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Pros - Excellent image throughout all magnifications - Tough exterior with textured rubber for amazing grip - Rotating tripod ring Cons - Uses BK–7 prism glass - Short eye relief - Included tripod is of poor quality

Hey there, and thanks for coming by my review of the Barska Blackhawk 20–60×60 Spotting Scope. Barska’s got a great reputation, so I was eager to get my hands on the Blackhawk spotting scope and put it through its paces. Here’s what I’ve learned.

First of all, this spotting scope features a 60mm objective lens, with a straight eyepiece (although you can also find the same model with an angled eyepiece.) The eye relief is a tad on the short side, capping out at 21mm. This is fine if you don’t wear eyeglasses, but you may find it a challenge to zoom all the way in if you do wear glasses. Close focus distance for this model is 26 feet. The scope measures 13 inches long, and weighs in at an even two pounds.

What Do I Get?

Obviously, you’ll want to know what you get for your hard-earned money. Here’s what you can expect to find in the box:

• The Barska Blackhawk 20–60×60 spotting scope itself
• A hard carrying case
• A soft carrying case
• A lens cloth
• A pan-head tripod
• Owner’s manual

The cases are great for included accessories, and the lens cloth is a nice touch. As for the tripod, it’s cheaply made and very wobbly. I almost wish manufacturers wouldn’t even bother including tripods when they insist on shipping such poor quality add-ons, but there you have it.

How Powerful is the Magnification?

This model provides you with 20X to 60X magnification, and you’ll enjoy plenty of contrast and resolution throughout the entire range. During my testing, I tried out the Blackhawk for everything from target shooting to backyard stargazing, and the scope never once let me down. The optics are quite good, with no evidence of chromatic aberration, and the field of view is a generous 68.25 feet from 1,000 yards at maximum magnification. With the scope zoomed to just 20X, you’ll be able to see 131 feet of terrain from 1,000 yards.

How Easy is this Spotting Scope to Use?

Instead of the focus knob being dead center, Barska has opted to offset it to the right of center. This might make it a challenge to reach, depending on how you have the scope oriented with the rotating tripod ring, but it works fine in most positions. Both the focus knob and the magnification wheel (integrated into the eyepiece) are easy to turn, with knurling added to make them usable even when wearing gloves.

How Well Does the Barska Blackhawk 20–60×60 Gather Light?

Transmittance is very good, because of the combination of the 60mm objective lens and fully multicoated optics. This scope works great in bright sunlight and even at night, and the integrated extendable sunshade makes sure you don’t suffer from glare on those sunny days.

What Are the Optics and Focus Like on This Scope?

The Blackhawk is built on a porro prism design, which unfortunately utilizes BK–7 prism glass. This reduces the image quality slightly over what it could be if Barska had used BaK–4 prisms instead, but it’s still quite good. Barska has made judicial use of phase correction coatings, all but eliminating phase shift from the glass. You’ll get great color reproduction, resolution, contrast, and clarity no matter how closely you zoom in on your subject.

As for the focus knob, it and the magnification wheel spin smoothly with just enough resistance to keep you from bumping things out of whack.

What’s the Housing Like?

The housing on this spotting scope is tough, textured rubber, allowing you to get a good grip on the optic as well as offering it protection from bumps and falls. The integrated tripod ring rotates 360 degrees, allowing you to adjust the viewing angle to your personal preferences. Like almost all of their products, Barska backs the Blackhawk with a limited lifetime warranty.

How Durable is It?

This spotting scope is built to last, with a tough rubber exterior that offers plenty of shock resistance. It’s also both waterproof and fogproof, employing O-ring sealed lenses and a nitrogen-purged optics chamber. I’ve put this spotting scope through quite a bit of abuse, and it hasn’t suffered for it at all