In days of old, reviewing binoculars was rather painful for me. Trying to test a set of binoculars in low light, rainy and in real hunting conditions always left me wanting more. That’s not the case anymore! Technology has improved and manufacturing costs have stabilized to the point that it’s really difficult trying to find a lousy set of binoculars. Today, most people expect reasonable performance from their binoculars and only pay more when adding features that are more important to their personal needs or desires. Many of those higher scaled features can be found in the Redfield Rebel 10X50 binoculars, without paying the added price!
When choosing binoculars, there are two basic designs to choose from; the Roof prism and the Porro prism. The “Roof prism” and the “Porro prism” designed binoculars differ in construction. Roof prisms are used where compact size is needed and Porro prisms are found on your higher end binoculars. Having said that; it’s not uncommon to find a set of high-end Roof prism binoculars with quality that nearly parallels that of the Porro prism. The Redfield Rebel uses a Roof prism to keep the desired size at bay.
When building binoculars, it’s all about the glass when trying to capture light, color and clarity.
Redfield, now owned by Leupold, built and designed the lenses and prisms with some of the features you would find in an upper-end set of binoculars. Their lenses are fully multi-coated, which provides true transmission of color and clarity. They also use the BAK4 prism glass that is the cream of the crop for binoculars. BAK4 is usually found in the upper echelon of binoculars. I was quite surprised to see the Rebel using such a superior style of glass! Because they are nitrogen filled, they are fog proof, in addition to being waterproof too.
Some specs for the Rebel 10X50 are as follows:
- Magnification 10X.
- Field of View: 283.5’ @ 1000yards.
- Weight: 30 ounces.
- Exit pupil: 4.6
Everything mentioned is the specification sheet is pretty much self-explanatory and easy to understand. I do want to explain what the exit pupil numbers mean, since it’s not an everyday term to most outdoorsmen/women. The magnification and the diameter of the front lens determine the size of the exit pupil. Light transmitted to your eye is determined by the size of the exit pupil. The exit pupil can be calculated on any set of binoculars by dividing the number of the front lens in millimeters, by the magnification of the binoculars. So a 10X50 would be in the 5mm range. Exit pupils are really worthless, until you find yourself in low light conditions. At that point, the human eye increases the size of the pupil, which could become larger than the exit pupil, thus limiting sight. An older person in their 40-50s has a maximum pupil size around 5mm. These are important numbers to look at when purchasing a set of binoculars, especially when taking your personal age into consideration! Younger eyes, in excellent shape are in the 7mm range. Take note! If light is important to you, always match what your eyes are capable of receiving if you can afford it.
The body of the Rebel has an armored polycarbonate body for durability, and is well designed, ergonomically speaking. My test binoculars weighed about 29.8 ounces, which is close to what the manufacturer states. They were comfortable to use and easily adjustable. Redfield offers a limited lifetime warranty for as long as you own them.
In summary, I was flat out impressed with the quality of these binoculars, especially for the price. My test binoculars were very crisp and the colors remained true, thanks to the BAK4 prism. I had no issues at low light, granted I’m in my 50’s. They are very rugged and offer the same features as many of the higher priced binoculars. My search of the web came up with prices ranging from $119.00 to $139.00. What a deal! A hundred plus dollars and change for an ultra-clear, waterproof, fog proof set of hunting binoculars. I give these a big thumbs-up.
As an overview, the only reason anyone would ever want to upgrade to a more expensive set of binoculars would be if they wanted even more light gathering capabilities, a larger exit pupil size or a lighter set altogether. Even though I’m getting picky with these upgrades, they are the very reason manufacturers make them. So buy the Rebel in confidence as I don’t think I’ve come across a better performer for the price!
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