There was a lot of chatter about good versus cheap optics here. There were a few points made that I would disagee with. The Tasco Offshore 21 Binoculars don't quite fall into the cheap category in my mind. They range from $120 to $200 when not on a closeout sale or something. I consider that the middle rather than the low price range. I find their performance to be very acceptable. Would I like to have a pair of Steiners, well sure, but at this point I would do without before spending that kind of money. Plus I would probably hesitate using them in a kayak. The really nice expensive brands are typically better than these Tascos, but some that cost a lot more aren't as good IMO. The mention of headaches etc. baffles me. I can't imagine anyone getting a headache from using these binoculars. To my eye they are bright and sharp. Twenty mm of eye relief is also quite adequate. If you use them heavily and for many hours and/or you are on an unlimited budget expensive ones may make sense, but I suspect that often it is the desire to own something of high quality that justifies these purchases rather than real need. I have seen similar purchases in other activities with other types of devices. People who can't hit the broad side of a barn often buy expensive firearms. People with a tin ear buy Bose speakers. When I raced Hare Scrambles, I always got a kick out of beating my buddies with their tricked out $$$ motorcycles on a basically stock rice burner. I also enjoyed bagging my limit of squirrells with a $40 opend sight Mossberg 22, while my buddies got skunked carrying a $500 rifle. If you want the best and can afford it that is great, but many find something like the Offshore 21 to be quite adequate. Pete __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Jan 17 2003 - 08:48:48 PST
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