TreeLineBackpacker

The Standard Issue from Nocs Provisions are lightweight, durable binoculars that are designed and constructed to be rugged, waterproof, and packable for adventurers who like to stop and take in the sights, without the weight penalty.

The Field Issue is built from a thick, rugged body that is wrapped in a rubbery textured grip that both provides extra traction. These ridges also act as bumpers to help dissipate impact in the event of a drop. The lenses are waterproof with dedicated o-rings to keep moisture out. They’re also nitrogen filled, and thus fog resistant. They’re adjustable in focus, width and the eyecups twist in and out to compensate for use with glasses. They even have a dial on the right lese to help compensate for vision discrepancies between the two eyes. They weigh roughly 473g, 16.7 oz and come in both 8x and 10x magnification sizes for $175.

8x vs 10x lenses

Let’s start out with a quick explanation of the difference between an 8x and 10x lens. Essentially, the higher the number the bigger the magnification, but each comes with some tradeoffs. The smaller 8x lens will have a wider field of view, meaning you can see more to the sides, making it easier to spot a bird or animal when panning or scanning. It is also perceived as being more stable in the hand as less magnification appears to be less shaky, even if they’re not moving more. Finally, the 8x lens will have a brighter image as it is pulling in more surrounding light into a smaller space (the lens). The 10x lens will alternatively have a larger, more zoomed in image, making anything you view appear closer. The view will be more focused and narrower, but will also come with more perceived shake in the eyepiece. Essentially, the 8x is better for closer objects and dimmer environments, where the 10x will be preferable for further objects or those who are looking for more detail.

Overall Impressions

Little known, I am actually an avid birder and formally educated in ornithology, so I’m going to be approaching this review from a birder’s perspective. In my opinion puts a lot of scrutiny on things like lens quality, durability, and their ability to function in a wide range of lighting and weather conditions. Afterall, spotting and identifying birds is all about color and small details. Now, at first glace the Field Issue Binoculars seem rather standard. However, closer inspection reveals what separates these from my more traditional binoculars.

First, the build quality here is rather good. The frame feels solid, robust, and ready to take a beating. This is important as I’m constantly stuffing them into backpacks, cars, carrying them around, knocking them around on trees and rocks, and they’ve held up great. The rubbery, textured grip not only looks cool, but adds a substantial amount of impact protection to the binoculars too. The ridges stand out from the body which allows them to compress and distribute shock, generally preventing the binoculars from having direct impacts to the body itself. They also include lens covers for the eyepieces and a fabric based travel sack to help keep them scratch free. There is no cap for the objective lenses, however.

These ridges are also carefully placed with care applied to directionality. These run perpendicular to the typical slip direction against the skin. This provides extra traction against the palm, and fingers, especially handy in the rain. The hand feel they produce is nice too. They have a rubbery texture with a little bit of give to them, but overall still quite firm. The focus wheel is textured as well, making it easy to roll and do tiny adjustments with a single finger. As a whole, the Field Issue imbues confidence during use, which is appreciated when hiking around cliffs and rivers. No one wants to drop their binoculars off a rock face.

Clarity is good for their size. They focus well and provide a distortion free image. The 10x model provides a nice large image, appropriate for spotting and identifying objects and animals at a decent distance. Small birds and animals can easily be identified a hundred feet away or so, with experience, while larger birds can be identified hundreds of feet way without much issue. Due to the narrow field of view they can appear less bright than normal, binocular free viewing and seem to have a slightly desaturated look to them at times, but this is expected with compact binoculars. The 8x provides a brighter, wider, more natural image that helps with identifying color and markings in dark thickets or overcast conditions. These can be slightly brighter than my own vision at times, with similar clarity. Which is better, the 8x or 10x, is entirely subjective. I personally prefer the 10x as I’m often trying to spot tiny birds in tall trees, so I need all the zoom I can get. But, this will be the ultimate choice of the end user.

Packability and weight are both quite good. At just 336g / 11.85oz they are quite easy to justify tossing into a backpack on a hiking or even backpacking trip, which I would never do with my full sized binoculars. This means I don’t have to miss out on spotting new birds and critters when I’m exploring new backcountry terrain. I also found that I enjoy keeping them in my car so that I can pull them out whenever I spot something unique in the distance. Keeping them handy for lunch breaks and picnics has paid off many times for me.

In summary: The Field Issue by Nocs Provisions are great, lightweight binoculars. They provide good clarity in a pack size that is small and light enough for just about any adventure. They’re waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 3 ft of water, so rain and river crossings aren’t a concern. Focusing is smooth and consistent, and they feel great in the hands. So far, they have held up great in a variety of conditions, including rain and fog. They include a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty, and priced rather reasonably, which makes them easy to recommend.

Highly Recommended

For more information on the Nocs Field Issue, consider checking them out via their site. They sell direct (not an affiliate link).

For information on our rating system and our testing procedures, check out our About us/ Contact us page.

I want to extend a huge thanks to Nocs for providing this product for review. We couldn’t do it without their help.

Our full disclosure can be found on our contact us/about us page. Thanks as always for reading! Don’t forget to follow our blog for future updates and reviews (link on the right also).

If you have any questions, comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter or Facebook (links on the right)