Hawke Nature-Trek 8×42 Binoculars: Our Review

At A Glance

PROS:

• Bright, clear image even in low light
• Lightweight and comfortable
• Compact size good for people with smaller hands
• Pleasant feel and movement to focus wheel
• Comfortable rounded eyecups

CONS:

• Narrow field of view
• Long-travel focus wheel can make switching focus slow

STATS:

• Price: $209 MSRP at press time. Prices often fluctuate, so check with retailers
• Close focus: 6.6 feet (201 cm)
• Field of view: 7.4° (389 feet at 1,000 yards). More about field of view 
• Weight: 23.2 oz (658 g)—that’s about 2.5 oz (75 g) lighter than the average for 8×42 binoculars in our review
• Eye relief: 17.8 mm

Viewing Experience: The Hawke Nature-Trek is a lower price offering from Hawke that still features solid construction and nice styling. The image is bright and crisp, similar to a pair of Nikon Monarch M7s that we tried side-by-side. On a warm November evening we watched dozens of American Robins flying high in the sky toward evening roosts. Even in dim light and against a distant sky, the Nature-Treks easily revealed the ruddy chests. At closer range, a Fox Sparrow peeking out from brush was a delightful warm red with crisp streaking. The main drawback to these bins was the narrow field of view, which left us with the impression we were looking at the image rather than having it flood our eyes. (Hawke lists the field of view at 7.4°, which is in the middle range for 8×42 binoculars, but it seemed noticeably narrow each time we used these binoculars.)

Feel and Build: These are well-built binoculars that still manage to be several ounces lighter than a “typical” 8×42 binocular. The olive-green finish with a couple of sculpted lines for grip give them a clean look. The binoculars feel small in the hand and may be good for people with smaller hands. The rounded profile to the eyecups is comfortable on the eyes. The focus wheel is medium stiffness and rolls smoothly, although the travel seems long, and it can be slow in dialing all the way from nearest to farthest focus. On our demo pair, the tethers that keep the objective lens covers attached were loose and slid up and down the barrels more than we would have liked.

Comments From Testers: 

• Bright, compact, feel good in hand
• The eyecups, lightweight, comfortable texture  
• Nice textured focus wheel, eyecups too loose 
• Felt a bit flimsy and hard to focus well  

This article is one in a series of mini-reviews. To see how these binoculars compare to others we’ve tested, see our full review of affordable 8×42 binoculars.