Review: OLIMT 10x36 monocular $124

Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/4mRsda2 Price as reviewed: $124 10x36 Monocular Telescope, Compact Handheld Mini Pocket Small Portable Size ED Lens Fully Multi-Coated HD BAK-4 Prism Optics Professional Waterproof Fogproof for Adults Hiking Bird Watching Travel From the OLIMT Store This monocular weights in at just over 8 oz (1/2 pound) and is on the larger size for the "compact travel monocular" segment, with a 36mm objective lens and a body diameter that ranges from 38-42 mm. [Total length is 125mm or 5 inches.] It has a screw up (metal) eye-cup and the 38 diameter size makes it just about the perfect size to rest against your eye socket [and not stick directly into your eyeball, my main complaint with 26mm eyecups...]. It has plenty of focusing range, allowing me to use it without my prescription eyeglasses and "focus out" my relatively large prescription. I also tried using it with my eyeglasses with the eyecup screwed into the retracted position. This provided a reasonable FOV and eye-relief, but the FOV was just slightly smaller than when using the eyecup without glasses. [I also worry about placing the metal eyecup against my glasses, even though the edge is rounded over and very smooth, I worry it may scratch the protective coatings.] The metal eyecup is perfectly comfortable to use without glasses, but I would prefer rubber to use it with glasses. The optics are excellent, and I have no complaints about the image quality. [At this premium price point, I would expect nothing else.] It comes with two dust covers. The objective lens cover hinges with a rubber ring around the monocular so you won't lose it. The eyepiece dust cover has a slot where you can put the wrist strap through it to keep it mounted to the monocular, but out of the box it is loose and prone to being lost. The package also includes a cloth carry bag and microfiber cleaning cloth. The price feels expensive for what you get. You are definitely paying extra for the nice waterproof optics and monocular form factor, as you could buy a very nice pair of large binoculars for the same price. I appreciate the 38mm diameter eyecup and 3.7 mm exit pupal size when holding it up to my eye (I feel that smaller monoculars are uncomfortably small) but it does feel large and heavy in the hand. I have 1/2 lb mini binoculars that are only twice the volume and more comfortable to hold/use because you use both hands to support the weight and you get binocular vision. For hiking, I think I would prefer to buy a small pair of 10x26 binoculars at 1/3 the price.