Picked up my Midas 10x25s today—here are my thoughts so far:
The optics are absolutely incredible! When I got home and finally tried them out, I was already in low-light conditions, but the image was still hands-down better than anything I've seen through any pair of binoculars before. If you're an expert in objective lenses, you'll be shocked that these are only 25mm, and if you don't know what an objective lens is, these binos will teach you everything you need to know.
Zoom level feels like the right choice for probably 95% or more of the things you'll want to look at.
Size and weight are a dream for travelers, lightweight backpackers, photographers who don't have space for another heavy lens, or really anyone who wants pocket-sized, world-class binos.
Comes with a lens-cleaning cloth, user guide, padded neck strap, and carrying case, which has a belt loop and its own neck strap. These accessories are also all clearly well-made and probably worth an extra $50+ in their own right.
Packaging is awesome—it lists all the important specs that you care about, and also lists all the important specs that you don't even understand, assuring you that people with extremely good taste in bino glass did all of your dirty work and spared you the details. Take a picture!
Even the buying experience is completely unique and feels carefully crafted. Athlon doesn't sell in big-box stores, doesn't sell on Amazon, and doesn't ship to your house—you'll have to find a local seller in your area, give them a call (yes, an actual phone call with a real person), and ask if they have the Midas 10x25s in stock. They probably won't, so you'll have to wait until they place their next order with Athlon—and while you wait for that order to come in, you might have to call the seller a few more times. When at last your binos arrive, you'll drive out to the store in the middle of God knows where, small talk with the shop owner, and finally, head home with your new Midas 10x25s in tow.
This buying experience is gonna annoy the living hell out of you UNTIL that magical moment when you're driving home and you think to yourself, "Wow, I just had a full, reasonably enjoyable conversation with a small business owner I've never met before, someone from a completely different walk of life, someone who is actually pretty inspiring in that she's so good at balancing specialized trade skills with business administration skills that she became her own boss and is in complete control of her own financial future. The only thing we have in common is Athlon Optics, but hey, that was more than enough to get us through a couple minutes of small talk, during which I was able to express myself without a single emoji, reaction gif, or hashtag. I didn't even look at my phone the entire time." You'll feel a strong desire to have this kind of experience again, and you'll drive the rest of the way home knowing that next time, you can bring your binoculars and look at something cool along the way.
You get ALL OF THE ABOVE for a price that's high enough to remind you you're purchasing a serious, precisely engineered product, but low enough to be within reach of someone saving up for their very first pair of binoculars, or buying them as a gift for someone else.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot—your Midas 10x25s will have a friggin' lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship, no receipts or registration required.
This is the moment when you stop reading this and go look for your nearest authorized Athlon dealer in order to look at things that are far away and pretend they're very close.
Note for Athlon: please allow 10-star reviews on your website. 5 stars is not enough.
Alex Vipond –
Picked up my Midas 10x25s today—here are my thoughts so far:
The optics are absolutely incredible! When I got home and finally tried them out, I was already in low-light conditions, but the image was still hands-down better than anything I've seen through any pair of binoculars before. If you're an expert in objective lenses, you'll be shocked that these are only 25mm, and if you don't know what an objective lens is, these binos will teach you everything you need to know.
Zoom level feels like the right choice for probably 95% or more of the things you'll want to look at.
Size and weight are a dream for travelers, lightweight backpackers, photographers who don't have space for another heavy lens, or really anyone who wants pocket-sized, world-class binos.
Comes with a lens-cleaning cloth, user guide, padded neck strap, and carrying case, which has a belt loop and its own neck strap. These accessories are also all clearly well-made and probably worth an extra $50+ in their own right.
Packaging is awesome—it lists all the important specs that you care about, and also lists all the important specs that you don't even understand, assuring you that people with extremely good taste in bino glass did all of your dirty work and spared you the details. Take a picture!
Even the buying experience is completely unique and feels carefully crafted. Athlon doesn't sell in big-box stores, doesn't sell on Amazon, and doesn't ship to your house—you'll have to find a local seller in your area, give them a call (yes, an actual phone call with a real person), and ask if they have the Midas 10x25s in stock. They probably won't, so you'll have to wait until they place their next order with Athlon—and while you wait for that order to come in, you might have to call the seller a few more times. When at last your binos arrive, you'll drive out to the store in the middle of God knows where, small talk with the shop owner, and finally, head home with your new Midas 10x25s in tow.
This buying experience is gonna annoy the living hell out of you UNTIL that magical moment when you're driving home and you think to yourself, "Wow, I just had a full, reasonably enjoyable conversation with a small business owner I've never met before, someone from a completely different walk of life, someone who is actually pretty inspiring in that she's so good at balancing specialized trade skills with business administration skills that she became her own boss and is in complete control of her own financial future. The only thing we have in common is Athlon Optics, but hey, that was more than enough to get us through a couple minutes of small talk, during which I was able to express myself without a single emoji, reaction gif, or hashtag. I didn't even look at my phone the entire time." You'll feel a strong desire to have this kind of experience again, and you'll drive the rest of the way home knowing that next time, you can bring your binoculars and look at something cool along the way.
You get ALL OF THE ABOVE for a price that's high enough to remind you you're purchasing a serious, precisely engineered product, but low enough to be within reach of someone saving up for their very first pair of binoculars, or buying them as a gift for someone else.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot—your Midas 10x25s will have a friggin' lifetime warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship, no receipts or registration required.
This is the moment when you stop reading this and go look for your nearest authorized Athlon dealer in order to look at things that are far away and pretend they're very close.
Note for Athlon: please allow 10-star reviews on your website. 5 stars is not enough.