Hi there, I just purchased a pair of Bushnell Elite 7x26 custom compact binoculars yesterday and now think I got the wrong pair. I will be using them for hunting (mostly archery) in Minnesota. I was looking at the Nikon Prostaff ATB 8x25 also along with these ones, anyway the Bushnells have a fantastic picture and are quite a bit brighter than the Nikons. The guy at the counter told me that the Bushnells were waterproof so I bought those ones. Well, while reading the manual after I got home I discovered that they are NOT waterproof! Is having waterproof binoculars really that important? I really don't hunt in the rain, but will go out in light/intermittent rains. I know I won't be submerging them, but how much will a little rain/snow affect these? I am just trying to decide if I should take them back and get the Nikons instead. Both were at $125 by the way, so not looking to spend anymore than that really.

What are your opinions on waterproof vs. non-waterproof binoculars for hunting?

I just looked at the bushnell web sight and it says your bino's are waterproof. http://www.bushnell.com/products/binoculars/elite/ they also have an improved raingaurd lens coating so they won't fog up, should be fairly good bino's.

Yes it does say that, but if you look at the bottom of the screen it has the Astrix with the model number of the binoculars I have. They are the only ones in the elite line-up that are not waterproof/fogproof...figures. I'm just so disappointed because these have a much better picture than the Nikons I was looking at

I have a pair of bushnell compacts that also aren't waterproof, they've been fine and have seen moisture in the way of rain and snow. Old school bins weren't all waterproof and also have functioned fine through some moisture. Even with my field bins which are waterproof, I protect from the pouring rain..habit I guess. For your situation I don't think you'll have a problem and you found the optical performance better. Any way you slice it you'll have some gosh/darn thoughts.

Well, I have decided to just keep the Bushnells. I went back to the store and looked at several waterproof models from Nikon, Steiner and Bushnell (all of which were more expensive) and they just didn't compare to these little Elite 7x26's. If I hadn't looked through the Elites, then those probably would have looked just fine, but nothing like the bushnells. I will just take extra care with them, keep them covered and put them into a gallon zip-lock before bringing them inside when the weather turns cold. If all that fails and they get moisture inside that I can't get to...well then I will just have to buy different binoculars at that time. Hopefully they will last me many years!

That is some mighty deceptive advertising for sure. Took me a while to find the deception.

In my opinion, you'll be OK. I would suspect that if the binos were submerged say more than 3 - 4 feet for any length of time (minute or more) there would be a problem.