A 10×42 Waterproof Monocular

When we were on the lookout for a lightweight monocular to carry with us for waterway scanning and wildlife spotting, we checked with Orion, the company that made the telescope we enjoy using at home for stargazing, and discovered the Orion 10×42 Waterproof Monocular. It has turned out to be useful, durable, and reasonably priced.

Photographs by the authors

Orion’s 10 x 40 monocular is compact and has an exceptional ability to focus on objects as close as 20″.

There are many thoughtful features packed into this small, well-made package. The monocular weighs only 11 oz, is a comfortable size to hold, and has a good ergonomic feel to it, thanks to the body’s slim, straight design—made possible by its roof prism, which takes the inverted image coming from the 42mm lens and flips it vertically and horizontally without requiring the zig-zag shape a monocular equipped with Porro prisms has to have. The straight body of the Orion makes it much easier to aim—you just sight down the tube, then look in the eyepiece. The molded rubber armor provides a secure grip on the 6.1″-long monocular, and the focus-ring ridges are long and raised just enough to make them easy to turn, even if wearing thick gloves. The objective and eyepiece lenses are recessed in protective rubber rings, so the monocular can be set face down without concern of scratching the large objective lens. The monocular is listed by Orion as “waterproof,” but it isn’t given a standard IPX rating. Instead, the website says that it has “waterproof rubber-armored construction for viewing in virtually any weather—but submersion or scuba diving is not recommended!” A neck strap and a neoprene carrying case with belt loop are included, and the body has a standard 1⁄4-20 threaded mounting socket for a monopod or tripod.