I liked the Monarch’s strap better than the Prostaff, it had a wider pad on the back which felt good on my neck. Once I figured it all out, it became a bit easier. Each nylon strap needed to be reversed on itself to release the tag ends from the locking buckle system. I’m no engineer, but I felt that an engineering degree may have come in handy because the straps were not easy to install. I was just using the pocket analogy to help describe the size. To be honest- I rarely carry binoculars in my pocket, but rather wear them around my neck to be ready at a moments notice. Earlier I mentioned how the Monarch fit into my pocket well. Out of the boxes, each binocular required a few minutes of attention before being ready to use. A bit heavier and noticeably longer, the Prostaff isn’t a whole lot wider than the Monarch. The Prostaff tipped the scales at 22.7 oz and measures 6.4”L x 5”W. To me the Monarch easily fit into one of my jacket pockets and I hardly noticed it was there. Weighing in at 21.9 oz, this 5.7”L x 5.1”W unit is pretty compact. Right out of the box I noticed the Monarch being a bit smaller and lighter. Also on the site, the Prostaff 7s is selling for $196.95- showing a difference in price of these two binoculars at $130.00. On the website the Monarch 5 10×42 is selling for $266.95. That being said, often cheaper isn’t better, and often a deal too good to be true usually is. We work hard for our money, and don’t want to see the fruits of our labor wasted. For the rest of us, price is important and for good reason. Let’s face it- very few people in the world don’t have to worry about price tags. Here’s what I think is important for binoculars and my feelings about the Nikon’s that I was able to use.
“Dumbed” down a bit- in a nutshell, the larger the number here means the larger the lens being looked through, and the larger the lens means more light can come in. Also, the “42” means that there is 42 mm objective lens. Basically, things can appear 10 time larger than they do with the naked eye by using these binoculars. I learned that the “10” means it will magnify up to 10 power. Being rather new to binocular lingo- I did a bit of research before even opening the boxes.