REVIEW: Nocs Provisions Standard Issue 8×25 Waterproof Binoculars

Sometimes I feel like a geek hauling my binoculars with me on every adventure. But honestly I don’t understand how you can be an outdoor enthusiast and somehow be content with not being able to see all the cool sh** that’s just beyond your normal range of vision. 

Oh there’s a bald eagle circling and you don’t want to watch it snatch a fish out of the water close up? There’s a mountain peak above you and you don’t want to check out the cascading waterfalls all down the side with mountain goats prancing about?

It was my first time in Moab, Utah when I realized that happiness is sitting in a camp chair and gazing off into the distance. The universe speaks to me through a good pair of binoculars. Okay, maybe I am a geek.

Which is why I was very happy to get my hands on a pair of the new Nocs Provisions Standard Issue 8×25 Waterproof Binoculars. 

Performance (5) ★★★★★

These are some excellent binoculars. Noc Provisions is doing a hard thing breaking into a product category that is pretty much dominated by one name–Nikon. So how do they stack up? Incredibly well. For years I’ve been pretty happy with my Nikon 8×42 Prostaffs. They’re twice as big as the Nocs so are they twice as good? Not at all. The scope of vision, the clarity, the magnification of the Nocs was every bit as good as the bigger, heavier (and more expensive) Nikons. These little binocs definitely punch above their weight as far as performance.

Functionality (5) ★★★★★ 

The Nocs Standard Issue have immediately become my go-to pair. And it’s all because they fit everything I need into a compact, rugged, waterproof package. They’ve got a high-impact rubber exterior that feels like they could tumble down a mountain (or bounce around in my trunk) without a problem. They’re both fogproof and waterproof so if you pull them out in the cold or drop them in an alpine lake (for 30 min in up to 3 feet of water) then they are good to go.

Aesthetics (5) ★★★★★

This is really where I think these binoculars set themselves apart. These things perform just as well as all the classic (boring) looking binoculars of the world, so why would I not want a product that is really freaking cool to look at. They have 8 different colors to choose from and come with a basic half inch black neck strap, but I couldn’t pass up one of their beautiful woven straps, which I highly recommend. Like I said at the jump, normally I feel kind of like a geek pulling out my binocs on my various adventures. But these guys have gotten so many compliments, I imagine I’ll hold my head up high from now on.

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P.S. I thought I was the only person in the world that tried to take photos through their binoculars. Apparently Nocs Provisions knows about people like me so they devised a really cool photo rig that holds your phone in place so you can focus and get that close up shot.