OpticsPlanet.com Blog

The Nikon M-223 series of rifle scopes were recently honored in Field & Stream's Best of the Best after being put through extensive tests by their judges. Designed for AR rifles and engineered for the ballistics of .223 Rem/5.56 NATO round the Nikon M-223 riflescope offers the incredible performance one would expect from Nikon.

Naturally the Nikon M-223 1-4x20 Rifle Scope is as durable as other Nikon Riflescopes, like the Nikon Monarch Riflescopes, and are shockproof, fog proof, and waterproof. Nikon's innovative Nikoplex reticle and BDC 600 reticle are two reticles that offer superior accuracy and precision in the field. Rapid Action Turrets from Nikon allow you to dial in for any shot between 0 and 600 yards at incredible speeds. Field and Stream has honored it as a "Best of the Best" for 2010, and we at Optics Planet agree completely.

It's time to upgrade your AR Carbine with some superior optics. Get your Nikon M-223 today- check out the Nikon 2-8x32 M-223 Riflescope and the Nikon 3-12x42 M-223 Riflescope in addition to the very popular Nikon 1-4x20 M-223 Rifle Scope!

Labels: best buy, best of the best, field and stream, m-223, nikon

The Streamlight Enduro Headlamp is an excellent hands-free flashlight for use in a variety of situations. Streamlight flashlights are high quality, high performance, innovative, and designed with ergonomics and reliability in mind and this Streamlight product is no different.

With a 0.5 watt LED flashlight and two settings (high for for 6 hours of runtime on 2 AAA batteries with 850 peak beam candlepower/14.5 lumens or low for 24 hours of runtime on 2 AAA batteries with 6 lumens of light) you can expect a bright light for very little power demands. This helps keep the Streamlight Enduro from eating up batteries while still providing the light you need to get the job done. The LED light has a 100,000 hour lifespan, meaning you won't have to replace it for quite some time- a really amazing attribute for a product under $20. Also being waterproof to 1 meter for 1 hour is also very handy, and polycarbonate lens and body helps keep the Enduro Flash Light shock and impact resistant.

A headlamp can be useful in a variety of situations. The most obvious is home security- having a hands free flash light can be extremely useful in many situations. Not having your hands occupied with a flashlight leaves your hands available for something extremely important in security situations- defending yourself and your loved ones. You can also use your head lamp in the garage, when working on a project or tinkering with something for a little extra light. I have a friend who uses his Streamlight Enduro Head Lamp when grilling late at night. I think that proves that the variety of uses for this incredible Streamlight flashlight are pretty much unlimited.

Streamlight is well known for weapon accessories such as the TLR-1 and the TLR-2 and as you've learned today, some really awesome head lamp flash lights. Be sure to stop by Optics Planet for more great Streamlight products and deals!

Labels: enduro, flashlights, head lamps, streamlight

The Barska 20-60x60 Blackhawk Spotting Scope, complete with tripod, soft case and hard case, is one of the most affordable spotting scopes on the market. At the same time it packs the technical specification and craftsmanship to perform well beyond spotting scopes of similar cost. 42 product reviews on our website have our customers giving it a rating of 4.5/5 - extremely impressive for a product that is priced so that anyone could afford it.

I know nobody likes talking about the holidays this early in the year, but guess what? They are coming, and it is much better to start thinking about them now than it is on December 21st. This Barska Spotting Scope really makes an excellent gift for any friend or family member interested in nature, being outdoors, birds, wildlife, hunting, or any other situation where you might want to see far and clear. With features like 20-60x zoom, you can see details at distances that you would have never imagined. Customers have remarked that for target shooting, you can see bullet holes in targets 300 yards away as clear as if they were a foot in front of you. Now that is some serious power. Since Barska has always designed their products with hunters in mind, the spotting scope features rubber armoring and is waterproof. The rubber armoring makes the tripod resistant to shock, damage from being dropped or banged into, and really increases the durability and reliability of the unit. The massive 60mm objective lens really helps amplify available light- perfect for dawn, dusk, cloudy days and other situations where available light isn't as plentiful as you'd like. At the same time multi-coated optics help keep images bright AND clear, since too much light is just as bad as not enough!

A sunshade also helps with reducing glare, and the unit is designed to be fog-proof. All this in such an affordable spotting scope? You just can't argue when you are getting so much for so little... you just have to get yours now!

Be sure to also check out Optics Planet for great deals and a wide selection of Barska Binoculars and many other brands of binoculars at any time!

Labels: barska, best buy, blackhawk, spotting scopes

I recently attended a night vision training class here at Optics Planet taught by one of our brilliant product specialists. The training classes we have at Optics Planet, designed to get everyone at the company more familiar with the 100,000+ products we carry, are a great opportunity to learn about the technology behind the products we sell, and get a hands-on chance to try out different products. In recent months, we've had a class on holsters, rifle scopes, red dot sights, laser sights, AR-15 and AR-15 accessories, flashlights, scope mounts, rings, and bases and prescription sunglasses. Everyone working here at Optics Planet really looks forward to these classes- they are always interesting and more important the stuff we sell is so cool that any chance to get hands-on with products is always a good time.

At night vision device training, I got a chance to try out all kinds of NVDs, ranging from Gen 1 through Gen 4, digital and non-digital, binoculars, monoculars and bi-oculars. I have to say, after trying them all, I came out seriously impressed by the Yukon Digital Night Vision Ranger 5x42. For under $400, the power and clarity associated with this night vision monocular is really amazing. I got a chance to compare it heads-up vs. Gen 2 night vision goggles and I couldn't perceive any difference... except for the price tag.

The Yukon Digital Ranger uses digital technology to amplify light. One great thing about it being digital is that you won't experience burn-in if your device is exposed to too much light. While you should always careful store your NVD during the day, it is nice to know that you aren't risking seriously damaging your unit if you forget to cover it up.

Yukon Night Vision has been gaining in popularity in the past few years, and the Yukon Digital Ranger proudly won the award for Best Night Vision Under $500 in the 2009 Optics Planet Brilliance Awards. One of our product specialists took the Digital Ranger 5x42 out into the field a few weeks ago and was able to spot a raccoon 125 yards away under good ambient conditions. That's nearly unheard of for a Gen 1 unit!

The really great design aspect for the Yukon Digital Night Vision Ranger 5x42 is that while it is a monocular, it is designed like a binocular. You may wonder- if it is a monocular, and you are only using one eye to look through it, why does it look like a binocular? Well, that second tube is actually a high-powered IR emitter. When there isn't much ambient light out (because it's a cloudy night, or it's a new moon phase, or what have you) your night visiondepends on infrared light in order to work. The powerful NVIR emitter in the Yukon Ranger Night Vision Monocular really makes it a serious choice for budget night vision. With 5x magnification, this unit is great for spotting with clear, bright images that will really surprise you considering how low the price for this unit is.

When you are looking for night vision there is no other place to shop other than Optics Planet, the top online store for night vision devices!

Labels: brilliance award winners, digital products, gen 1, night vision, ranger, yukon

The Steiner 10x26 Predator Pro Compact Binoculars are a total steal at $199.00. I have to state that right away- these binoculars should cost a lot more considering you have legendary Steiner Optiks quality combined with the magnification, durability, and objective lens size you are getting in from these binoculars. In such a compact size, they are excellent compact binoculars to keep in your car or truck, in your gear bag, or in a drawer at work. The beauty of nature doesn't care whether you are at your 9 to 5 or on the way to the bank- it is everywhere and you may wish you had a pair of binoculars at any time. With these Steiner Binoculars you can afford to keep multiple pairs on hand.

With strong, durable aluminum housings and rubber armor coating, you can count on these compact binos to be waterproof, reliable, durable, and last a long time. In fact, Steiner Binoculars come with a limited 10 year warranty because they know that their products are built tough. With 10x magnification and 26mm objective lens, you can use these for birding, hunting, work, or just general observation easily and comfortably. The compact size of these binoculars (only 4.5" x 1.75" x 3.75") keeps them lightweight and easily stored in many places, even when inside its travel case (included free of charge- oh and there is a Steiner logo hat that comes free with purchase too... but only for a limited time!)

The Steiner Predator family of binoculars have always been a top choice for hunters, and the Steiner 10x26 Predator Pro Compact Binoculars are great compact hunting binoculars. Ever forget your binoculars at home on the day of a big hunt? It could torpedo your whole day! You can easily just keep these binoculars in your hunting bag at all times and never have to worry about having that problem again. Once again- only $199! I don't expect they'll be that price for long, these binoculars are simply too good!

Don't delay. You don't want to miss out on this one. Order a pair today- heck, order 2 or 3. And thank goodness for Optics Planet for bringing in some serious deals on binoculars, hunting gear, and birding binoculars.

Labels: binocular, binoculars, compact binoculars, steiner, steiner predator

The Bushnell 5" DOB Dobsonian Telescope is a true marvel of construction, and we are proud to be carrying an OpticsPlanet-only edition. Optics Planet has been a real supporter in astronomy since we opened about 10 years ago- in fact one of the first categories we carried on our site were telescopes.

Before we really dive into this fantastic Bushnell Telescope let me explain what a Dobsonian Telescope is. Dobsonian Telescopes were invented in the 1950s/1960s to encourage interest in astronomy by making telescopes more affordable, more powerful, and portable. Dobsonian telescopes are built to maximize the aperture to provide more power, allowing the user to see more of the night sky, and to see it much brighter. It was also designed as a truss tube telescope which means that you can disassemble the optical tube for transport, making a Dobsonian telescope extremely easy to move around and incredibly portable. The design allows for you to take your telescope to any area with minimal night sky pollution (artificial light is the biggest source of night sky pollution and is a real problem for amateur astronomy.) The Bushnell DOB line of telescopes not only features a truss-tube design, it also excels in both design and material usage to extract as much power from as an affordable product as possible. Truss-tubes are typically only found in high-end Dobsonian telescopes- but Bushnell's engineering excellence allowed them to fit it right into one of the most affordable telescopes on the market.

So what features are in this 5" telescope? First off, the 130mm reflector and 650mm focal length quickly catapult this telescope from "toy" telescope to one of the best beginner telescopes you can find. This telescope is quite easy to use, and doesn't require a large amount of technical knowledge. A true parabolic mirror design allows for the telescope's optics to be collimated with a standard eyepiece, and also allows for the use of a laser collimator. The Bushnell DOB Telescope also comes with two eyepieces: 10mm SPL10 and 25mm SPL25 for expanding the use of your telescope. Be sure to check out our Telescope Accessories for even more tools to improve the usage capabilities of your telescope.

The mount for the Bushnell DOB Newtonian Reflector Telescope also features friction bearings on the altitude and azimuth, which is a bit more user friendly than the traditional ball-bearing setup. When you remove your hand, the telescope will stop dead and will not budge, unlike a ball-bearing setup. A carry handle also helps make this one of the most portable telescopes you can find on the market.

Now you know why the Bushnell DOB 5" Telescope is one of the top value, top beginner telescopes out there, it's time to buy before they are all gone! Check out Optics Planet for all your astronomy and telescope needs!

Labels: bushnell, DOB, dobsonian telescopes, optics planet, telescopes

Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to do a scientific proof. I want you to understand that many of the claims here about the quality and awesomeness of the products we sell are based in science. We like to consider ourselves the retail equivalent of Nicola Tesla, as we relentlessly experiment to find the truths of this world.

Facts:

• 5.11 Tactical makes a lot of tactical apparel.
• It is of the highest quality.
• Typically men wear tactical apparel, but women wear tactical clothing too.
• Optics Planet carries an extensive line of 5.11 Tactical Apparel at unbeatable prices with great service.

Therefore:
Women looking for the highest quality in tactical apparel should buy 5.11 Tactical Clothing from Optics Planet.

Women make up a growing portion of law enforcement, emergency services, and military professionals. When you are looking for law enforcement apparel you can't exactly shop in the business casual section at your local department store. You need something rugged. You need something designed for performance, not because it makes your butt look cute (though that's always a bonus.) You need something durable, comfortable, and built to last. That's why 511 Tactical Women's Clothing is the right choice for ems uniforms and so many other occupations.

Today we will look at 5.11 Tactical Taclite Pro Women's Khakis- a pair of the most tactical women's pants available on the market. All the important characteristics mentioned earlier- rugged, durable, performance driven, comfortable, built to last describe these pants 100%. As I mentioned earlier, these pants are great for law enforcement, emergency personnel, firefighters and military operators but in all honesty Tactical Pants are useful for a lot of occupations and tasks. Gardening? Grab your 5.11 Tactical Women's Pants. Painting? 5.11 Women's Khakis time. Hanging around the house? Ditch the PJs and get some tactical pants on.

And frankly... they look great! Available in sizes 2-20, regular & long; and in colors khaki, dark navy, and green, there's a pair for you just waiting to enable you to be your very best. Now, why are you still reading this? Get your 5.11 Tactical Taclite Pro Women's Khakis today from OpticsPlanet!

Labels: 5.11, 5.11 Tactical, tactical gear, tactical pants

The ATN Digital Ultra Sight Reflex Scope is a great value red dot sight from the makers of top night vision devices. ATN is well known for their night optics but its day-time optics are just as high quality and innovative.

The ATN Digital Ultra Sight Red Dot Sight features revolutionary MultiAim® technology that allows you to change the reticle style with a push of a button. Want a dot? Post? Open crosshair? Post with dot? Just push a button and cycle through the available reticles- you can have it all. There is no shift in the point of impact! ATN Red Dot Sights and all red dot scopes are designed to be parallax free.

What does that mean? Parallax free means you are shooting with both eyes open. This gives you a much wider field of vision and excellent peripheral vision, as you shoot heads up. Red Dots are also perfect for fast target acquisition, making them more and more popular for varmint hunting and sport shooting than traditional rifle scopes. Fitting a standard Weaver style base makes this reflex sight great for use with handguns, rifles, and even shotguns! Installation is quick and easy with two thumbnuts used for tightening to the base, affording greater stability.

Brightness controls are available, and your selected brightness will be saved into memory. There is also a bright light filter that increases the performance of this red dot sight in bright day time conditions. ATN also offers a limited lifetime warranty, so you can rest assured knowing that if you ever have any problems ATN Support will do everything it can.

What are you waiting for? Do you want to acquire your target quickly and accurately with a bargain product from a leading optics brand in ATN? Better make it quick and order on Optics Planet before these products are gone!

Labels: ATN, digital products, red dot sight

Back in March of 2010, OpticsPlanet purchased some premium domain names to launch niche stores with the ultimate goal of better serving our customers. One of these niche stores, RangeFinders.com is almost ready to launch. At OpticsPlanet we are super excited about the premiere of this range-finder superstore. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as the top online store for range finders prepares to make its debut!

The Nikon Prostaff 550 Laser Rangefinder is a great value hunting rangefinder that gives you the information you need to improve your accuracy in the field. Packing a six power monocular with a multi-coated lens, this range finder is excellent at identifying your target and giving you a fast and precise measurement of the distance to your target in yards or meters.

The Nikon 550 Range Finder has been a top selling range finder at Optics Planet for a long time. The importance of utilizing a hunting range finder cannot be understated. Every firearm and every bullet has slightly different characteristics to it that influence how the bullet travels over distance. Many great rifle scopes have reticles that include bullet drop compensators. What this means is that based on your firearm and bullet, the reticle will display markers that allow you to adjust your aim when dealing with a target that is far enough away that your bullet will drop. For example, when shooting a target 250 yards away, you may need to compensate by aiming slightly higher.

In the past, hunters would use markers to determine the distance between themselves and their target. As you can imagine this strategy can be inaccurate... and when you only get one shot, do you want to leave it to chance? Would you leave your rifle at home and use a slingshot? Would you duct tape a magnifying glass to your firearm, instead of using a rifle scope? Probably not. Nikon Range Finders cover a wide base of features and prices, and Nikon has been a top choice for hunting products for years and years.

This range finder, like other products in the Nikon ProStaff family of products, offers real bang for your buck. An easy to use, high contrast LCD display and single button control, you don't need a PhD to be able to get an accurate distance. 18mm of eye relief and a fold down cup makes this rangefinder usable with glasses. A 21mm objective diameter and 3.5mm exit pupil means that even in low light conditions, the Nikon Prostaff Laser Rangefinderwill not fail you.

When you are looking for a Nikon ProStaff Range Finder you know where to go- your place for hunting optics: Optics Planet!

Labels: nikon, prostaff, range finder, rangefinder, sling shots