Barr & Stroud 10x50 Sprite Monoculars Review

Based on the very popular Bresser monocular with the same name (Bresser Sprite 10x50), the Barr & Stroud 10x50 Sprite Monocular is ideal for those people who still want the performance of a binocular with a large objective lens, but where space is at a premium.

The Body

The Sprite Barr & Stroud Monocular is part of their Sahara range and is effectively a binocular cut in half, thus is half as big as a 10x50 binocular, but still offers almost as much light gathering capabilities as that of a large 50mm binocular.

It has been designed to be used single handed or with a tripod, using the standard tripod thread, meaning that it will work with most tripods. The Sprite does come with a small table-top tripod that works really well, so well in fact that during my review I had mine set up on the windowsill in my office, perfect for taking a quick glance at that Great spotted woodpecker feeding on some peanuts that I left out in the bird-feeder! Hand holding it also works very well, it sits very comfortably in the palm of your hand and the focussing wheel is simple enough to use from this position.

Waterproof
The Barr & Stroud Sprite features a waterproof housing that has been immersion tested at 1m in depth for 60 seconds. They are also filled with Nitrogen Filled ensuring that the Sprite monocular is fog proof.

The monocular weighs only Weight 420g as the body is made from tough & lightweight polycarbonate that has a rubberised coating on the exterior which means that your monocular should survive most minor bumps as well as keeping any noise generated from knocks to a minimum. This may not initially seem that important, but is if you are observing anything that is easily spooked by noise like birds.

The twist up eyecup works well with 4 click stop positions with enough eye relief to ensure that the Sprite can be used with or without glasses with equal comfort.

The Sprite monocular also comes with an objective lens cover that is tethered to the body, that fits well and shouldnt fall off accidentally. I really like the fact that the objective lens cap is tethered to the barrel of the monocular, but if you don't they can be removed, so everyone is a winner!

Focusing

If you are hand holding the Sprite monocular, the large focusing wheel is simple to use without removing your eye from the device. Focusing is very accurate and it takes about 2 full turns to go from infinity to it's closest focusing distance of 2.5 meters (8.2ft). I personally like to be able to go from far to near focus with fewer turns of the wheel, but this less aggressive gearing does make fine tuning your focus that much easier and accurate.

The Optics

Quality BaK-4 roof prisms are used on all Barr & Stroud Sprite spotters as are fully coated lenses that give you an optical performance that is at least equal to, or better than other monocular in their class.

Overall I was very impressed by both the clarity and brightness of the image produced. In terms of brightness it almost matched a much larger pair of 10x50 binoculars, but beat the compact Steiner 10x26 Safari Pro Binoculars.

The apparent field of view for the Barr & Stroud Sprite 10x50 is a fairly good 304ft at 1000 yards, beating many 10x binoculars but falling far short of the very best like the Zeiss 10x42 Victory FL  (330ft at 1000 yards), but you have to remember that the Zeiss binoculars are more than 15x the cost of these Sprite's!

Accessories
This Sprite 10x50 monocular comes with a quality carrying case as well as a table top tripod, with rubberised feet, a position fixing screw and in general works really well. Also included was a lens cleaning cloth.

Conclusion & Uses

Available for around £50, I feel that the Barr & Stroud Sprite 10x50 monocular is possibly the best value monocular currently available and is ideal for anyone looking for a powerful and bright optics, but where space is at a premium.

I can see it being ideal for anyone going travelling, but especially those going camping, backpacking or cycle touring. It would also make a great optic to take to most sporting events or for anyone wanting to view birds or nature, where you either have to carry other equipment, like a camera or just want to keep at least one hand free. I also feel that combined with the table top tripod, it is perfect for leaving on pretty much any windowsill that has a view.