The Bresser Condor 10x25 binoculars are a compact set of binoculars from a well-regarded brand. But their price tag isn't quite as small as their size. Are they worth it? Let's take a look!
Related: Top 10 Best Compact Binoculars
Design & build
Bresser have long been known for their solidly-build binoculars, and the Condor 10x25s are no exception. While they may be small, there's a fair bit of weight to them- which in our experience is a good sign when it comes to build quality. They feature a hard rubber armour casing which offers a reasonable amount of grip, although it might get a bit slippery in wet conditions.
The Condors feature a roof prism design with a single top hinge. This means they can be easily adjusted to suit the spacing of your eyes. The hinge itself feels super-solid- you'd have to put the binoculars through a serious amount of punishment to know it out of alignment.
The focus wheel is metal, which again is always a good sign in our book. The wheel turns nice and smoothly, and the focusing mechanism itself is also very smooth, which makes it really easy to adjust on the fly. We weren't left spending ages adjusting the focus like we've found with some other models.
There are twist-down eyecups, so you can make the binoculars more comfortable to use, and these also allow glasses-wearers to still get the full image through the lenses even with their glasses still on. It's worth mentioning that these eyecups are metal, rather than the plastic we'd expect from most binoculars at this price point. Eyecups are the part of binoculars that tend to get damaged the most, so having them made of metal gives them that little bit more protection.
As with most binoculars at this price point and above, the Condors are fully waterproof and nitrogen purged to prevent the lenses fogging up from the inside.
All in all, the Bresser Condor 10x25s feel really comfortable in the hand, which is just what you want from a compact pair of binoculars. The one thing that we would mention about the Condors is that they don't come with lens caps. This is unusual, especially for binoculars of this price- we would expect them to include them. However, they do include a soft carry case and strap.
Quality of optics
Bresser are renowned for their high-quality optics, and the Condors comfortably live up to that reputation. While these are only compact binoculars, the lenses have been produced to the same high standards as Bresser's larger binoculars.
With an objective lens size of 25mm, they inevitably aren't going to be as bright as larger binoculars. As such, you probably wouldn't want to use them in lower-light conditions. When we tested them on a clear sunny day, though, we were really impressed with the Condors. That 10x magnification gives you a nice close-up view of whatever you're looking at, and also lets you appreciate the quality of optics here.
Performance
As compact binoculars, the Bresser Condor 10x25s are ideally suited for hiking trips where you don't want to be weighed down by a larger pair.
As we mentioned earlier, the focus wheel on the Condor incredibly easy to adjust. Not only does that make the binoculars simple to pick up and use, but it also allows you to quickly adjust the focus to track objects in movement, such as a bird in flight. The field of view is only 5.5 degrees, so it's not incredibly wide, but as with the objective lens size, this is to be expected with smaller models.
We've found that with a lot of compact binoculars, the twist-up eyecups aren't as stiff as we'd like, and can easily get pushed back down when you press the binoculars to your eyes. That's not the case with the Condors- the eyecups here lock in place when adjusted.
Bresser Condor 10x25: The Verdict
The Bresser Condor 10x25s are an excellent pair of compact binoculars, which comfortably live up to the brand's strong reputation. For something to take with you when you don't want to be carrying a larger pair of bins, these would be superb- although we'd recommend picking up some lens caps.
