a Leupold product I didn't like. I had to return one of their now discontinued 6 x 32's because of a problem in it's left objective tube but that was resolved OK. Their little Yosemites are great, I have one of the first ones made. They ended up creating a small business in clones of them being made by other companies. My 7 x 42 BX-2 Cascade is a fine binocular. Both of these are inexpensive. I don't think that Leupold sells binoculars to the military that don't meet their specifications. Individual focusing would likely be indicated in most military specifications.

On the civilian side; if the job my binocular had to do was so important that loose, warm clothing wouldn't be sufficient to keep it working in cold conditions I would do what was necessary and would contact a company that makes Alphas and ask them if they could "winterize" one of their binoculars for me. Leica will do things like that. I'd bet that Swarovski and Zeiss would too.

Bob
 
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I normally use a porro for my birding duties but of course porros that focus in the conventional method ( movement of the ocular bridge) are notorious for stiffening up in cold weather. Of my four roofs (8x42 Geovid, 7x42 EDG, 6x32 Viper HD, and 8x42 FL) the Geovid is the stand out performer in cold weather as far as ease of focussing.

If I remember correctly the top tier Leicas use teflon discs and very little lubrication, in other words they are already "winterized" from the factory. I use my Geovid on the job for its range finding feature and often use it early on cold winter mornings before the truck interior has even warmed up and the Geovid focusses just as easily under these conditions as during warm weather.

I've also used my FL in very cold weather and the focus requires just the smallest amount of extra effort compared to warmer weather to achieve the Zeiss norm, i.e. very smooth in both directions and very fast. I've used my EDG only a very few times in cold weather but I don't remember any glaring faults so it must be fine. My Viper Hd is a fairly recent acquisition and I don't remember having used it in harsh winter conditions yet.

Steve
 
Steve, the Viper 8x32 HD is a bin that has got a lot of BF attention. Please, put it in the freezer and let us know the result.

Bob, please put your WP bins in the freezer also...and let us know. This is what this thread is about... focuser tension on a "frozen" bin...

I understand that people that have a bin that is not cutting the "frozen" mustard must be keeping it under the clothes. :smoke:

Thanks,

Anders
 
Ruff,

Since you are Canadian and I am Swedish we are subjected to sub zero temperatures a lot.

I am not fond of opening my clothes wintertime to move either the bin or the mustard in and out when the mercury is dropping...|=)|

Anders
 
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