Best Minox Binoculars: Reviews & Ratings of Minox Binocs

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Discover the best Minox binoculars as our experts rate & review Minox optics & compare Minox HG binoculars to Brunton, Leica, Bushnell & other brands.

The truth is, Minox founders weren’t even considering producing binoculars in the beginning. Minox got its start by developing very small, portable cameras during the early half of the 20^th century.

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These sneaky devices would go on to earn the name spy cameras, and Minox made a healthy profit out of selling them and other camera equipment over the years.

Later on, when the company decided to branch out to cover a wide range of optical products, their first binoculars were crafted and sold.

Minox has a reputation for developing respectable binoculars at an affordable price.

But here’s the secret most don’t know: Minox was bought out by Leica in the mid-1990’s and since then has used the same manufacturing equipment as this high-end producer. They even use the same glass.

While Minox binoculars are still quite inexpensive compared to the top sellers in the industry, they are high quality optics that are well worth your money.

Best Minox Binoculars: Reviews of The Lineup

There are currently 39 different binocular models sold by Minox, with another dozen or so in the archives. What does this mean for the consumer? It means that you have the opportunity to pick and choose a pair of specs that are perfect for your needs.

With so many magnification and objective lens options, there’s no way your optical requirements will go unmet.

Here’s a look at the different series of Minox binocs, and a little bit about what makes them special.

Minox HG Binoculars

The HG in these binocs stands for High Grade, and that’s no joke. These binoculars have specialized lenses and coatings that offer the best in color, clarity, and light transmission. These are high-end, all-purpose specs for your every need.

Minox BD Binoculars

For the explorers among us, the BD line offers rugged, compact binoculars that will give you crystal clear images from whichever ravine or cliff you’re hanging from. Bottom line: Minox BD binoculars get you closer to the real action.

Minox BV Binoculars

These high class optics are made for all-weather viewing. These are lightweight binoculars that are fully waterproof. Use them on the waves, in the forest, on the mountain, or anywhere else—they’ll give you a highly portable, highly rugged, and highly clear performance every time.

Minox BL Binoculars

This is a wide-ranging line that offers everything from compact to super-sized binoculars.

The name of the game with the BL series, though, seems to be light transmission. With larger than average objective lenses (the larger the lens in millimeters, the more light that transmits into the barrels), these binocs are great for all light level environments.

Minox Binoculars Vs. The Competition

We know that Minox binoculars stand well on their own. Minox offers numerous series & models with varying magnifications, FOVs, and objective lens diameters.

But how do they rate against the competition? Why should you keep reading about Minox binoculars when you can just switch over to the Brunton, Bushnell, or Leica page?

Brunton Binoculars – Minox is simply a higher quality than Brunton. Minox binoculars are made with finer materials and offer a much wider range of products. While Brunton has just twenty or so models, Minox as twice that many.

Bushnell Binoculars – This company is pretty similar to Minox in terms of quality and price. But even though Bushnell has over 100 different models available, Minox has a wider range of magnifications and objective lens diameters. These manufacturers are certainly playing in the same ballpark, but Minox wins in the end because of the larger scope (no pun intended).

Leica Binoculars – Leica binoculars are some of the best in the world, no doubt about it. There’s no way that Minox can compare to the high quality and wicked performance of any of these specs. However, Leica binocs are also extraordinarily expensive. That said, Minox was bought out by Leica in the mid 1990’s, so they actually use much of the same materials that Leica uses. Think of Minox as the affordable version of Leica.

Best Minox Binoculars: The Details

Time to get down to the nitty-gritty. Above, we saw an overview of the catalogue in terms of performance and individual design. Now let’s focus in on the specifications of the models. Here you’ll see just how various the Minox line truly is.

Magnification

Magnification refers to how many times an image is enlarged with the specs. The variety of magnification settings with Minox binoculars is vast.

With nearly forty different models to choose from, you can find binocs with magnifications of 6.5x, 7x, 8x, 8.5x, 9.5x, 10x, 12x, 13x, and 15x. The lowest can be found in the BD 6.5×32 IF specs, while the highest is featured with the BL 15×56 binocular.

Field of View

The Field of View—also called the FOV—is the measure of your vision with a pair of binoculars. Standing 1,000 yards away from a subject, the FOV measures the width of your sight in feet.

With Minox binoculars, the range of FOVs available is fairly large compared to the average industry standards. The smallest FOV is 106 feet and the largest is over 400 feet. At the high end of the spectrum, the HG 8×33 model has an FOV of 426 feet.

Objective Lens

The range of objective lens diameters may not seem that large at first glance, but it’s fairly expansive when compared to what other manufacturers offer. The lenses range between 24mm and 56mm, with the smallest found on the BD 8×24 pair and the largest found on the BL 15×56 model.

The smaller the objective lens, the lighter the weight; the larger the lens, the better you can see in low light situations.

Minox Binoculars Review: Consumer Information

Before you decide whether or not to buy a pair of Minox binocs, you’ll want to research prices and warranty information. Here’s a primer:

Price Range

Minox offers a catalogue of mid-range products. In other words, these are binoculars that are affordable to the majority of the consumer base. You won’t have to save up for years like you do for a Zeiss or Swarovski binocular, but you also need more than a handful of loose change to pick up one.

The range of prices begins as low as $150 and cruises upwards of $1,849 for the Minox APO-HG 8×43 at Amazon.com. Most of their products land somewhere dead center between the two extremes. Expect to pay between $300 and $600 for a middle-of-the-pack pair of binocs from this company.

Warranty Info

The best thing a company can do in terms of warranty is offer the same deal on all their products. This not only makes it easier on the consumer, but it makes a public show of the company’s confidence in their products.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with Minox. While the warranties are decent for the most part—some limited lifetime deals on parts, some 30-year limited deals on devices—they vary wildly from product to product. Make sure you know what your warranty is like before making a Minox purchase.

Minox Binoculars: Customer Reviews

You know what the manufacturers and the critics have to say, so now let’s hear from actual consumers. Here’s a look at the pros and cons of Minox binoculars’ performance as pointed out by the people who really use them.

That’s it! Be sure to check out reviews of other best binoculars