The 8 Best Binoculars For Kids
Editor's Notes
June 25, 2021:
Not a lot of new information to go over in this category, so for the most part, we've just eliminated a couple models that are to get your hands on. The Occer Traveling Compact are still our favorite choice overall for adolescents, largely because they're so effective and durable. For younger kids, consider the LuWint TM-CWYJ or Kidwinz Shockproof, which are built with durability in mind. For the youngest youngsters, the Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. are a fun and engaging choice.
January 19, 2020:
In reviewing the selections for our last ranking in this category, there were plenty of outstanding options for very young kids, ranging anywhere from two to 10 years old. We wanted to make sure that slightly older kids — or even just developmentally advanced preteens — had good options here, as well. That led us to include the two newcomers to our ranking in the Occer Traveling Compact and the Skygenius 8x21 Folding, both of which are going to look more like the models used by a kid's parents, making them feel a bit older and more responsible by owning them.
These also offer slightly superior performance to the rest of the field, with better optics, more magnification, and better performance in low light when measured against almost every alternative elsewhere on our list. And they do so without being very much more expensive, so even if your kids do what kids do best (break and lost things), you won't be out the cost of a small pair of regular binoculars by the likes of Celestron or Nikon.
In making room for these two new pairs, we said goodbye to a couple underperformers in the YST Products High Performance and the Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Cutie Pie Butterfly, the former of which had some serious build quality issues, while the latter simply didn't provide any magnification. That's kind of surprising for Melissa & Doug, who usually provide kids with functional toys of an unexpectedly high quality in categories like art supplies or even STEM toys.