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Pros: - Focus works well- Optics are clear for range spotting - Free tripod and carrying case Cons: - Lightweight scope prone to vibration - Small field of view at 100 yards - Very poor light gathering

Welcome to our review of the BARSKA Colorado 11502 20-60×60 Waterproof Straight Spotting Scope. BARSKA’s entry into the budget spotting scope market is advertised as being perfect for birders, hunters, and naturalists. It’s definitely priced right, but how well does the BARSKA Colorado perform in the field? Let’s take a look at this spotting scope and find out!

What Comes in the Box?

Any good spotting scope needs a tripod for stability, so it’s nice to see that even a budget-friendly spotting scope such as the BARSKA Colorado 11502 comes with one. You get a panhead tripod and a soft carrying case in the box, along with the spotting scope itself. Unfortunately, the tripod is a bit weak and shaky, so I’ll likely be replacing it. It’s nice that BARSKA included a tripod, but they should have beefed up the quality of the tripod.The carrying case is your basic fare, but it does have divided compartments for the spotting scope and the tripod. It also includes a shoulder carrying strap. It’s a nice case, and definitely a useful addition to my kit.

What’s the Magnification of the BARSKA Colorado 11502

The Colorado features zooming 20-60X magnification, which is ample magnification for spotting at the range or spotting birds. The magnification is very clear at the low end, but drops off a bit at the higher end of the magnification. It also has a very narrow field of view at maximum magnification, which makes spotting hits on a target a bit more difficult than it should be. Still, this is a budget spotting scope, and you get what you paid for. If you use the scope the right way, it will be more than sufficient for range shooting under 200 yards and for bird watching out to 200 or so yards.

How Easy is the Colorado to Use?

This is a straight spotting scope, which means you look straight through the scope to spot your birds or hits. It’s fairly easy to use, but I found the eye relief to be a bit lacking and would have preferred the tripod be adjustable for height. Since you aren’t looking down into the spotting scope, you really need to get the height right, and the trip doesn’t allow for that.

Long-range users will definitely not enjoy the small field of view of this spotting scope, unfortunately. Your typical 200 yard field of view will be just a few inches, which means you have a lot of panning and zooming to do if you’re trying to spot hits or get good views of birds in motion.The focus wheel works smoothly and accurately, though, helping to make this spotting scope very easy to use.The zoom and focus controls both work flawlessly, allowing you to smoothly go from 20X magnification out to 60X magnification once you have your target framed in the 60mm lens.

What’s the Light Gathering Capability Like on the Spotting Scope?

This is the main weakness of the BARSKA Colorado Spotting Scope, because the light gathering capability of this spotting scope just isn’t there. In broad daylight, the spotting scope works flawlessly and the picture is colorful and full of contrast. If the lighting is poor, however, such as on a very overcast day or during dawn or dusk hours, you’ll suffer from a very poor contrast visual and find the spotting scope difficult to see through. This was very surprising, because I would have expected the 60mm lens to have fantastic light gathering capabilities.

How Are the Optics and Focus on This Spotting Scope?

The optics are coated and sealed, and images are clear even past 200 yards. I enjoyed several hours of birding with this spotting scope, and found the color and contrast to be vivid and accurate during good lighting conditions. The fogproof coating works beautifully, and the only real drawback to the spotting scope’s optics is the poor light gathering capacity.The focus and zoom controls work very well. Focusing is smooth and quick, and zooming in on your subject is easy and smooth as well. When I first unboxed the BARSKA Colorado, the focus wheel stuck a bit, but this smoothed out with use until the focus control was consistently smooth and easy to use. For a budget-conscious spotting scope, you can’t really ask for better focus and zoom.

How Durable is the BARSKA Colorado?

The spotting scope itself is housed in a rubber armor coating, and is 100% waterproof and fogproof. I’ve dropped the spotting scope a couple of times, and the rubberized housing definitely provides shock and drop protection, so the spotting scope is very durable and rugged.