| You can get a $130 value waterproof jacket for only $10 shipping and handling when you buy this Rainguard-treated Bushnell by December 31, 2008.
 The waterproof and breathable Realtree camouflage jacket has a full zipper with storm flap, a seam-taped 3-piece hood, two zippered chest pockets with storm flaps, and two patched cargo pockets with hand-warmer side entry pockets. The jacket is available in medium, large, XL, and 2XL sizes.
Simply send Bushnell a copy of your invoice, the UPC barcode from the carton, the form we'll include with your Bushnell, and a $10 check and Bushnell will send you the $130 value waterproof jacket. It's that simple to stay dry and save money at the same time! This latest version of the high power 10 x 43mm Bushnell Elite proves that the optical quality built into a binocular is more important than the nameplate on the outside. Many people mistakenly associate the Bushnell name only with economy binoculars, not realizing that for many years Bushnell designed and produced the well-known premium Elite optics sold under the Bausch & Lomb name. Now Bushnell is producing the state-of-the-art Elite binoculars under their own name. A different name on the outside, but new and even more advanced Elite optics on the inside.
The 10 x 43mm Bushnell Elite is an exceptional example of high power optics. It uses a lightweight twin barrel design that lets you hold and focus the binocular with one hand, so you can keep one hand free for your field guide. Your fingers fall easily and naturally into the open space between the optical tubes, wrapping naturally around the binocular barrel for a comfortable and secure grip. Subtle and truly usable soft grip thumb grooves molded into the underside of each barrel, and soft raised ridges on the top for your pinkies and ring fingers, position your forefinger automatically on the large ribbed focus wheel, no matter which hand you use to hold the binocular. In use, the Elite seamlessly becomes a light and natural extension of your hand and eye as you use it, not a heavy weight to tire you out. Hand tremors and unsteadiness are minimized, leading to easier identifications and less eye strain.
Features of this binocular . . . Multicoated large aperture optics: The Elite’s extra millimeter of aperture, 43mm compared to a conventional 42mm binocular, adds almost 5% of additional light gathering area. This added light can often make the difference in your ability to make an identification in the low light of woodlands or early morning or evening twilight. All air/glass optical surfaces are fully multicoated using special high transmission XTR Technology coating materials for the least amount of light loss per optical surface and the brightest possible images. Overall light throughput (the amount of light collected by the binocular that actually reaches your eye) is a full 90%, the highest in its class. The superior color fidelity of the XTR multicoatings makes it easier to resolve subtle species differences, even in poor lighting conditions.
Dielectric roof prism coatings: The Elite’s roof prisms are precisely fabricated from premium-quality high transmission BaK-4 glass. Instead or aluminum or silver coatings on the prism faces, they use 60-layer XTR dielectric mirror coatings for an astonishing 99.73% reflectivity, the highest in the industry. The dielectric-coated BaK-4 prisms provide maximum light transmission and optimum color fidelity across the entire visible spectrum.
Phase coated prisms: Special PC-3 phase-correcting coatings are applied to the roof prisms for peak contrast, color fidelity, and resolution. The resulting improvement in color fidelity and detail is easily visible when examining the shadowed areas of a silhouetted or backlit bird.
Water-shedding “Rainguard" lens coatings: All external optical surfaces (eyepieces and objective lenses) are treated with permanent “Rainguard" coatings. These special hydrophobic (water-repelling) coatings are so smooth, even at the molecular level, that water can find virtually no grip on the lens surfaces. This causes the condensation from rain, fog, snow, or your own breath to form in much smaller droplets than on standard optical coatings. Smaller droplets scatter less light, resulting in higher light transmission and a clearer image in poor weather conditions. Bushnell was the first to introduce the “Rainguard" hydrophobic coating advantage to the binocular industry, using it on the Elite binoculars they were making under the Bausch & Lomb name back in 2001. That was six to seven years before other optics manufacturers jumped on the water-shedding bandwagon.
Long eye relief: Eye relief is specified at 17mm. Unlike many manufacturers, whose eye relief typically measures a mm or two less than specified due to the recessing of the eyepieces when the eyecups are in the down position for eyeglass use, the Bushnell Elite truly provides the full 17mm eye relief specified. Vignetting (if any) will be very minor for eyeglass wearers.
Body construction: H-body roof prism with internal center focus. The lightweight and durable magnesium alloy body (20% lighter than the B & L Elite it replaces) is clad in a durable black armor to take every kind of rough treatment in stride. The armor also insulates the binocular to keep it comfortable to the touch in all temperatures. It is lightly textured in a pattern of tiny diamonds to provide a sure grip in wet weather. Thanks to the twin barrel design, the well-thought-out soft thumb grooves and ring finger/pinky grips, and easy-grip armor, this Bushnell Elite is exceptionally comfortable to hold and use for extended periods.
Weatherproofing: The Elite is O-ring sealed and nitrogen-purged to be totally waterproof, fogproof, and dustproof in all climate extremes – from the cold and mists of Attu, to the warm and dripping humidity of the Costa Rican rain forests, to the drenching salt spray of a pelagic birding trip.
Focusing: The extra-large ribbed focus knob can be used with either hand. The knob is easy to turn, even while wearing gloves or mittens. The binocular's only drawback may be a somewhat slow focusing (about one and three-quarter turns from the 8’ close focus to the horizon), although many observers prefer the precision of the focusing to the speed (and the probability of overshooting the focus) of a faster focusing binocular.
Diopter adjustment: There is a centrally-located locking twenty-six click stop diopter adjustment that cannot shift accidentally while in use. The diopter adjustment ring pulls back to adjust the optics to your eyesight, and snaps forward to lock in the chosen adjustment. A red band shows on the diopter adjustment ring when it is unlocked, giving you a visual confirmation of its status.
Eyecups/rainguard: Twist-up eyecups with soft rubber rims block ambient light for those who don’t wear glasses while observing. The eyecups have four discrete steps to match the eyecup height to your personal preferences. The eyecups twist back down into the body to provide extra eye relief for those who must wear glasses while birding. The supplied soft and flexible eyepiece rainguard is easy to remove without disturbing the extended/retracted position of the eyecups, unlike some other well-known premium binoculars whose eyecups invariably mess up the eyeguard height when being removed or replaced.
Supplied accessories: The binocular comes with a wide and comfortable cloth-wrapped soft neoprene neck strap. Tethered objective lens covers protect the optics when the binocular is not in use. The lens covers easily flip down out of the way for observing and cannot be lost (although they can be removed temporarily or permanently, should you so desire). The molded semi-rigid case is shaped to conform to your hip for more comfort when carrying your binocular at your side with the separate adjustable-length case strap over your shoulder.
The 10 x 43mm Elite has excellent optics, bright and highly resolved, with excellent color fidelity. The field is quite flat and astigmatism is very low. The Bushnell 10 x 43mm Elite binocular is a clear advance over the Bausch & Lomb Elite binocular it replaces – a binocular that many observers and reviewers swore was world class. This new Elite is a quality high power binocular we would happily put up against competitive European binoculars often costing one and a half times to twice the Elite price.
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