[daepp]

My daughter has been asking for a pair of “good” binoculars to use on the bridge of a US Navy destroyer. The pairs supplied by Uncle Sam are in short supply and well worn, and she sees a lot of utility in having her own pair. When I asked what they supply, she says the ONLY thing written on them is “7X”.

Mind you these are just the protable variety - the ship has a several giant scopes they call the “Big Eyes” mounted to the bridge wings, but they also use (what looked like to me) to be the generic adult-sized kind we used to take to baseball games, etc.

So I’m curious, having zero ocean or bridge-standing experience, if someone might have a clue what would be good?

This much I know:
- they are often used in low light (but theirs are NOT the night-vision variety)
- 7X is what the Navy supplies
- my budget is sub $1,000

I’ve seen image-stabilized 18X Canon binoculars in the $700 range, but the Navy doesn’t apparently supply such so that makes me wonder. Also the lenses are only 36mm so I wonder about low light. They also have an 18X50mm but they are really pricey.
Bushnell and Nikon have ~10X50 pairs (not image stabilized) for sub $200, but the low price has me worried.

To make matters worse, I’ve got to ship them to her so I can’t really test them or return them.

Any advice would be appreciated!