Light, comfortable binoculars with a decent but not brilliant image. We rated them in the Middle Ground.
October 11, 2023
At A Glance
PROS:
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Excellent close focus
- Good for close set eyes and glasses-wearers
CONS:
- Not as bright as other models in this review
- Image lacks sharpness at longer distances
STATS:
- Price: $200 MSRP at press time. Prices often fluctuate, so check with retailers
- Close focus: 6.6 feet (200 cm). In tests, we could focus these binoculars down to about 4.3 feet (132 cm)
- Field of view: 7.4° (389 feet at 1,000 yards). More about field of view
- Weight: 18.7 oz (529 g)—that’s about 1.0 oz (27 g) lighter than the average for compact binoculars in our review. Compare binocular sizes and weights
- Eye relief: 18 mm
Viewing Experience: Hawke makes a couple of excellent binoculars at around the $500 mark, the Frontier 8×42 and Frontier 8×32. At about $200, the Nature-Trek is their lower price-point option. They feature a clear and moderately bright image, though they are not as bright as the models that made our Top Picks in our full review. An Ovenbird singing from a low branch about 50 feet away was easy enough to find, but other similarly priced binoculars did a better job of clearly rendering the crisp markings on the head and chest. The field of view was middle of the road, but close focus proved very good, better than the manufacturer specs. Several testers noted that these binoculars adjusted easily for people with close-set eyes, and one tester said they were easy for them to use both with and without their glasses on. The focus wheel turned quickly and smoothly and seemed easy to dial in, especially at close and mid range.
Feel and Build: The Hawke Nature-Treks are lightweight and medium-sized relative to the rest of the group, with faintly textured green rubber housing, and a pleasantly knurled focus wheel. The rounded eyecups have three locking settings. Testers noted the moderate size and lighter weight made these binoculars comfortable. The neckstrap is medium width and thinly padded.
Comments From Testers:
- Comfortable
- Easy to focus
- Good for close-set eyes
- Hard to focus on faraway things
This article is one in a series of mini-reviews. To see how these binoculars compare to others we’ve tested, see our full review of affordable compact binoculars.
