Review of 10X60 Jumelle (military) + tripod

Review of 10X60 Jumelle (military) + tripod

As soon as I looked through this, I knew it was absolutely exceptional, far better than the large version ('long') 8X60, better than the standard German wartime 10X80.

In the weeks after buying this I traced its history back through two optics dealers, each had bought it and kept it for a few years before selling it (at a profit?  at a loss?  there's no way of me knowing) - because neither of them could 'find' a mount, and it's too heavy to simply 'attach' a tripod bush. 

It took me several months to find a tripod, and another few weeks to get a mount made.

THE TRIPOD is a WWII British military tripod with an elaborate locking-tilt mechanism. It also has four steel 'prongs' that fold out near the top, we can only assume these are for fixing into soft ground to keep it low, perhaps because someone is shooting at you.  The plate on the tripod is marked, Stand instruments Mark III No.1661C Halyburton & White 1942. Incidentally, only after I'd taken the photographs I noticed that Chris (in the pictures) hadn't extended the tripod fully.  You don't really have to stoop down to look through this, you can extend the tripod fully.

THE BINOCULAR has two large fold-down dark filters to cut out the direct glare of the sun. This is also good because they tend to be left in the closed position and therefore protect the lenses. They are fixed-focus on infinity, the big knob is to move the eyepieces in and out to line up with your eyes.  The eyepieces are huge which means you can view from an inch or two away, and the image is more like looking 'through' a window than looking 'down' a binocular. The other advantage of this system is that it give perfect vision for spectacle-wearers.

VIEWING. If you are serious about buying this and have the money in your pocket, but want to try it out first, please do make an appointment to visit. AND, if you collect it, there's a  discount (because you will save us from two very large boxes, a lot of time packing, and a lot expensive freight). The discount is £40.00 if you are able to examine it quickly in the car park outside our office or £25.00 discount if you would like to be taken to another part of the block where we have access to the roof with good views. Please do be aware that we won't take it outside if it is raining.

The item described and photographed above is long-since sold,
so this page is for information only