Home > Consumer Reviews > Brunton Echo 7x18 Pocket Scope

Certainly satisfactory optics for viewing. Not real bright view, the edges of the field of view are a bit soft, but for the price this is markedly better than the cheapy binoculars often sold for ten or twenty bucks. This monocular is very small and light-weight. Handy carry case that fits on your belt. A nice little piece of field equipment to carry in the outdoors, to concerts, and for travel. Comes with a lint/cleaning cloth and a handy wrist strap. 3 stars primarily to be honest, objective and let you know this doesn't compare to something with much more expensive optics. It's really a 5 star rating when compared to anything in its price class.

This product met my expectations for a monocular priced under $30, except the close focus wasn't quite as close as advertised. Instead of 13 inches, it is more like 15-16 inches, but it focuses very smoothly and is free of major defects or optical aberrations.

I purchased this Brunton Pocket Scope for the purpose of looking into my micro reef aquarium to see with more detail the tiny creatures inside. It works reasonably well for this purpose, and certainly better than probably all other pocket scopes on the market since it has a near focus of 13 inches. Of course, to maintain focus at such close range, you need to be quite still. There is an aquarium specific product that I suspect works much better, but it costs around $400 (if I remember correctly). Considering it costs less than $25 here at Amazon, the Brunton earns 3.5 to 4 stars.

I had one of these and wanted to purchase a second to keep with my backpacking stuff. When looking for a second one on line I found there were many other models available. I decided to order a dozen different models to try them and make a decision. This model had by far the worst optical quality of all the models I tried, it was a definite step below the all the others available. If you're looking for something inexpensive and compact like this model try the Carson CloseUp 7x18 Close-Focus Monocular CF-718, it is similar in price and size and offers a much better image. Another good choice in this price range is the Brunton 8 x 22. It is waterproof and has a very good image also. However, it is a bit larger and it's close up focus is only about 15 ft. If cost is no object, the hands down winner of my survey was the Nikon 7x15 High Grade Monocular.

I looked this up after I saw it being used by Kiefer Sutherland on 24. I'm very pleased with it. For a pocket scope it's very powerful and best of all, it has a very sharp image. I have two or three other pocket scopes, but this is the best.

For a pocket microscope my favorite is the one from the Discovery Store. For a pocket scale, try the 600gm digital sleek portable scale from Half Baked Goods.