Konus Rex 10x42 Roof Prism Binoculars

› The Konus Rex binoculars come with a Cordura carry case, a cleaning cloth, and a carry strap. They follow the popular roof prism layout, with twin bodies spanning the open bridge, offering easy access for your hands. The green rubber-armoured tubes feature 42mm objective lenses recessed for protection against bumps. Removable rubber lens caps are supplied. The overall length of the body is 142mm, so they are very compact, with space for three fingers between the bridges. The focusing drum, measuring 30mm in diameter, features spacious knurling along its 29mm length, and it adjusts smoothly with just fingertip pressure. This design ensures quick and precise focusing, enabling sharp focus at distances as close as 3m.

Eye cups
Each telescopic rubber eyecup, measuring 43mm in diameter and encircling 22mm ocular lenses, offers three adjustable positions to suit your preferred eye relief. Importantly, these lock securely into position and don’t annoyingly collapse under pressure as soon as they come into contact with your face. This is a particularly useful feature. The right tube carries a knurled dioptre adjuster to correct for any imbalance within your own eyesight, and there is a simple lens cover threaded onto the supplied neck strap.

Image detail
The optical performance was immediately impressive without undue effort, and I found the lenses to be well-ground, with an inviting field of view of 10.6m at 100m. The image appears flatly focused and bright all the way to the edge of the tubes, and it avoids internal reflections. The colour balance was neutral without being overly stark, maintaining a smooth, linear progression that matched the external light conditions, with no milkiness as the light faded. The image remained well-balanced into dusk, although, as expected, it diminished in contrast towards darkness. Multi-coated lenses are advertised, offering up to 96% light transmission, and I believe the detail resolution provided is above average for this price point.

Better binoculars
I have binoculars that cost ten times as much as these, but I still appreciate modest, lightweight binoculars that I can use with ease. As always, it’s the interaction I have with the mechanical controls, just as much as the image quality, that determines whether I will accept and happily use any optics. The Konus binoculars are easy to use, feature accommodating focal controls, and deliver a warm image that exceeds expectations at this price point. The rubberised tubes are grippy, the focal control is immediate, and the side anchors for the neck strap are smoothly integrated, avoiding discomfort during use. In my opinion, these binoculars outperform some of the bigger brands that cost more than twice as much.

Reviewer: Chris Parkin