It is always good to see companies respecting the environment and packaging their products in simple, lightweight cardboard packaging. Despite the brand name, Plastimo has not over-used plastic when packaging these marine binoculars.

The carry case is a step up from the Konus Tornado, though. There are two sticks of removable extra padding, which is a welcome addition for sure.

Just like the Konus, the Plastimo lens protectors are attached to the binocular frame so won’t get lost, while the eyepiece protection cap has a useful eyelet built in for attaching to the provided neck strap.

The test package included a lens cleaning cloth and batteries pre-installed. This latter point is convenient for someone testing multiple products, like me, but is to be avoided in chandleries if at all possible. If batteries sit for weeks or months inside a device, the results can be quite disastrous.

The rubber eye shells fold back easily for those who wear spectacles all the time. The battery container is simple to access, but reassuringly secure against water ingress. We tested every pair of binoculars for waterproofing and buoyancy – happily, none failed.

The instructions are in good English and provide enough detail to use the reticle for measuring distance and height (including diagrams). But this time instead of forgetting to mention the aperture for attaching a tripod head, the instructions indicate that the box includes a brush for cleaning the binocular lenses, but I couldn’t locate this.

The compass, reticle and compass light are all located in the right-hand barrel and work well – just as the Konus Tornados did. There is a sliding scale on the end of the barrel to calculate distance or height.

There is very little to choose between the two best units on test, at a push we’d argue that the Plastimo carry case is slightly superior. So it probably comes down to a price battle and whether individual buyers like the Plastimo grip and feel over the Tornados.

Buy it now without compass on Waveinn.com

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