Waterproof binoculars

One day brings rain, the next snow and then there are days with freezing drizzle and freezing rain. This is life in the north country, this time of year as fall slowly gives way to winter. Can’t imagine having birding binoculars or even compact binoculars that are not waterproof as I prowl the woods in search of birds. Fortunately, the vast majority of binoculars on the market, today, are waterproof binoculars, but this was not always the case.

Waterproofing, like so many other advances in binocular design, was a binocular feature that was first available only on the most expensive binoculars, but, thanks to the dynamics of mass production, it eventually trickled its way down to ever lower price points in the binocular market. You can now get binoculars even in the “under $100” category that are waterproof and some also have full-multi-coating and even phase corrected prisms.

Okay, you live in a dry climate. Do you really need waterproof binoculars? Actually, yes, waterproof binoculars are still a good idea, even in the driest of climates. The seals that make a binocular waterproof also do a great job of making a binocular dust proof and resistant to internal fogging caused by drastic changes in temperature, as occurs in many deserts from day to night. Waterproofing is more than just for wet climates. For example, I’ve been birdwatching under conditions so dusty that I had to empty my pockets of dust at the end of the day, but, thanks to the waterproof binoculars I was carrying, all I had to do to clean them was hold the binoculars under a light stream of water from a faucet. That only works with waterproof binoculars.