Looking ahead to my first solo in late August and trying to keep my pack weight down. Wondering what the consensus is on bringing along a pair of small binoculars? Do you use binocks often on your solos? do you feel they are worth bringing along?

i use to always bring compact binocs but rarely used them. they stay at home now.

quote kanoes: "i use to always bring compact binocs but rarely used them. they stay at home now."

+1

I have one of the older models of THIS
Zeiss 5X10 T MiniQuick Monocular . I have a string tied to it and to my life vest so I so I so not loose it and it stays in my vest pocket. I use it about once a trip to check something out.

I also bring a monocular. Comes in handy at least once on a trip.

I often leave them behind for backpacking, but bring them canoeing. They also became more likely to be packed once I discovered that the lens of one of my cameras fit perfectly into the rubber eyecup, allowing me to take dramatically zoomed photos with a compact point-and-shoot.

I leave em home...I tend to bring to much stuff as it is.

SunCatcher

quote Minnesotian: "
I also bring a monocular. Comes in handy at least once on a trip. "

I think I'm going for one of those...then I can use it with my good eye.

Thanks for the honest feedback everyone. Your advice is much appreciated.

i carry a monocular. i picked one up at canoecopia a few years back.

Is it worth the weight? How much are the binoculars worth to you? On a trip with my family where we have a few "packhorses", I find binoculars to be invaluable in scouting campsites.

However, if you're shaving ounces, trying to single portage for example, then leave them at home.

I wear a monocle. People think I'm a Nazi doctor and leave me be.

I have a lightweight pair of Zeiss binocs weighing about six ounces which I keep on my neck whenever I'm outdoors... canoeing, hiking whatever. We are visual creatures and humans rely more on their sight than all of the other senses combined so why not enhance our vision?

A lightweight pair yes. I was solo in 2007 and saw a huge bull moose calling from the shore across the bay. He then swam along the shore. Without my binocs I would have had a much lesser experience. I was able to see the detail in his huge rack as he swam. It was mid Sept. and the velvet was off. It's something I'll never forget but without binocs he would have been just a brown blob in the distance.

I bring a cheap monocular. It is something like this from Fleet Farm. I find it can ease my mind some when I have trouble finding a portage on occasion.

Monocular

I wouldn't worry about others advice on this, either you will like to use them regularly enough to justify carrying, or next time will leave them behind.

butthead

For comparison, my camera-through-binoculars setup let me get from this:
Unzoomed photo
to this:
Zoomed photo

quote Mort: do you feel they are worth bringing along?"

Always bring a small pair...there is always something interesting to look at it. What's a pound in the big scheme of things??

If I didn't bring my camera and big lens I would bring binoculars. Great for checking for open campsites or scanning shorelines for critters.

"What's a pound in the big scheme of things??"

16 ounces. :)

More or less

If you are the type who takes a high-end camera with you, you could include a long telephoto lens. A long telephoto can function for distance viewing too.
I don't take binocs and my camera is an inexpensive one with a short zoom lens. Weight and fear of damage are my reasons.