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Pros - Inexpensive but powerful monocular - Uses premium BaK–4 prism glass - Includes a tripod mount Cons - Magnification is not as advertised - Finicky focus system - Too lightweight to prevent handshake at high powers without using a tripod - No lens caps

Hey there, and welcome to my review of the Aenmil 10–90×25 Dual Focus Monocular Telescope. Finding a monocular as powerful as this one is advertised at such a low price point seems almost too good to be true. Is it really as good as it sounds? Read on to find out.

This model measures 7.56 inches when fully extended, and weighs a mere 3.81 ounces. It sports a small 25mm objective lens, and eye relief seems to be in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 mm. Not very comfortable eye relief, but it’s usable.

What Do I Get in the Box?

When you open the box, here’s what you can expect to find:

• The Aenmil 10–90×25 Dual Focus Monocular Telescope
• A belt pouch
• A cleaning cloth
• The user’s manual

That’s it, I’m afraid. You won’t get lens covers, nor will you get a lanyard (even though the monoc does have the retaining clip for one). The belt pouch is serviceable but obviously an economy accessory.

How Powerful is the Monoc?

Aenmil states that this monocular has a variable magnification of 10X to 90X, using a 25mm objective lens. In reality, I would estimate the maximum magnification to be closer to 30X, unfortunately. The glass’s dual focus mechanism lets you adjust your zoom from either the front or rear rings of the device, making it a breeze to use one-handed. The magnified image is sharp and clear, but it is noticeably distorted around the edges of the perimeter. Furthermore, the light weight of the optic makes it difficult to get a clear view at maximum zoom unless you use a tripod; there’s just too much hand shake.

Aenmil has eked as much field of view out of the 25mm objective lens as they could, but it still isn’t much. You’ll be able to see approximately 5 feet of terrain from a thousand yards.

What Type of Optics Does It Use?

I thought for sure such an inexpensive monocular would use BK–7 prism glass, but Aenmil actually builds these optics with a BaK–4 roof prism design. The optics are just multicoated, and not fully multicoated, but the monoc still provides plenty of light transmission during the day. Don’t expect to use this accessory at night, though; a 25mm objective lens won’t let in enough light to be able to see anything during low light conditions, whether the optics are fully multicoated or just multicoated.

The Aenmil telescope features a dual focus mechanism, meaning there are zoom wheels at both the front and rear of the glass. Each one offers enough resistance to keep you from accidentally moving them, but they tend to move each other when you’re trying to adjust one or the other. Rather frustrating, and it means it takes quite some time to properly zoom in and focus on your subject.

Once you’re zoomed in and focused, the image is clear and vivid, but with some distortion around the outer ring of the view.

What’s the Body Like On This Monocular?

The casing of the monoc is all metal, without any stippling or rubber to give you a better grip on the device. This makes it very slippery if your hands are sweaty or it’s rainy outside. If you add a lanyard to the monocular, this helps, but one’s not included in the box. The belt pouch is nice for keeping the glass on your person while you’re hiking or otherwise not using the monoc, but it would be nice if the housing was a bit more ergonomic and easier to grip.

The good news is that the bottom of the Aenmil 10–90×25 does feature a tripod mount, which is essential for using such a lightweight optic at maximum zoom levels.

How Durable Is the Monocular?

Aenmil has built this model to be fairly durable, as long as you keep it in good weather. It’s neither waterproof nor fogproof, so the time and effort wasn’t taken to seal the lenses with O-rings or nitrogen-purge the optics chamber. It’s also very slippery, but it does seem to be rather resistant to shocks from falls. This surprised me, given the lack of rubber armor.

How Well Does the Aenmil 10–90×25 Monocular Work in the Field?

This isn’t my favorite monoc to use in the field, simply because it’s too finicky to quickly acquire and focus on a subject. It’s definitely compact and lightweight, something you can easily slip into your pocket, but it’s too slow to use for most birdwatching endeavours. If you can get the hang of the dual focus mechanism, though, the tripod mount does make it ideal for long-range spotting.