Binoculars?

[Squid]

I know nothing about 'em.

 

Does anybody have any suggestions for cheap route-scopes & where to find them?

[Bronco]

Specifically for "scoping out" routes, I'd start looking for a 20x spotting scope as opposed to binoculars. You could also pick up a cheap rifle scope to save some weight if you intend to pack it.

 

There are way too many websites that sell this stuff. Just google it.

[ketch]

I'm with Bronco on that. Try contacting the Audubon Society. A year or so back I got a 18x birding scope that they had for some promotion. It weighs just under 2 oz including it's case. Good deal for just checkin the line in advance. I like it as they spent less effort on the pretty side and lots on the optics so that you can see clearly.

[terrible_ted]

http://www.eagleoptics.com

 

Their "buying guide" pages probably have more than you want to know about optics. I've made very significant high-end optics purchases with them and been quite happy with the experience. Be especially wary of NY/NJ area on-line photo stores that offer great deals (B&H excepted)...

 

I think these would suit you well:

cutting edge optics

 

-t

Edited February 28, 2006 by terrible_ted

[catbirdseat]

What about the range finder scopes used in golf? They sell them cheap at Radio Shack. Any good?

[crackers]

For the past four years I've been doing a lot of new route activity in Turkey. I use a cheap $100 spotting scope to decide whether to walk over to a wall or not. To determine if a wall is decent rock, a spotting scope is great. I am told that you want binoculars for viewing things in stereo--like a tank when you're deciding whether or not to blow it up. I have a 60x spotting scope that I can see the glint of a bolt on limestone from about two kilometers on a clear dry day.

 

That said, for "hitting the right spot" on a wall from miles away, I use a pair of cheap 'waterproof + fogproof' bushnells (bushnells) that I got at B&H. For this kind of thing, i like 8x30 or 8x42. Any higher than 10 hurts my eyes and takes me longer to acquire my target. Any more than $80 is imho way too much money. I figure that $10 per walk is well worth the money to avoid tramping down a wall for a kilometer in the sun when I'd rather be climbing. That means I have to make the binoculars last 8 trips to pay themselves off, which is pretty hard. I've wrecked two pairs, lost one in the past four years.

 

(When I am in NYC, I live literally above B&H, so it's the easiest store to go to.)

[John Frieh]

Assuming we are still talking about a spotting scope also consider a cheap lightweight plastic stand for your spotting scope... this makes it a lot easier to show someone what you are looking at.