HawkeEndurance ED 8x42 Monocular - Green

I bought this monocular for safari and absolutely love it! Superb optics, great quality and value, support a family-run world-leading British brand! Really great clear optics, good field of view, very smooth and easy to focus with one hand which is really important for quick changes of distance. Also for me, I wear glasses or prescription sunglasses so the really good eye relief was really important to me - they are perfect for quick spotting without needing to take glasses on and off, I have a perfect view, and the twist-up eye pieces work well for non-glasses wearers (if you let them have a go!). I found them brilliant for dawn and dusk game drives as well, good in low light too. The viewing compared very favourably with much more expensive nikon binocs. I much prefer a smaller lighter monocular to binocs, and am much more likely to carry it with me. I've had an 8x25 before, also useful and very small - but this 42 has so much better field of view and clarity! I've had a higher zoom monocular - 10-25x42, but it was basically useless, impossible to hold steady enough in the hand - and it, and other 8x25 binoculars, had such poor eye relief that I could not really use them at all, made me realise the eye relief is a vital thing for me to use it with my glasses - at least 15mm and preferably more (this one is perfect at 18mm) . This Hawke monocular is so good I might buy the 10x42 as well! But 8x is probably the best sweet spot for ease of spotting moving wildlife. For me, the supplied lanyard came apart on day 1, but I do not care at all - dropped the monoc on the ground and it is tough enough to be absolutely fine, and I wanted a different lanyard anyway. Made one with a ribbon! So I still give 5 stars, the monocular is outstanding value and quality and that is the important thing.

I find binoculars too heavy and a bit of a faff to use and carry around. The monocular fits in a pocket and can be used one handed making it something I take on all my walks. I have a smallish pair of £250 binoculars that have superior optics to this monocular but its the monocular that I carry everywhere. I wish I had paid more for a monocular with better optics. The optics of this monocular are good but if you are a serious wildlife watcher then you may want to pay more for clearer and brighter optics. Recommended.ProsLighter and smaller than binoculars. Can fit in a large jacket pocket.Can be used one handed so easier to use than binocularsBoth lens caps connected to the binocular so you cant lose them easily.Waterproof and sturdy.Feels good and comfortable to hold in a stable position.Smooth focusing.So much easier to carry around that I take them on all my walks. Not something I do with my binoculars.Good optics but limited in darker (dusk) conditions. This is not a fault of this Monocular but a limitation of the size.ConsNeck cord is a bit short and cheap.

I got the Hawke 8x42 ED Endurance for Christmas & am very happy with it. Have been using a pair of Steiner Wildlife binos which have been great until my left eye became weaker than my right. This meant that focussing the binos properly became an issue.After quite a bit of research & reading countless reviews I settled on them Hawke 8x42. Used them for the first time today & I’m very impressed with my choice. Lighter & a bit smaller than I thought & the focus wheel at the top was very smooth indeed. The image quality is brilliant for what I need them for - general spotting on walks or when fishing.I’m no expert on optical equipment but, for me, this monocular ticks all the boxes for a tad over £100.

Pluses: tiny, bright for objective size, not too difficult to keep steady ( 10x would be too shakey, I much prefer balance of stability / magnification of 8x). ED glass really shows quality - no fringing due to chromatic aberration. Sealed and and gas filled so no condensation. Build quality superb. Comes with bag, case and lanyard ( which hasen't broken yet!) And cleaning cloth in nice packaging (great as a gift). Stand off for glasses / no glasses in two stages works perfectly so I can use with / without my sunglasses on. Focussing wheel just right degree of stiffness for me despite what others say... Negatives: its best in bright conditions ( I bought it for walking in sunny Spain where it works really well) due to small size I have other 8x50 binos and 12x stabilised canons for low light but they are humongous... Small field of view may make tracking birds difficult ( but at this size of device I cannot really complain). One cap is tethered other is not, unfortunately. All in all I absolutely love this device. Great for city walks and art galleries ( details, details) casual birdwatching, theatre?( haven't used for that). Small size and pocketability means it'll be the " one I have with me" ie the best. Way better price than other monos ( Nikon or absolutely mad Leica prices) and not that much less performant. I rarely review stuff but Hawke ( UK brand!).deserves a good review imho. I suspect Hawke have got the price / quality equation right in the sweet spot.

A really good quality product, excellent magnification, really good upgrade on my old 10 x 25 binoculars that i had for years. Got one of these because of my eyesight deteriorating more in one eye, these were perfect solution.

Optics are good and clear. As others have said the lens caps are quite cheap and this is quite an expensive product. Otherwise the build quality is very good and it's very light and easy to carry