Whether for watching concerts from the nosebleeds, checking out hiking trails from a distance, or tracking a deer’s movement, a telescope is an incredibly useful tool to have in your stash. Problem is, those large binoculars aren’t the most convenient things to keep on hand. You need something more compact, maybe something that can fit in your pocket. The Nocs Zoom Tube is designed to do just that.
A compact monocular, it’s designed to fit in most pockets, making it extremely convenient to bring anywhere you go. Whether you want a spyglass for bird watching at the park, navigating in the backcountry, or just being a nosy neighborhood snoop, this thing gives you a functional optical magnifier in a conveniently compact package.
The Nocs Zoom Tube is an 8×32 monocular telescope that measures just 5 x 1.8 x 2.7 inches (length x width x height), making it viable for stashing in a pocket, clipping on a bag strap, or even squeezing into your EDC pouch. Equipped with a multi-coated lens and BaK4 roof prism, it delivers 8x magnification, which is powerful enough to use for navigation, hunting, and other recreational activities. According to the outfit, it provides a 384-feet field of view at 1000 yards, which is wide enough to let you see a good load of what lies ahead. It comes with a twist-up eyecup that should be easy to use even when you’re wearing glasses.
The optics are lodged inside a housing that, the outfit claims, has been designed for rugged use, allowing it to absorb impact during drops and shrug off water with its IPX4 ingress protection rating. It has a ribbed texture, too, which should give it excellent grip when held in hand, even during wet conditions, minimizing the risk of accidental drops during use. Naturally, the lenses are equally durable, with a scratch-resistant coating that should keep them clear and nick-free all through its use in the field, while nitrogen-sealed O-rings keep them resistant to fogging, no matter the weather.
The Nocs Zoom Tube has a threaded tripod adapter engineered into the frame, allowing you to mount it onto any tripod for hands-free use, all while being compatible with Peak Design’s Capture clip, which you can use to attach it to any bag strap and keep it within easy reach at all times. It comes in seven different colors, too, so you can go for the black if you’re into a nondescript aesthetic or opt for a brighter shell if you want a little more color in your stash.
One of the best features of this monocular is its expandability. Specifically, they offer an optional Inspector accessory that refocuses the lens group for use as a handheld, in-field microscope, so you can use it to check out tiny things you come across in the trail, as well as a Photo Rig adapter that turns the monocular into a 400mm camera lens that’s compatible with most smartphones.
Want one? The Nocs Zoom Tube is available now, priced at $75.