Bushnell H2O Roof Prism Binoculars

This review is for the Bushnell H2O Roof Binoculars sizes 8×42 and 10×42, both of which I recently purchased. These binoculars are inexpensive but have many of the characteristics of expensive binoculars. They are water and fog-proof, they have BaK-4 prisms, and they have a well-constructed and rugged body. I purchased roofs rather than porros after my Nikon porros lost their collimation. Nikon repaired them for $10 plus shipping (which was very fair), but I did not want to go through that again. Roofs are generally more durable. These binos appear well collimated (I did every test I could find on the internet, including shining the sun through them onto a screen), they can quickly be focused quite sharply, and there is very little color aberration. The 8x42s have remarkably little distortion near the outside of the field of vision; the 10x42s have more, but are still quite acceptable. The eye relief is good, so I can wear these with or without glasses. The rubber eyepiece collars are a little hard, but I purchased Field Optics eyeshields (I have no interest in the company) which both shield outside light from entering from the sides and soften the feel of the binoculars against the eyes. Both binos feel slightly heavy for their size, but are really okay. The straps require some lacing, but if carefully done, are okay too. The case is slightly tight, but acceptable. The front and rear lens covers can be attached, which is great.

The biggest problem with these binos is that they are roof binoculars with only multicoating. They are not fully multicoated nor phase coated. The lens quality is good, but not great. Thus the images are clear and sharp, but not as bright as you might get with a porro of the same class or an expensive roof bino. In good daytime light, this does not matter, but in really overcast light, the view is acceptable, but could be better. Not surprisingly, the 8x42s are brighter than the 10x42s. However, at night, using a tripod, I prefer the 10x42s since they permit better viewing of the moon and the stars. Surprisingly, the focus is so sharp that I can produce pinpoint images of Jupiter without flaring.

Thus we have inexpensive binoculars pretending to be expensive binoculars and doing a pretty good job of deception. The muted brightness is only a problem in poor lighting, but otherwise these binoculars are impressive for their price. I give the 10x42s four stars and the 8x42s four and a half stars.

I am a casual user, wanting binoculars for outdoor hikes and birdwatching at home. I had purchased a Bushnell Insta Focus 7×35 and was really happy with the performance. They were convenient, affordable, easy to use and gave clear vision every time. I found the kids (age 6 and 8) kept picking mine up instead of their cheap kid binoculars so thought I would invest in the more expensive H2O 8×42 for the added durability, greater range, and waterproof/fog proof lenses.
Although these are fine binoculars, and the image is crisp and clear, I am surprised to find I actually prefer the cheaper Bushnells and reach for them more often. These are a bit more difficult to use. First of all, the case is actually snug to the point of having a hard time getting them in or out of the case without popping off the lens caps, meaning I have to leave them out of the case when storing if I want to be able to grab and use them quickly. Also, one of the lens cap straps (the plastic band that goes around the eye piece to hold the cap) is actually loose and the cap will fall off. Another annoyance is that the plastic holding the caps is rather rigid, so that moving your head to follow a moving bird the lens caps will bounce in front of you, resulting in blocking your view, or an ever present annoying black edge in your view. I’ve tried twisting and adjusting but the only way to be certain that they don’t bounce around is to take them off the binocular which negates the design of the band to keep the caps with the binocular. I am a glasses user and the eye pieces have to be twisted up to give the right depth so that I can see through them. The cheaper pair has a soft plastic ring that works perfectly without adjustment for glasses. These are hard plastic with a satin finish so they won’t scratch glasses but it is a rather hard feeling when they’re actually touching your glasses, or if you aren’t perfectly square with your face when you raise them up and they push one side of your glasses around. Lastly, and perhaps this is user error, but I find them harder to focus. The Instafocus pair has a flat toggle piece on the top so you can slowly push one direction or the other for quick fast focus. These have a dial by your nose which is stiff and hard to move. Perhaps with time it will loosen up but it has the feel of a screw that’s been turned too tight and won’t loosen, no simple single finger focusing on this one, I have to use my finger and thumb to twist it.
So that’s it for criticism . . . now the likes. I like the ridged plastic casing, makes it feel very secure in your hand. Weight is good, slightly less than my instafocus but still substantial enough to not feel like you’re holding plastic junk. It is indeed fog free, and I’ve walked from inside out without any problems, while my camera and other pair will fog up. There is no denying that the distance is further and the range of view is wider, I see more through these than I do the others.
Lastly, I did see another review that talked about color changes and a purple line edging what he was looking at. I played with them some and what I’ve found is that if the lenses are pulled too tightly they feel comfortable but I do end up with purple or pink edging along white things but that is easily removed when the binoculars are adjusted slightly wider. I will say that my cheaper pair does not have this problem.
All in all, I think I would have been happier with a second cheaper pair, but these are not bad enough to warrant sending back to exchange.

I purchased the Bushnell H2O Roof Prism Binoculars to go birding with my wife.
The images are as clear as my wife’s more expensive Nikon binoculars.

Great clearness and light weight. Great product. Use for bird watching, turkey hunting and will use for deer hunting this fall.

Nice vision!

Product good no issue, I used for bird watching