Simmons specializes in low end binoculars. They know their market and know how to make reasonably good binoculars for a very low price. That makes Simmons binoculars a good introduction to binoculars and some of the features you might want to look for (and improve on) in a higher end binocular.

Some binoculars from Simmons

Simmons Outdoor Compact Binoculars with Case Binocular are some of the lowest priced binoculars you can find - under $20 US. These are excellent as an introduction to the world of binocular viewing. They are well built for durability, and they offer good, clear light gathering. They do not have long eye relief, as you might expect with a low end pair of binoculars.

Simmons Wilderness Waterproof 10x42 binoculars are, as noted above, a great way to get an inexpensive taste of waterproofing. You can find these online for less than $70. These have some decent other features, too, including multi-coated lenses and BaK-4 prisms. And the field of vision is a none-too-skimpy 303 feet at 1000 yards. Why do you get all this for such a low price? The fact is that you may be paying for a name when it comes to other brands (you didn't hear that from us).

The Simmons makes an Outdoor Capture View in 8x30 and 8x42 models. These suffer all the same drawbacks as other digital video capture models (hybrids that perform neither of their functions really well). Simmons is priced slightly higher than others on the market. All in all, though, these are still an interesting toy for the gadget geek on your gift list. Keep your eye on these, too, and expect them to make some great leaps forward in terms of quality and storage over the next few years.

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