Nikon Travelite Binoculars Review

Nikon has been always eyed as a high-end optics manufacturer. Due to this, they have been out of reach for most of the people who sought quality optics. Fortunately, Nikon has come up with a range of Travelite binoculars. These binoculars are pocket-friendly and can make your dream come true of owning a pair of Nikon binoculars.

All Nikon binoculars, like the other Japanese binocular manufacturers, tend to focus on technology while providing a great pair of optics, without sacrificing quality and their Travelite Range is no different.

Let us see below how they perform on various parameters.

Look and Feel of Nikon Travelite Binoculars (Design and Body)

Nikon Travelite binoculars are compact, durable, lightweight versatile binocular designs. A popular brand of binoculars, available in 8x, 10x, 12x magnification with 25 mm objective lens; these are ideally suited for birdwatching or nature viewing adventures, over the weekend with family or friends.

The specialty of these 6^th generation binoculars with multi-layered anti-reflective compound coating for excellent brightness is their superior design, which ensures a distortion-free clear image viewing experience.

As these binoculars are small, so they can slip into any bag and carried over long distances. Featuring a multilayer aspherical lens by Nikon for clear imaging, these binoculars an ideal choice for amateurs.

Build and Construction Quality (8x,10x,12x)

Nikon Travelite binoculars stand out for their ergonomically designed carbon fiber body covering an aluminum chassis that makes them lightweight and tough.

The reverse Porro prism design of these binoculars with a carbon fiber body creates a perfectly suitable and durable protective shell for the optical lenses.

Available in mated black color (8x, 12x) with a comfortable, non-slip grip design; the look and feel of these binoculars is enhanced by rubber armor protective coating for enhanced grip and durability.

Though all 3 are designed to be waterproof and can work in a depth of about 2 meters or 6.5 feet for 5 minutes. The mated silver color 10x binocular is ideally suited for jobs that make waterproofing essential.

This binocular contains nitrogen gas for fog-free operation. The enhanced texture and finger indents, ensure easy grip that makes it, an ideal choice for use by people of any age group.

All Nikon Travelite binoculars are made using lead- and arsenic-free eco-glass. Most importantly twist eyecups provide a great viewing experience to eyeglass wearers

General Optical Performance, Low Light Performance-Nikon Travelite (8x,10x,12x)

Nikon Travelite is a range of versatile, all-around binoculars designed to give a near-perfect optical performance.

The aspherical eyepiece lens of the binoculars along with reverse Porro prism design work together to make these reduce curvature that helps minimize image distortion. The compact lens allows for easier handling.

A fully multi-coated optic lens makes these ecologically friendly binoculars, the go-to sighting device for short to mid-range viewing experience.

The optics help reduce glare besides improving light transmission, contrast, and color rendition.

The binoculars provide an excellent ‘field of view’ of more than 290 feet over a distance of 1000 yards.  Nikon Travelite binoculars deliver optimum performance in strong light (indirectly looking at sunlight) conditions.

Thanks to the fully multi-coated optics that helps cut glare and improves light transmission, contrast, and color rendition; all essential things in low light viewing.

Added to this is BaK-4 glass, a high-quality optical glass to make the prism. Not just that, the exit pupil configuration can be changed to the largest to maximize low light performance.

Nikon Travelite binoculars are the most sought-after viewing device, However, they could be better performing in low-light conditions.

Focusing Mechanisms in Nikon Travelite Binoculars

The focusing mechanism of larger binoculars with Porro prism design allows the eyepieces to move back and forth each time focus needs to be adjusted.

However, in compact Porro prism design binoculars like Nikon Travelite, the idea is to keep the eyepieces still and move the objectives or focus wheel (2.5 cm in diameter) to the front or back to get the right focus.

The focus wheel requires a single full revolution in clockwise mode to move from close focus (distance of 2.8 meters) to infinite focus. The fast-moving focus wheel helps to achieve the desired focus quickly and easily.

Travelite Binoculars are known for their high-eyepoint design that allows better focus and a clear field of view for those who wear glasses.

A textured center focus wheel allows for easier handling even with gloves. Right-eye dioptric correction usually helps compensate for individual optical prescriptions.

This allows for tack-sharp focus, even for those users who are not wearing corrective lenses. The toughened carbon fiber body helps to fasten the hinges and focusing mechanism.

Chromatic Aberration-Nikon Travelite Binoculars 

There are two types of chromatic aberration namely lateral chromatic aberration and axial chromatic aberration.

Lateral Chromatic Aberration or ‘transverse chromatic aberration’, occurs when different color wavelengths coming at an angle focus at different positions along the same focal plane.

Axial chromatic aberration results in blurred colors in the front and back of the focus position due to differences in each color’s focal point.

Nikon Travelite (8x,10x,12x) binoculars are known for their excellent optical system.

Chromatic aberration is a phenomenon caused by distortion in the wavelength of incident light.  Color fringing may occur if an image is seen through a lens with chromatic aberration.

In order to correct this discrepancy, two different lenses of different optical characteristics are combined in a binocular for better viewing. 

All Nikon binoculars use this system to correct the aberration.

Diopter Setting

Nikon Travelite (8x,10x,12x) binoculars use a diopter, a control knob that helps compensate for differences between what you see with two eyes.

The diopter is usually in the right-eye piece and helps achieve tack-sharp focusing without the need to wear a corrective lens.

The best way to adjust the diopter by adjusting the central focusing knob to focus both binocular barrels at the same time. This can be done by

• Keeping diopter setting at zero or center position
• Covering barrel which diopter adjustment affects, (usually the right one first) with lens cap
• Focus on a static object with both eyes
• Once focus in the left eye is same as right shift diopter adjustment to another eye, once again using lens cap and keeping diopter setting at zero
• See the same static object and fine-tune by turning diopter setting front and back
• When the image through the right eye is sharp, remove the lens cap and look through both eyepieces

What We Recommend (When to choose 8x or 10x or 12x)

If you wear glass and want to use binoculars then go for Nikon Travelite 8x because of its 14 mm eye relief.

Whereas eye relief of 10x and 12x Nikon Travelite binoculars is only 11.1mm, good for viewing through the naked eye only. Not enough eye relief can make watching through binocular no so great experience.

If looking for magnification power in a small binocular, a better idea is to go for Nikon Travelite 10X binoculars.

12X is best for sports viewing. This Reasonably priced binocular comes with lens caps, carrying case, and neck strap.

More Read:

8×25 vs 10×25 Binoculars

Are Nikon Binoculars Worth The Money?