Many people ask why they shouldn’t just buy a cheap pair of binoculars as surely they all have the “same magnification”. Well that may be true, but apart from the quality of the optics another major difference in the price and quality of a pair of binoculars is how sealed they are to moisture and dust. Not only will you have a far poorer view though a cheap pair of binoculars, but it often does not take long for them to either fog up inside or dust enters the mechanism making your view through them even worse and sometimes even un-usable.

Before we take a look at some of the best 10×42 waterproof binoculars that I have reviewed, I thought that we should first look at a few features that we should look out for and understand what they mean and how they help.

Generally speaking all waterproof optics are sealed with O-rings, this prevents moisture and dust from getting inside your sport optics.

Hermetically Sealed
If you are after the best waterproofing, a keyword to look out for is a pair of binoculars that have been hermetically sealed. A hermetic seal is a seal which, for practical purposes, is considered airtight. It is often used in optics, including binoculars, to make them water and fog proof and to keep out dust.

Nitrogen Filled Binoculars
Binoculars that are filled with nitrogen or argon gas are often termed “Fogproof binoculars” as these gases inhibit the internal fogging that is often caused by temperature extremes.

Hydrophobic Coating
Some of the best binoculars have a special coating on their lenses that actually repel water, this can be very useful if you will often be using your optics in wet weather conditions. Not only does this coating enable you to use your binoculars in wet and dusty environments, but it has the added benefit of making it much easier to remove fingerprints and dirt particles from the lenses and they have a higher resistance to all forms of abrasions that may otherwise leave the lenses permanently scared. Most of the manufacturers have their own name for it, Leica call it their AquaDura coating whilst Carl Zeiss Binoculars call it their LotuTec coating.

The Best 10×42 Waterproof Binoculars

Olympus Waterproof 10×42 Magellan Binoculars
These great binoculars have been both Hermetically sealed and filled with Nitrogen making them them fully waterproof, dirtproof and fogproof.

Minox Waterproof 10×42 BV Binoculars
Fully waterproof and according to the manufacturer (I did not test it!) they are submersible to a depth of down to 3 meters in water, which obviously makes them sealed against the effects of dust as well. They also have Fog-proofing with the use of nitrogen gas that protects the mechanism inside from corrosion and prevents fogging up of the optical surfaces as the temperature fluctuates from one extreme to another.

Bushnell Waterproof 10×42 NatureView Binoculars
One of the best selling pairs of binoculars, due to their very competitive prices and many excellent features, the Bushnell 10X42 Natureview Roof Prism binoculars are both Water and Fog Proof. The are o-ring sealed to keep moisture at bay, nitrogen purged for fog proof viewing in any season.

Leica Waterproof 10×42 Ultravid HD Binoculars
Not only do Leica say that these binoculars are watertight to a depth of 5 m/16.5 ft, but they also contain a hydrophobic coating on the lenses that repel both water and dust and so should easily handle most watery conditions that you are likely to encounter.

Zeiss 10×42 Victory FL Binoculars
100% Waterproof and Nitrogen filled to prevent fogging and like the Leica’s above they have a hydrophobic coating on the lenses that repel water, dirt and grease.