Had a chance to test the Levenhuk Wise 8×42 monocular, and was very pleased with the results. So firstly lets talk about the price. £35 at the time of this review. So for £35, surely you are going to get standard coated optics and BK7 prisms ?. Not in this case. What you get is multi-coated optics and BaK-4 prisms.
So what about build quality ?. Very solid with a rubber covering. Twist eye cup with a very generous 18mm eye relief. However these are not nitrogen gas filled. But hey, FMC, LER, BaK-4 prisms, 42mm objective lens. For £35 what,s not to like.
On to the all important handling and view through the eye piece. What you get is very sharp colours, nice contrast and a bright image, that is helped by the 5mm exit pupil. Yes you get a little red colour fringing around bright objects with dark back grounds (swans on a lake in this case) and a little fall off in sharpness on the edges. But that is also what you get on much more expensive monoculars. The top focus wheel is a little smaller and stiffer than some, but again lets go back to the £35 price tag.
You get as standard a wrist strap, lens covers at both sides (not all monoculars do), small microfibre cleaning cloth and a very nice soft pouch.
Overall. Optics 7/10, Handling 7/10. Value for money 10/10