Now that deer season has wound down, I wanted to post my review of the new Monarch 3 ATB 10x42 binoculars. As many of you know, I am a long time fan of Nikon scopes and binoculars. Nikon sent me a pair of Monarch 3's to compare with my original Monarch's.
I am not an optics "expert" by any means, but I do spend well over a month in the field hunting every year. I got some new binoculars this year, the new Nikon Monarch 3 ATB 10x42's. For the past four years I have been using the original Nikon Monarch ATB 10x42's. I kept my old Monarch ATB's and did some side by side comparisons. I have to say I am impressed. The Monarch ATB's have long been the best selling binoculars in their price range for a reason. Nikon has managed to make them even better, while keeping them at the same price, about $250. The Monarch 3's are slightly larger, a bit heavier (by only 3 oz.), and the body has an even better rubber coating. They "feel good" in my hands and are very easy to focus. They are fog proof and water proof like the original ATB's. The eye-cups on the "3's" have click settings now and allow for even greater eye relief. This is important for folks like me that wear glasses. My favorite new feature on the "3's" though, are the silver-alloy coated roof prisms which replace the old Monarch's dielectric roof prism coatings. What this translates to for non-techies like me is better low-light performance, about 7%+ according to Nikon. I hunt a lot at first and last light, and also at night for predators and hogs, so low-light performance is very important to me. Comparing the old and the new, I could see a definite improvement with the "3's", and the old ATB's were already very good! Nikon has also upgraded the attached objective lens covers. They are "beefier" and stay on better. The bottom line is that the new "3's" are very bright, sharp, user friendly and have even better low-light capabilities. As good as the original Monarch ATB's were, the new Monarch 3 ATB's are a step-up…….and at the same price.
L to R: Monarch 3 ATB, Original Monarch ATB
I am not an optics "expert" by any means, but I do spend well over a month in the field hunting every year. I got some new binoculars this year, the new Nikon Monarch 3 ATB 10x42's. For the past four years I have been using the original Nikon Monarch ATB 10x42's. I kept my old Monarch ATB's and did some side by side comparisons. I have to say I am impressed. The Monarch ATB's have long been the best selling binoculars in their price range for a reason. Nikon has managed to make them even better, while keeping them at the same price, about $250. The Monarch 3's are slightly larger, a bit heavier (by only 3 oz.), and the body has an even better rubber coating. They "feel good" in my hands and are very easy to focus. They are fog proof and water proof like the original ATB's. The eye-cups on the "3's" have click settings now and allow for even greater eye relief. This is important for folks like me that wear glasses. My favorite new feature on the "3's" though, are the silver-alloy coated roof prisms which replace the old Monarch's dielectric roof prism coatings. What this translates to for non-techies like me is better low-light performance, about 7%+ according to Nikon. I hunt a lot at first and last light, and also at night for predators and hogs, so low-light performance is very important to me. Comparing the old and the new, I could see a definite improvement with the "3's", and the old ATB's were already very good! Nikon has also upgraded the attached objective lens covers. They are "beefier" and stay on better. The bottom line is that the new "3's" are very bright, sharp, user friendly and have even better low-light capabilities. As good as the original Monarch ATB's were, the new Monarch 3 ATB's are a step-up…….and at the same price.
L to R: Monarch 3 ATB, Original Monarch ATB
