Trijicon’s New Binoculars & Spotting Scope

Renowned for rifle scopes, the Michigan company announces other optics for shooters and hunters.

A zippered jacket closure exposes both lenses and the tripod foot for field use.
A zippered jacket closure exposes both lenses and the tripod foot for field use.

As optics firms go, Trijicon is young. It earned a pile of rubles equipping U. S. soldiers with its ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight). Then it applied fiber-optics and tritium to hunting-scope reticles. The AccuPoint series of variables has since cut a wide swath at market. Battery-free reticles put bright aiming points on target for quick shots in dark places. Often lost in the illumination hype, however, has been the high quality of Trijicon optics. Now you can get that in binoculars and a spotting scope.

HD glass and a sliding shade hood can be found up front. The multi-coated lenses featured stellar light-transmitting qualities.
HD glass and a sliding shade hood can be found up front. The multi-coated lenses featured stellar light-transmitting qualities.

Trijicon’s new roof-prism binocular—available in 8×42 and 10×42 models—have a magnesium frame with a beefy center hinge and 42mm objective lenses. They are rubber-armored (in a fetching gray-green) with ribs underneath that both improve your grip and let you set the binocular down without resting it on the ocular or objective rims. The center focus wheel is tall, broad and grooved, for one-finger adjustment. To adjust the binocular for your eyes, place your right palm over the right-hand objective. Turn the center wheel until a distant object appears sharp to your left eye. Now block the left-hand lens and spin the dial on the right-hand eyepiece to get a sharp view of the object with your right eye. You shouldn’t have to touch the right-hand dial again, or at least until your eyes change with age. Focusing with the center wheel adjusts both barrels in tandem.

A broad, grooved power ring on the interchangeable eyepiece is easy to use.
A broad, grooved power ring on the interchangeable eyepiece is easy to use.

The Trijicon 10×42 I’ve been using delivers bright, crisp, color-true images through multi-coated HD glass lenses listed as fluoride. Two-stop, twist-out eyecups adjust eye relief. I like the big 21mm ocular lenses. This binocular is mid-range in weight for top-quality 10x42s, but more compact than many, and perfectly balanced—not front-heavy. The hinge is properly stiff, so a few bumps won’t change eyepiece spacing or threaten collimation. A hinge cap covers a 1/4×20 tripod socket. At $849, this new binocular lists for less than half as much as the best 10x42s on my shelf (the 8×42 is priced at $799). Optically, it matches them. Trijicon supplies a sturdy, roomy carrying case you can attach to pack or belt and use afield.

Dual focus dials feature fine at the front and fast at the rear—both are easy to reach and spin.
Dual focus dials feature fine at the front and fast at the rear—both are easy to reach and spin.

Trijicon’s new spotting scope, a 20-60×82, also boasts HD glass, a magnesium frame and handsome rubber armor. The objective is shaded by a sliding collar. Fine and coarse focusing dials project from the front of the angled eyepiece. They’re easy to reach and spin. A collar with a foot for popular tripods can be rotated, then locked with a knob, so you can position the eyepiece at the perfect angle for your eye. In rifle matches, I station my spotting scope close, the eyepiece turned almost against my cheek. To check a shot, I glance into the ocular lens with just a slight turn of my head.

Multi-coated HD objective LENSEs reside in a centerbridge design frame.
Multi-coated HD objective LENSEs reside in a centerbridge design frame.

The zippered, padded cover provided with this new Trijicon has carrying handles, and Velcro end flaps fore and aft. You need never remove the scope from its cocoon. A zipper underneath affords access to the tripod foot, which locks onto a tripod in a jiffy.

Page 2