CarsonMiniMight 6x18mm Pocket Monocular with Carabiner Clip (MM-618)

I use this just about every time I leave the house on a walk, so about four or five times a week. The build quality seems just great. I haven't used the biner so I can't speak to that. The included case and cloth is nice, and I can use the case to hold my Victorinox SwissChamp (pretty good fit with room left for a small map or fire starter), if I dangle the MiniMight on the outside of my pack or in an outside pocket.Uses:Bird watching: The MiniMight is good enough to make identification and take observations at a variety of distances. I've observed a stellar's jay at 40 feet, an acorn woodpecker at 50 feet, a red-shouldered hawk at 60 feet, and a flock of wild turkeys at 300 yards.People watching: Nothing creepy, of course. But I'll give an example of the way it's useful. You are wondering if you should take a shortcut through a neighborhood that has a bad reputation. It's a few blocks away, but you think you see a couple of guys with hoods over their heads looking pretty shifty. You look through the monocular and realize it's two really cold teenage girls waiting for their mom to take them on a shopping trip.Airplane watching: From 1,000 to 20,000 feet you can determine any number of things about aircraft. Civil or military, color, number of windows, etc. This surprised me but the magnification is really that good.Hiking: Sometimes I wander around on trails without reading the map. The woods around here are pretty open, not a ton of undergrowth. I've used the MiniMight to read trail signs that were about 100 yards away up steep inclines. The benefit there is pretty obvious. Another time I was trying to identify a structure that looked like a shed, only to discover as I focused in that it was a public restroom. Couldn't have come at a better time, since I had wandered pretty far that day.Amusement: Identifying structures is really fun. I was looking at a huge water tower about 300 yards out when I saw the flock of wild turkeys below it. I've tracked animals that didn't know I was tracking them, showed my kids how to be detectives, figured out that our local hillside letter is not made of painted rocks as I had assumed, identified small curious objects in areas I couldn't get to, and answered a number of other questions that were at the back of my mind.Cons:1. Eyeglasses. Even if you fold the rubber shade back, the view is not as great with eyeglasses on. Some people are used to it; others just take their glasses off (I slide mine up my forehead).2. Vibration. You'll need a bit of patience and sometimes some slow breathing as things won't always hold steady in your view. I don't find it annoying, but some might.3. Sharpness. Some details will just never pop into perfect focus, as much as you fine-tune the focus ring. I'm OK with that and understand it as an engineering compromise. If you need quality sharpness you should not be looking at this price point, sorry.Overall: I have a couple of pairs of binoculars but I leave them at home every time. The portability here cannot be beat. You won't regret this purchase especially not if you give it a few weeks of active carry.

I use this for walking the dogs. I like to see ahead of us to see who is coming down the trails when I have the dogs off leash. If it's a baby in a stroller or people who look like they might be afraid of dogs, I know to make sure the dogs are on their leashes. This gives me a better view of folks far away. I hang it from a lanyard with my dog whistle. Works great! My biggest complaint is that it doesn't have a protective cap and it's hard to tell one end from the other and sometimes I put the wrong end up to my eye. LOL

Considering the price, size, and weight, this monocular deserves 5 stars. I wouldn't watch sporting events with this and I wouldn't use it in low light but those aren't the reasons I bought this for. I wanted an ultra small, inexpensive monocular to help me make out details 50 - 300 ft away. And this does that perfectly.

The optics are pretty dece for the price, and the size makes it very pocketable. I unfortunately opted to use the carabineer so I hope someone is enjoying my scope. All that was left was the 'bineer. It was clipped inside my jacket so I can't imagine it took a lot of stress but it failed at the first link. I know I shouldn't take away too much for a little defect, but since I was using it in a way consistent with its construction, and then lost it I feel like it deserves it. =(

I live in the country where there are lots of birds. I have a very good set of binoculars for birding, but they don’t focus closer than about 20 yards. Great for distant birds, but I couldn’t see the birds that landed close in my back yard, so I couldn’t identify them. With this tiny monocular I can easily observe the small birds I couldn’t focus on with the binoculars. The focus ring is smooth and brings in a sharp image. Surprisingly good optics. Not a very wide field of view, but that’s not a problem, since I only want to look at one bird at a time. Field is wide enough that spotting the small birds is not a problem. I like the very small size. I can have my binoculars for longer range, but when I need to see something much closer, this little monocular stows easily in a pocket and is quickly accessible. Not great for longer distances (but not bad, all things considered). Not for prolonged use, since you have to keep one eye closed. It works great for what I need.

Good stuff I’ve come to expect from Carson however after 7 months of light use the correcting/focus lens came loose inside the scope and image is blurry making essentially a disposable scope. Don’t waste your money on this scope spend the extra for the next level up from Carson because you are likely to regret buying the cheapest Carson scope available

Works great. Very compact and also clear. Much better than a similar Tasco monocular that I previously used.

This is one of 18 monoculars I bought recently to make a comparison video. The Carson is the smallest of the group in terms of magnification, and has the smallest objective lens (18mm). But it's pretty sturdy, with a rubberized body and a nicely recessed ocular lens. The focusing ring is a little stiff, but images are crisp and surprisingly bright in normal use. The only change I'd make to this is replace the cheap chain and carabiner with a wrist strap.