Be interested in what other's have found in this regard. I just posted the below on Long Range Optics, but thought it might be the start to possibly helpful thread to those of us who are putting on the wilderness miles and packing meat and camp on our own two legs. :p
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I'm not saying this is the best, but this was the best compromise of price (for my budget at the time) and packability (size, shape). Check out the size. The straight, tapered shape makes it very packable.
Bushnell | Elite 60mm with 15-45x Zoom | 781548P | B&H Photo
Sportman's Warehouse had the Nikon (virtual twin in size and shape) for $499 and the Bushnell Elite for $399. Bushnell was made in Japan and the Nikon in China, much to the salespersons surprise and mine. Glass in Bushnell seemed slightly better in side by side comparisons on a tripod. I got mine online for about $280 somewhere, I think.
My main goal was to be able to count points at 1K plus and it's done that. I can easily determine if I'm looking at a branch antlered bull at 2 miles+. It's not the best for low light conditions, that's for sure. And, it's not like looking through a Swarovski or Leica, but my budget won't allow a spotting scope from those guys and even if it did, their large size and weight make them very unappealing to me when it's time to put them in my backpack.
I also bought this Manfrotto tripod as its size, packability, weight, price and many great features won me over.
Bogen / Manfrotto | 785B Modo Mini Tripod | 785SHB | B&H Photo
At the same price, here's it slightly larger and heavier brother:
Bogen / Manfrotto | 785B Modo Maxi Tripod | 785B | B&H Photo
These tripods have an amazing array of features given their price, size and weight. Just what I settled on. Good luck.
). Incredible fov and its eye relief is awesome on all powers for guys like me who wear glasses. I just upgraded to the HD version this past year.
Linear Mode
