I enjoy kayaking with binos - looking for suggestions/gear used to wear binoculars while kayaking
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I use a monocular with a belt clip on it. . It has a neck throng, but I prussic that to my rear deck bungee in front of the cockpit and clip it to the same line. I can simply pull it off the bungee and look at anything I want to, but if I roll or get turned over it just stays on the deck so I can’t loose it.
It’s fast and easy to remove and place around my neck if I get out on the shore.
When I hunt I use a chest style harness for them. Can’t do that when I paddle bc of pfd. I recently starting using a deck back in front of the cockpit on my Stratos. I love being able to stow the binos in there and pull them out when I want to stop and do some glassing. That works pretty well for me. What are you currently doing?
I have a waterproof monocular clipped and tied under my PFD left shoulder strap. I just pull it loose and raise it to my eye then clip it back under the strap when done.
I get vertigo using binoculars in a kayak.
I’ll add one more vote for a monocular. It’s much more compact than binoculars and easy to use with one hand. I prefer a 6x30, as it’s nice and bright and higher magnifications are hard to use from a boat, due to the constant motion. Unfortunately, the Brunton Eterna is no longer being made, but if you can find a used one, it’s a great glass.
A quick Google search turned up this Celestron, but I can’t vouch for the quality:
The low price gives me pause and I would want to see it before buying it.
Here’s another option:
Since it’s on Amazon, it would be easy to return if you don’t like it.
My brother gave me a pair of waterproof binoculars to use kayaking many years ago. In general I find binoculars a bit bulky for kayaking with a PFD and all of the other safety gear I am carrying. A monocular might have been better and might fit in a pocket, out of the way. Be sure that whatever you get it is securely tethered at all times. Some binoculars and monoculars advertise that they float. You can get neck straps for others that will provide floatation, but these tend to be a bit bulky.
Be aware that there are many binoculars and monoculars that are advertised as “waterproof”, but if you read the fine print, almost none are rated as submersible. They may be fine in rain, but if they end up in the water they may only hold up for a very short time. Once they get a bit of water in them they are going to fog up, and especially in salt water you will have a fairly expensive repair to be performed.
Blackthumb, I don’t dare use any occular device when in a kayak for more than a couple of seconds or I’ll be swimming.
I keep a knife and monocular under my left shoulder strap. Under the right side strap I keep my VHF radio with the whistle, and small light/strobe also there. I keep my camera in the front pocket, and my gloves snacks and buff in the hand warmer pocket. I tuck the straps in the pocket and behind the vest, they are just hanging in the photo.
