Athlon Optics 10x50 Midas G2 UHD Black Binoculars with Eye Relief for Adults and Kids, High-Powered Binoculars for Hunting, Birdwatching, and More

I bought a pair of these Athlon Midas 12x50 binoculars because I thought they would be good for looking at distant birds, especially waterfowl and seabirds. 12x50 binoculars are somewhat frowned upon in the birding community as they are considered to too difficult to hand hold, too heavy and to have too narrow a field of view. Well, I tried them out, and now I use these binoculars for almost all my birding. The big, beautiful images of birds that I see when using these binoculars makes them irresistible. They are a bit heavier, of course, but not much heavier than, say 8x42s, and they are very well-balanced in the hand, so the slight additional 'holding tremor' doesn't bother me much at all. Sustained viewing is relatively easy for me, and no, I am neither huge nor built like a weight-lifter. Sharpness, clarity, color and flatness of field are all terrific -- you would have to really scratch around with minor details to say how a pair of Swarovskis (where I can make direct real-life comparisons) is much better. Internal reflections are well-controlled, although a little bit of flare can appear in some high contrast conditions. The focus control is very smooth and definite, which you really need on 12x50s because the depth of field of focus is narrower than on 8x42s. I have found I have adapted quickly to focusing a bit more, so it's not a big issue for me. The field of view is of course narrower than x8s, but I have not really noticed this much, even when searching for small birds in foliage. And when you do see the bird, the image is much larger, so you have a better image and a better chance of identifying it. Low light viewing is good. One last thing: the difference between x8 and x12 is that the *linear* image is x1.5 larger on the x12, but it is over x2 larger in *area* terms, so the visual impression looking through x12s is startlingly different -- the images seem huge in comparison. I love this. Some other lesser but still important issues. Lens caps are great. Eye relief is good, and the twist-out eyecups are fine. It is true that if your eyes are very close together you might have a problem with these binoculars. My eyes are quite close together, but these binoculars are fine -- the barrels can still move closer at my setting. I have to wonder if the problems other readers were having occurred in this area might have occurred because they did not move the rubber retaining rings of the objective covers further towards the middle of the barrel. If you don't do this, then the rubber rings bump into each other at the fat ends of the barrels and stop the binoculars from being brought together by a significant amount. At first I thought I would have to send the binoculars back because I did not notice this, but I looked at the rings, moved them up, and of course it was fine. The whole deal comes with a good case and strap, and with that Athlon warranty. In case you can't guess from all of this, I am very, very, very happy with these binoculars. A further note: I already have a pair of 8x42 Athlon Midas binoculars, and they are superb for their price range, as my review will show here on Amazon. I also have a pair of pocket 10x25 Athlon Midas binoculars, very happy with those also. And I have found the Athlon guarantee to be rock-solid and no-questions-asked -- I like being able to rely on a manufacture of integrity.

It has been a few years since I bought the 8x42 Midas G2 UHD, and I seldom write review, but I felt compelled to share a very positive customer service experience when I recently called for a replacement case ,and decided should also write a review. First off I’m no binocular expert but read lots of reviews before finally deciding on the purchase in 2021 and have been happy with the optical quality , especially the near an quick focus, field of view, and eye relief . They’ve held up well, used them for bird watching , airshows, stargazing, general nature & outdoor activity, hot ,cold, humid and rainy conditions never fogged up. Sure there may be better choices than an 8x42 for some of the specific application, but for portability, price point and quality, IMHO the Athlon Midas hit the mark for all my purposes and they have served me well. And back to customer service – sent an email , said I lost the case on a recent trip ,could I purchase a new case , and no question asked they offered to mail me a new case. They even scheduled the delivery so that they wouldn’t arrive while I was still away. Thank you Sam H at Athlon Optics

I was going to buy a Athlon Cronus UHD for $499 on Amazon (not G2). The $499 was a great price. Then while researching binoculars I came across a multi-binocular review that included the Athlon Midas G2 UHD. Not only did the Midas win the review of binoculars under $300 but it won the review of binoculars under $500. So I purchased the Midas on Amazon for $245.60. 8 x 42. The good: They were delivered the very next day from my order, yeah! I open the packaging and looked out my back yard. I wear glasses so binoculars have been a problem for me in the past. I started screaming for my wife to come take a look. Image so clear, I could see the paint pealing off my neighbor's deck 3 houses down. My wife had a dying plant left over from her garden and I focused in and I could easily see the veins of the plant. Incredible, light weight, clear, great eye relief for eyeglass wearers, beautiful vision. Unbelievable! Lifetime warranty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bad: My wife said she had to have them for birding and spying on the neighborhood and boy she can with these. So I had to spend another $245.60 the same day I received them so we would both have a pair. The ugly: My neighbor's pealing deck. Really, nothing ugly about the value for money, image, size, weight, warranty, focusability. I may have to buy 2 more for my son's birthdays. Incredible value that will not likely last. Summary, you will love these. My wife and I sure do. I am pumped over this purchase!

I purchased the Athlon Optics 8x42 Midas G2 Binoculars to watch my furry and feathered friends who stop by for a free meal in my backyard. Amazon only had a few left in stock, so I half-expected a used or returned pair—but to my surprise, I received a brand new set, complete with the Athlon Gold Medal Lifetime Warranty! The binoculars, packaging, and delivery were all excellent. They arrived on a rainy day, but UPS did a great job—my delivery driver placed the box in a clear plastic bag and followed my delivery instructions perfectly. I’m very pleased with the quality, clarity, and care that went into both the product and the delivery. Highly recommended for casual wildlife watching—and also great for stargazing! The moon at night is so bright and clear—it’s like seeing it for the first time.

I mainly bought these for astronomy because they were recommended in The Backyard Astronomer's Guide. I’m not a huge bino guy but these are definitely the best binos I’ve ever owned and probably ever looked through. They are compact and reasonably weighted for 10x50’s and the views are bright and clear. The only complaint I would have and it’s not a real complaint is that it’s not compatible with a lot of bino mounts due to the narrow space between the barrels. The Fanaue quick release mount won’t work. I suspect the Oberwerk sport mount will work, but I ended up getting a QICBIUD Universal Binocular Adapter basic mount on Amazon for $5.99 (regularly $8.99) that worked fine. I attached it to an Arca plate. All in all, very happy with this purchase.

I have the Vortex Razor HD 12x50s and wanted a cheaper 12x50 to take to the gun range. Thought I would try these out and I was immediately impressed! They are very clear and bright and I see a sharper image when looking at targets and signs. The Razors are very good but they have more CA especially on high contrast black on white images. The Athlons have less CA, I only see it in the outer edges of the view. They are a little brighter than the Razors for low light viewing, but the Razors have a little wider FOV and the image is sharper toward the edges. The Athlons have a grippy plastic armor that feels better than the metal Razors. The focus knob is better on the Razors, the Athlon knob has some loose play in it but its smooth, fast and easy to focus. The overall build quality feels better on the Razors but it should for their higher price tag. I do like the view through the Athlons better so I may be selling the Razors soon. I am a huge fan of both Vortex and Athlon and I love the great warranty and CS they provide but in this case I think the Athlon is the better deal.

These are the best pair of binoculars that I have tried within this price range... In terms of "value", I give the Athlon Midas 5 stars. I have "tested" the Nikon M7 side-by-side with the Athlon Midas and found only relatively slight difference in optical quality (brightness, clarity, color trueness), and I find the Midas to be more comfortable against my eyes. These binoculars also feel very sturdy/well-built. Although I do not use binoculars in my profession, I use them nearly everyday/night to observe wildlife and celestial objects. Within this price range, I have not experienced a finer pair of binoculars (though there may be some out there that I have not tried). Having praised the product for quality and value, I will say that the pair that I received was defective... The diopter ring would not turn no matter how hard I cranked on it. I called Athlon to report the problem, they asked me to send them to their facility in KS, they returned them to me in perfect working condition with about 10 days. Note that they have an excellent warranty. Final note: I also have a pair of Zeiss, and another pair of Nikon binoculars that are in the $1000 price range... If you want a really exceptional pair of binoculars, spend a thousand dollars; but if you are OK with a really good pair of binoculars, and don't want to spend more than $300 or so, I don't think you need to look any farther than these Athlon's.

Everyone's face is different, of course. But for me, while i could hold the binocular a bit out from my face I could see the full field and appreciate some good optics -- very nice clarity in the sweet spot that extends maybe 75% out to the edge -- but when I tried to nudge in to get a comfortable viewing position supported against my face the view was marred by black bars. For me, several hundred dollars for some otherwise good binos that I couldn't hold comfortably was not going to work. Regrettably, a return -- a shame because I really wanted these to work out given the glowing reviews. It was almost comical to try to use these at night -- a nice starfield , with a black blob on one side; try to compensate and the black blob comes in from the other side. Attack from the Coalsack Nebula! Note to Athlon: rework the eyecup extension so that there is a setting that comes out just a few more millimeters. No fault to Euro Optics. I ordered from Amazon through them with no problems.