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Last summer, as I was a couple hundred metres from a campsite, I couldn't tell if I was looking at overturned green canoes by the shoreline, or just some shrubs. Made me wish I had binoculars since it was a windy day and I didn't want to keep paddling against the headwind just to find out I'd have to turn around.
The way I see it (pun intended), binoculars can help you spot occupied campsites from far away, which can be beneficial and shave down paddling time on large lakes. And it can also be fun for spotting wildlife. The downsides would be the investment and carrying them around with you. I've just never seen it talked about before and was wondering if this is something that people bring with them into the backcountry. Personally I never have, but I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea for this season if I can get my hands on a cheap pair.
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I've seriously considered it a number of times, for this reason exactly. When the time came to packing though they didn't make the cut. I think a better solution would be to pick up a monocular. Lighter, smaller and just right for the task of spotting campsite and portage signs. If you're keen on using them for bird watching and other wildlife viewing, if you can justify the weight, bring a small pair with you.
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basilthegood wrote:
I've seriously considered it a number of times, for this reason exactly. When the time came to packing though they didn't make the cut. I think a better solution would be to pick up a monocular. Lighter, smaller and just right for the task of spotting campsite and portage signs. If you're keen on using them for bird watching and other wildlife viewing, if you can justify the weight, bring a small pair with you.
I'm not big into bird watching or 'specific' wildlife viewing, but if I saw a moose or bear I think it would be awesome to get a closer look. And I'm surprisingly really good at spotting portage and campsite signs from far away... it's finding out if the campsites are occupied that sometimes leaves me guessing!
You're right that a monocular is probably a better option though, I didn't think of that. Maybe I'll make a last minute cheap $20 purchase before my first trip
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I have a cheapy pair that I sometimes bring along for just that reason (spotting available campsites from a distance). But most of the time I don't actually end up using them as they're buried in my bag, so for the most part I leave them at home now.
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I bring a monocular for the reasons you outline. Easily fits in a pocket of my PDF.
I have this one but lots of choices.
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I bring a small pair of binoculars. Good for spotting sites, portages, and wildlife.
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I usually always have a telephoto lens mounted on my camera when travelling just in case I come across any wildlife worth photographing. I've come up to moose on a winding river and by the time I get the camera bag out and lens changed they were already gone, so I learned my lesson. I'ts also handy because if I want to look for a portage or see if a campsite is available I can essentially use it as binoculars (250mm + zooming on the live view screen works pretty well).
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↑ This. I used to travel with a small monocular for the above-mentioned reasons, but now use a telephoto lens combined with on-screen zooming as Andrew does. It has saved me countless times - especially when targeting a specific campsite waaaay on the other side of the lake.
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I rarely get to such dark skies so I like the idea of bringing my binocs for the stars as well. Of course, the type of trip makes a difference.
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Our small binoculars got broken years ago but they did manage to find a canoe that drifted off in the night on 12 Mile Bay many years ago. Both boats were on shore but a snow melt during the night sent one of the rascals on a journey towards Georgian Bay. Spotted it stuck on a dock several miles away. Nice recovery. Reminds me I should replace those broken binocs.
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It has saved me countless times - especially when targeting a specific campsite waaaay on the other side of the lake.
I'll be camping on some pretty big lakes this season like Burntroot and Big Trout, which is what made me think of this in the first place. But even something like Welcome lake, take a few strokes into the centre of the lake and look around 360 degrees... could save you from circling the whole lake.
I rarely get to such dark skies so I like the idea of bringing my binocs for the stars as well. Of course, the type of trip makes a difference.
I didn't even think of that, it could be cool to try. I tend to look for sites that offer good stargazing opportunities... assuming the weather permits.
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I always bring a small pair. Started this when I was a kid camping with my parents, since they always brought a pair. We mostly used it for seeing if sites down a large lake were occupied or worth the paddle!
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I picked up a pair of Bushnell binos from MEC last fall for $20. They are not good quality compared to more expensive ones, but they are compact and perfect for spotting campsites, portages or just having a closer look at wildlife. They fit into one of the front pockets of my PFD, which is perfect for what I use them for.
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I carry a pair of Bushnell Binoculars. They are a decent pair, UltraHD model I think. They are not the tiny ones, or the large ones. They are about the size of a thick paperback book.
We love them. They are great for spotting sites, portages, water conditions, wildlife, birds, stars, moons… people, etc… For us they are totally worth the extra weight. We also find them super handy for hiking where there is little to no vegetation and trails can get vague quickly and or are unmarked routes. Being able to spot faint trails, small cairns, swamps, alder patches, size up talus/boulder patches, etc… from a distance made it way easier.
I last used them two weekends ago. We met up with some friends at a back country site, but the plan was loose, ie “go to one of the sites on the north shore, we will find you”. We were paddling in just before sundown, so light wasn’t great, water was cold, it was windy/wavey and so we were motivated to get there. With the binoculars were able to spot them at 2k across the lake and go directly there, no guessing.
So yes we carry them and find them a handy tool, especially for navigation.
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If all you're going to be using the binoculars for is spotting campsites or canoes, you can probably get by with the lowest-priced 10x20s for $20 or so and they'll be good enough. Monoculars are even smaller and lighter but for me the viewing experience was so poor, they weren't an option.
If you want to spend some time viewing with higher quality, it's worth getting full-size binos, 8x42 or 10x42... the 42 is the diameter of the objective lenses facing the subject in mm and those will gather in much more light for brightness, color and contrast.
Birders are often the most discriminating when it comes to choice and there are good reviews out there. Binoculars have improved during the past few years to the point where $200 can get you some pretty good optics, matching $1000 quality you'd have to pay for some time ago.
Being able to see the detail on every feather, leaf, cliff or ripple on the water is something that adds value to what you get to see in the time spent at the campsite or on the trail... it isn't possible to duplicate the quality of view seen through through good binoculars on any screen since on one the image is virtual and digitized while on the other, it's the actual real-world light that's being transmitted into the eye.
PS... APPs most common songbird, the red-eyed vireo, in not-bad quality.
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