Simmons Masters (1 Viewer)

[the_handy_andy]

Are the Simmons Masters any good?

Someone on ebay has them for £99 inc p&p

 

[FrankD]

Never heard of that particular model. In all honesty the Simmons name isn't held with too much regard in my neck of the woods. It is one of those sad by-products of producing sub-$50 roof prism bins.

 

[mooreorless]

Frank, Simmons used to have a presidential series of porro prism binoculars and the 12x50 I tried was very good. This was at Grice Gun Shop Clearfield Pa.
I never heard of the Simmons Masters.
Regards,Steve

 

[FrankD]

Hmm, interesting Steve. That is truly the first positive comment I have heard about them. It does ring a bell though in comparison to a Tasco model I remember reading about. My opinion of a majority of Tasco products is very similar to that of the Simmons though I do remember one, World Class, or something similar that performed quite well.

There is always one solid product out there in every manufacturer's lineup. The fun part can often be finding it.

 

[chris lewis]

Yes I have used the Simmons Master 8x42 roof over the past 3x months. It is actually a reasonable 'middle of the range' bino. It offers a a decent 60 degree Afov. [The 10x has a 65 degree Afov]. Optically there are no serious distortions or aberrations. Deterioration of field - field curvature - is noted from about 70% out to edge but most of the image is still useable. There is very mild barrel distortion. The image is bright. The lens are F.M.C. Contrast and color fidelity is very acceptable. It has a precise 'micro click' eye cup adjustment and build quality is good. I believe however it does not have phase corrected prisms - the specs do not actually indicate this however. It is Bosma sourced.
I have used other binos from the Simmons range including a lower spec. 12x50 'Wilderness' - this however had noted aberrations and optically it was not acceptable. This bino was sent back.
Whilst I am on 'unaceptable' binoculars I recently viewed through a Barska 'Atlantic' 12x50 roof binocular - this dispalyed every know optical aberration know to man kind - the view was just totally distorted - like looking thru Cola Cola bottles ! That was sent back pronto.
Anyways - back to the Simmons Masters- yes they are a usable and optically reasonably efficient bino and should be looked at as a acceptable 'middle of the range' roof esp. if you can get one at a discounted price.

Chris
New Zealand

http://www.simmonsoptics.com/Binoculars_MS.htm

 

[Prestdj]

i just got a pair of simmons master series 8x42 for £40 on ebay thay are actually quite nice very light in weight and a nice bright sharp image, fov is good at around 388ft
they focus really close at just over a 1m

for 40 quid im happy to use them as a work pair of binoculars and would be great for flowers dragonflies etc

 

[BigDave13]

i just got a pair of simmons master series 8x42 for £40 on ebay thay are actually quite nice very light in weight and a nice bright sharp image, fov is good at around 388ft
they focus really close at just over a 1m

for 40 quid im happy to use them as a work pair of binoculars and would be great for flowers dragonflies etc

I have some of these (dark blue colour) and they look very very similar to another company's HDX bin's. I find them great and other people that have used them have been shocked by the view - in a good way. I have lots of mid-range binoculars and the Simmons ones are still my "Go to" ones!