Best monocular 2024: rugged, compact devices for wildlife spotting and more

The best monoculars will help you spot wildlife or have a closer look at ships on the horizon without carrying bulky binoculars

best monocular: Woman Collecting Garbage and Watching Environment With Monocular
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The best monoculars often offer twice as much versatility for half the weight and bulk of binoculars. Lightweight and pocket-friendly, we're more likely to slip a monocular into our jacket or rucksack for everyday use than these alternatives, thus opening up a whole world of observational possibilities, whether we're bird watching, heading out for a nature walk, or are at the local football match.

The main advantage of monoculars over the best binoculars, and especially the best telescopes, is their compact form factor and portability, but many more features might make them more suitable for the type of outdoor activity you prefer. Read on for advice on what to look for, followed by our pick of some of the best monoculars on the market. 

The best monocular you can buy right now

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How to choose the best monocular for you

As ever, when it comes to choosing the best monocular for you, you must first decide on your budget and what you want it for. And whether, in fact, a pair of binoculars might be a better option. The chief advantage of the monocular is that it is essentially less cumbersome and won't overly burden us. Plus, with a lens at the front, an eyepiece at the back and typically a large and obvious focus knob in the middle, monoculars can be conveniently used with just one hand as well as one eye.

As we've noted, a monocular is more of a specialist tool than a pair of binoculars, so their availability and range of options tend to be slightly less. That said, we'll be looking for similar specifications when choosing them – for example, the magnification offered plus the size of the objective lens, given as, for example, 10x25. Generally speaking, on a monocular, the magnification is more modest, and the field of view is narrower; therefore, what we're really looking for to decide which one to buy is the best combination of power, performance and portability. 

While the majority of monoculars are designed for use in the daytime, there are a handful of infrared-enabled monoculars additionally available for those who want to continue their observations at night – check out our guide to the best night vision binoculars and goggles for more info and options there.

FAQ

What's the best magnification for a monocular?

If you're looking for a general purpose monocular, the best magnification range is between either 6x or 8x. This allows for observation of somewhat distant objects without the use of a tripod. Birdwatchers might want to consider10x or higher magnification.

Gavin Stoker

Gavin Stoker has been writing about photography and technology for the past 20 years. He currently edits the trade magazine British Photographic Industry News - BPI News for short - which is a member of TIPA, the international Technical Imaging Press Association.

With contributions from