This Black Friday binocular deal gives consumers almost 25% off the original price of the Nikon ProStaff 3S 10×42 binoculars (opens in new tab). That’s a saving of over $30 on these waterproof and fog-proof binoculars.
At Space.com we appreciate the quality of Nikon’s optics. They’ve been in the optic-making game for over a century and are renowned the world over for their high-quality glass production, whether that’s for microscopes, camera lenses, spotting scopes, monoculars or binoculars. The same quality can be seen in the Nikon ProStaff 3S binoculars here in the 10×42 model.
Multilayer-coated lenses reduce glare and help maintain bright views through the 42mm objective lenses — ample for birdwatching or wildlife hunting but also helpful for astronomy use when stargazing at night.
A decent 10x magnification is strong enough to get you closer to subjects (or zoom in on the night sky) for wide-field views but we wouldn’t necessarily recommend these for viewing planets, and would opt more for constellation observing and larger celestial objects.
Premium finishing all over these binoculars is seen in the gold badging across the ProStaff 3S’ and a rubberized armor around the tubes help protect it from the knocks and drops.
The ProStaff 3S 10×42 binoculars (opens in new tab) are waterproof up to 1m for a maximum of 10 minutes, so no matter whether you’re out in the beaming sunshine or pouring rain they’ll keep functioning. One thing astronomers dread is fogging when moving from a warm location to a cold one, like moving optical instruments outside at night to view the stars. Fortunately, Nikon has purged these binoculars with Nitrogen to produce fog-proof binoculars that remain clear no matter where you are.
They’re slender and lightweight, too. Thanks to the roof prism design they weigh 20.3 oz / 575 g and still adjust to an interpupillary distance (the distance between your eyes) from 56-72mm. Couple that with the twist-up adjustable eyecups and the ProStaff 3S binoculars are suitable for any beginner binocular user, even those that wear eyeglasses.
Something else we particularly like about the ProStaff 3S binoculars is that they’re made from eco-glass optics. That is, the glass used in their construction is free from lead and arsenic.
Be sure to check out Space.com’s Black Friday deals page, or our guides to the Best binoculars, Best binocular deals, Nikon binoculars deals or the Best binoculars for kids.
