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REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular

$40.99
$55.00^*

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Item # 777607

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With a powerful magnification range of 10x to 30x, this waterproof, compact REI monocular pulls in distant objects for easy viewing and fits easily in a pack or pocket.

Zoom out to a wide-angle 10x for a large field of view; zoom in to 30x for an up-close, detailed look
Multicoated optics help ensure bright, clear images
Composite and grippy rubber body stands up to knocks and bumps; waterproof design seals out moisture
Fold-down eye cup accommodates use with glasses
Includes soft case, neck strap and lens cleaning cloth

Imported.

Item 777607

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REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular

3.4

(based on 25 reviews)

70%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Easy to use (16)
Quality lenses (13)
Strong construction (13)
Accurate ranging (6)

Cons

Poor quality (5)
Difficult to use (3)
Sticky focus (3)

Best Uses

Bird watching (11)
Hunting (9)
Security (6)
Astronomy (5)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual/ recreational (14), Avid adventurer (11)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (9)

Reviewed by 25 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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Mar

2013

4.0

Great hardware-packaging"REI" flakes off

By Mycology Mystery

from Minnesota

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Use

Cons

Best Uses

Bird Watching

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

Easy to use. FYI the "REI" branding on the black case flakes off.

Comment on this review

Jun

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Lightweight and decent quality too

By Ian D.

from Lake Stevens, WA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy To Use
Quality Lenses
Strong Construction

Cons

Best Uses

Astronomy
Bird Watching
Hunting
Security

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

I purchased this monocular for a couple reasons: it's lightweight and compact, has good magnification range, and the price was good too. I wanted to put it in my daypack as a lighter alternative to binoculars. I've had a chance to use this monocular both during the night and during the day. At night, as long as there were some street lights or other ambient light, I had no problems with it. I also recently took it camping with me and had a chance to use it during the day. I used it to look at a ridge that was at least two miles away and I found the view through the glass to be very clear when not zoomed in or only partially zoomed in. The view was not quite as clear when I increased the magnification all the way to 30. The image got a little dark and fuzzy, and I could not adjust the focus to make it any clearer. However, I was still able to make out shapes and identify what I was looking at, so I only consider it a mild downside. Adjusting the focus can be a little touchy too. You have to be steady and make very small adjustments. The neck lanyard is nice, and the case it comes in is padded sufficiently to protect it. I'm glad I got this little monocular.

Comment on this review

Jan

2012

(3 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Nice design but a little ambitious

By yetanotherdave

from West Central Oregon

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Great close focus
Nice feel
Priced Right

Cons

Compromised clarity
Useless at 30x

Best Uses

10x viewing
Bug watching
Pond watching

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

Monoculars are almost always problematic and limited in capability. Brunton for instance advertises 7x in the Echo but the magnification is lucky to be 3x. This one actually tries to get to 30x honestly. The problem is that 30x zoom in a little monocular sounds great as a marketing snippet, but 30x is virually unusable in the field when enabled in such a small device. You can't watch birds with an unsupported 30x handheld device. The powerful zoom feature creates fairly miserable optical quality as soon as the zoom is acuated. And the field of view shrinks to a width impossible to hold when viewing standing up. That said, if you prop yourself well you can manage some magnifications up to 15x or so if you can tolerate the narrow field of view. When sitting down and steadying on your knees and looking at the ground you can get some pretty good macro viewing even up to 30x so as a macroscope the device works better than I expected. As monoculars go, this one is somewhat more interesting than the others and works fairly well overall. But align your expectations - this is not a magical, miniature, handheld telescope. It makes a better macroscope. Accept its limitations and you won't be too disappointed for the price. I can't comment on the quality issues others have reported. Mine works fine and it seems to be fairly water resistant as advertised.

Comment on this review

Dec

2011

(1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Cheap construction

By mattmill

from Reno, NV

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Poor Construction
Sticky Focus

Best Uses

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

I might have something positive to say if I had been able to use this monocular at all, but right out of the box the magnification was stuck at 30x and it was nearly impossible to focus.The adjustment ring floats on the outer magnification lens housing. The inner lens housing is in contact with the adjustment ring via two brass screws set into channels cut through the outer housing. In principle, as the adjustment ring is turned, it should grab these screws and turn the inner lens housing, thereby moving the lens in or out and changing the magnification.The problems with this design are numerous, and lie predominantly in the inexplicable choice of extremely poor quality materials. The adjustment ring and both the inner and outer lens housing are mostly plastic, and the brass screws have only two threads each. The inadequate lubricant and high friction between the plastic adjustment ring and lens housing cause the user to apply so much turning force that the feeble little screws literally tear out of the housing and become lodged in the channel, jamming the ring completely. Additionaly, the rubber grip on the ring is attached with a weak adhesive that quickly gives way, so that the user is then fruitlessly turning only the grip and not the ring at all.I imagine that with higher quality materials this would be a decent product, but in its current form it is unreliable and indeed almost unusable, and in no way justifies the [$] price tag.

Comment on this review

Dec

2011

2.0

Needs some improvement

By rstroup

from Charlotte, NC

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Quality Lenses
Strong Construction

Cons

Difficult To Use
Sticky Focus

Best Uses

Bird Watching
Hunting

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

These monoculars are good but they need to be a little bit more user friendly. it is hard to adjust the magnification and still keep the monocular on target. also the focus is a little confusing at first. I have figured out how to use them but to explain it so someone else it is difficult. A good option for these monoculars would be to add an adapter so that they can be attached to a tripod. I am currently trying to figure out how to make one. When I make it I will post pics. A nicer alternative to the monocular is the rei 8-17x25 binoculars. They are lightweight and compact read me review on them. The monocular would be good for some one that already has a nice pair of binos and wants to get more magnification with out spending too much dough.

Comment on this review

Nov

2011

(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Very poor magnification

By retnuh

from St louis MO

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Difficult To Use
Poor Construction

Best Uses

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

I am very dissapointed with this. I have a Brookstone 8x that magnifies just as well - I just cannot believe this is really 10x - and has a far sharper and brighter image. The close up function on the REI is far too fiddley and overall this is a clunky,underperforming item worth maybe twenty dollars. The zoom is sticky, the focusing wheel not smooth and I would basically class it as a 'stocking stuffer' at Christmas or whenever for kids.

Comment on this review

Apr

2011

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Good lightweight binocular alternative

By fiberman

from Chicago, IL

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

COMPACT
Easy To Use
Good Value
Lightweight
Quality Lenses

Cons

Vulnerable to vibration

Best Uses

Bird Watching
Examining architecture

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

I often want to get a closer look at birds when I'm out for a walk. I have a good pair of binoculars, but frankly they're too heavy and bulky for casual use, especially if I'm wrangling my dog. This monocular is compact, lightweight, and fits in my pocket. The image quality is more than enough for most bird spotting. I'm happy!

I've also used it to get a better view of architectural details on tall or distant buildings.

The instructions suggest that this scope can also be used as a macroscope to magnify close objects. I haven't tried this yet, but I suspect that my aging eyes will benefit from this feature as well.

The only downside I've found is that the monocular is more susceptible to vibration (shaking hands, etc.) than binoculars. If I were taking it out for serious bird watching, I'd use a tripod or some such (it DOES have a socket for mounting).

Comment on this review

Jan

2011

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Very Useful

By Cody

from Oregon

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate Ranging
Carry Case
Easy To Use
Strong Construction

Cons

Slight learning curve

Best Uses

Bird Watching
Hunting
Security

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

At first it takes a little to learn but quick and easy once figured out. It works great for close zooming around 35cm and long distance. While testing it in the parking lot I could read the security signs 300ft away. Lightweight and sturdy. Better than carrying around binoculars, in my opinion...

Comment on this review

Dec

2010

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Needs work

By cdillon474

from Rhode Island

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Poor Construction

Best Uses

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

This worked on the first day hiking at a local park. The next day at a different location the poorly constructed monocular would no longer zoom in. I like REI products and have had good luck until I picked up this gem. Bottom Line looking for a better product.

Comment on this review

Jul

2010

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Pros & Cons Balance

By Gogogoh3

from Temple city, CA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Accurate Ranging
Quality Lenses
Strong Construction

Cons

Causes Eye Strain
Difficult To Use

Best Uses

Astronomy
Hunting

Comments about REI Z13 10-30 x 25 Monocular:

I have use this for a week now. Testing it out in all the ways I can think of.
Pros are: its light weight, quick to pull out (when spotting something), 10x-30x power, and small.
Cons are: Eye relief is little, hard to hold still, slow to focus.

Personal use: hard to use with glasses, easy to accidentally change the power.

Overall: I would recommend it, however with caution.