A few days ago I was looking to review some Bushnell binoculars here in the UK, when I noticed that Jessops.co.uk were offering a deal that almost seemed too go to be true.

They have the Bushnell 12×42 AW Binoculars currently on sale as a web only deal at £45 (reduced from £139.99). Because they are a Jessops ‘Exclusive’ I had never heard of them before, but I decided to buy a pair and give them a full review. Now I am not going to say that these are the best binoculars in the world, but they are also far from being the worst and much better than their current £45 price tag suggests.

More Information
You can read my full review on the Bushnell 12×42 AW Binoculars
Or take a look at them on Jessops.co.uk

Binoculars from the High Street
Photographic stores on the high street often have a small section containing a few models of binoculars. They are kind of hit and miss and in my experience usually contain mostly cheap makes of binoculars and a few very expensive ones. Jessops often have a decent selection of binoculars in their bigger stores, but I have found their range is better online, unless you plan on visiting their store on Oxford Street in London.

Binoculars for sale on-line
Internet retailers tend to offer a far wider range of binoculars as well as better deals and cheaper prices than high street stores. The Jessops web store is worth looking at, but I always compare the prices with Amazon.co.uk as they (along with their partners) almost certainly have biggest range of binoculars in the UK, usually at the cheapest or pretty close to the cheapest. With Amazon you also get the added benefit of being safe in the knowledge that they are more than just a ‘man in a shed’ company.

To take a look at my recommended on-line binocular UK retailers as well as one in the US, take a look at my page on Where to Buy Binoculars.

Binoculars in the UK
In general the US has a far wider selection of binoculars than here in the UK, I have often reviewed a set that have easily found for sale in America, but as yet are unavailable in Britain. The American retailers also often have many optics offered at a discount whilst here they continue to be sold at the full asking price.