Hello Folks,
After loosing my old bins on the Lincolnshire Marshes whilst picking samphire, I went shopping for a new pair. I originally owned a pair of Maushaus 8X42 and wanted more power for deer and wildlife spotting.
I decided to go for 10X42 as the increase in power should serve my needs. There is a baffling array of options out the and I went for Bushnell Trophy XLT 10X42 Binocular (realtree camo).
I bought them from www.microglobe.co.uk for £150 here is a link:
http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog...hy-xlt-10x42-binocular-in-realtree-camouflage
I waited about a week before sending a polite reminder to microglobe asking if they were being sent. They came a couple of days after that.
On my first use of the binoculars I went deer watching. It was a fine day in centreparcs woodland whilst on holiday. I was having a gentle walk so it was ideal conditions that shouldn't strain any equipment and I would be able to give it a fair review. Several problems became quickly apparent.
The ocular lens cover is only connected to the neck cord through one attachment. Wearing the neck cord pulls the covers off. There is no way to fix this and it continually happens.
The objective lens covers continually fall open as they do not fit snug enough to hold. I had to repeatedly close them during the walk. I eventually gave up trying to keep them to hold.
On inspection at the end of my walk I found I had lost one of the objective lens covers. This was not a surprise as they continually dropped open as was no doubt snagged on something and pulled off. To top that off I think one of the lenses is now out of alignment as I can no longer get a single image from viewing. I only get two separate images that do not merge to produce a clear single image.
Bear in mind that this is the first time I have used them. I didn't drop them or bang them against anything. I was having a gentle walk in the woods in ideal conditions! My previous binoculars were over a year old before they were lost on the Lincolnshire marshes. There was never any trouble like this. This product has some serious design flaws that must be apparent to anyone who is familiar with binoculars and uses them.
A replacement set isn't appropriate as the design flaws are so bad I think the problems will just repeat themselves unless I patch them up somehow.
I am now in the process of trying to contact microglobe for a refund. Its been over a week and I have sent another email No contact so far but going by reviews this is not an unknown problem. I just checked out some reviews of their company and most rate them badly. I will also be contacting bushnell.
The problem is that there are so many choices for binoculars and so many sellers that its difficult to make an informed decision and easy to get burned.
If there are any sellers or makers out there that want to improve their products I am happy to road test. Considering I spent £150 on something that fell apart in my hands on first use, I am hoping there are people out there that would like to see improvements also.
Now I am down £150 I am reluctant to buy another set for a while. If anyone could recommend a brand and reputable seller I would be interested.
So beware microglobe and Bushnell!!
After loosing my old bins on the Lincolnshire Marshes whilst picking samphire, I went shopping for a new pair. I originally owned a pair of Maushaus 8X42 and wanted more power for deer and wildlife spotting.
I decided to go for 10X42 as the increase in power should serve my needs. There is a baffling array of options out the and I went for Bushnell Trophy XLT 10X42 Binocular (realtree camo).
I bought them from www.microglobe.co.uk for £150 here is a link:
http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog...hy-xlt-10x42-binocular-in-realtree-camouflage
I waited about a week before sending a polite reminder to microglobe asking if they were being sent. They came a couple of days after that.
On my first use of the binoculars I went deer watching. It was a fine day in centreparcs woodland whilst on holiday. I was having a gentle walk so it was ideal conditions that shouldn't strain any equipment and I would be able to give it a fair review. Several problems became quickly apparent.
The ocular lens cover is only connected to the neck cord through one attachment. Wearing the neck cord pulls the covers off. There is no way to fix this and it continually happens.
The objective lens covers continually fall open as they do not fit snug enough to hold. I had to repeatedly close them during the walk. I eventually gave up trying to keep them to hold.
On inspection at the end of my walk I found I had lost one of the objective lens covers. This was not a surprise as they continually dropped open as was no doubt snagged on something and pulled off. To top that off I think one of the lenses is now out of alignment as I can no longer get a single image from viewing. I only get two separate images that do not merge to produce a clear single image.
Bear in mind that this is the first time I have used them. I didn't drop them or bang them against anything. I was having a gentle walk in the woods in ideal conditions! My previous binoculars were over a year old before they were lost on the Lincolnshire marshes. There was never any trouble like this. This product has some serious design flaws that must be apparent to anyone who is familiar with binoculars and uses them.
A replacement set isn't appropriate as the design flaws are so bad I think the problems will just repeat themselves unless I patch them up somehow.
I am now in the process of trying to contact microglobe for a refund. Its been over a week and I have sent another email No contact so far but going by reviews this is not an unknown problem. I just checked out some reviews of their company and most rate them badly. I will also be contacting bushnell.
The problem is that there are so many choices for binoculars and so many sellers that its difficult to make an informed decision and easy to get burned.
If there are any sellers or makers out there that want to improve their products I am happy to road test. Considering I spent £150 on something that fell apart in my hands on first use, I am hoping there are people out there that would like to see improvements also.
Now I am down £150 I am reluctant to buy another set for a while. If anyone could recommend a brand and reputable seller I would be interested.
So beware microglobe and Bushnell!!
