Today is the first day of meteorological spring, according to the weatherman, though astronomical spring (calendar spring) is still a few weeks, away. Yes, spring fever is spreading in this part of the world, though we still have enough snow on the ground for me to ski on a daily basis, and that is a good thing, as far as I am concerned. I, myself am in no hurry to give up all my cross-country skiing, though I won’t be too upset to see some green grass and spring flowers.
With spring in the air, though, Bill and I have been thinking, ahead, to our western states road trip in August and making a list of all the gear we will need. The list includes the usual assortment of
camping gear, of course, since this will be a camping trip. The list definitely includes all our cameras, both
digital cameras and film cameras, not to mention Bill’s camcorders. As for optics, I am still undecided as to whether to pack one of our
spotting scopes and one of our
tripods, given we do not have an excess of room in our Toyota Camry, though I suspect I will find a way to pack it along. Lastly, although I have plenty of compact binoculars, I have been considering a full size binocular to use from the vehicle when we spot some wildlife out in the distance and want a better look.
Compact binoculars have a tendency to disappear in Bill’s big hands and are simply not as comfortable to use as full size binoculars and, since these binoculars will be used from a vehicle, weight will not be much of an issue. Then, too, even a full size binocular is more compact than a spotting scope and a tripod.
I have also decided to try some
individual focus binoculars, since a good IF binocular makes for quick and easy views with no need to mess with a focusing knob. I am sure Bill will appreciate that. So, which IF binocular? My favorite, at this point, is a
Fujinon Polaris F-SX 10x50. Optics are superb and, it is surprisingly compact for a 10x50 porro prism binocular. I am tempted to even consider a 12x binocular, but Bill and I are not exactly spring chickens and a 10x binocular is about all we can steady, well. Going to a 12x or higher magnification binocular would mean putting it on a tripod or window mount and that defeats the purpose of an easy to use, convenient binocular.