I brought my pair of Nikon Monarch Binoculars about four months ago and I fell in love with them straight away. I brought them mainly for bird watching, and as I wanted a good pair of binoculars I spent quite a bit of time researching. They have a really nice feel are well balanced and weigh only 689grams with the strap on! I've even dropped them once on concrete and there was no damage done.

I recently took them with me when I went on safari in Kenya. They were excellent for viewing animals at a distance from the safety of our jeep. Without these binoculars the trip would not have been half as good. The optic quality of the Nikon monarch binoculars is so good that I could pick out the features on people's faces in a distant village when I was looking into the sun.

My father-in-law, also an avid birdwatcher, thinks these are the best binoculars you can use. He has invited me along on almost all of his trips ever since I got them. The quality of these binoculars is fantastic for the small price you pay. If you want to the top class pair of Nikon binoculars you could easily expect to pay over $2000, but you would be heartbroken if you lost or damaged them. I would not lose any sleep if I lost my new Nikon monarchs as they are affordably replaceable.

I always point out to people that the optic technology is moving so fast, all the $2000 binoculars will be less than 500 in a matter of years.

There was lunar eclipse last week, and I had a chance to try out my Nikon monarch's at night. There was a group of us who went out off the city to get a good view of the eclipse, between us all there were three different pairs of good-quality binoculars. My monarchs were by far the best! This was unfortunate for me as it meant I had to share them with the rest of the group for the entire night.

One of the good points about buying a pair of Nikon's are the options that come standard on their binoculars. These include being waterproof and having fog prevention on their lenses, these are great qualities to have in any binoculars. There is also an extended eye relief option for people who will be wearing glasses, or using the binoculars for long periods of time.

The Nikon monarch binoculars are past all my tests with flying colours over and over, I don't think I'll ever be switching to a different model - just upgrading these! Highly recommend!