Bushnell Forge 8×42

Specifications:

Objective diameter:  42 mm
Magnification:  8 x
Exit pupil: 5.25 mm
Eye relief (acc. to spec): 19 mm
Usable eye relief (measured from rim of eyecup): 13.5 mm
IPD:  56 – 74 mm
RFOV:  8.1  degrees = 142 m
AFOV (measured, rounded): 61 degrees
Minimum focus distance (measured): 1.8 m
Focus type:  CF (direction of rotation from close to infinity: < anticlockwise)
Degrees of rotation of focus wheel from 3m to infinity (measured): 295 degrees
Range of diopter adjustment (estimate): +/- 4 dpt*
Excess travel of focus wheel beyond infinity position (estimate): 5 dpt*
Prism system:  Schmidt-Pechan
Waterproof: yes
Weight (measured, with eyepiece cover and strap): 938 g
Made in: China
*range of diopter adjustment not affected by position of focus wheel

Remarks:

The “Forge” – which comes in sizes 8×42, 10×30, 10×42 and 15×56 – is  currently Bushnell’s top binocular line. This is an excellent example of how far modern China-made quality binoculars have come – well designed, well built, well finished, with an attractive field of view, a good central sharpness, decent off-axis sharpness, a bright image, wide sweet spot, and good CA-correction. The performance gap to the European and Japanese sub-prime and premium binoculars is not that big any more; the price is still significantly lower, so the Forge is an attractive proposition in terms of  “value-for-money”.

Ratings: