Every time I take to the field lately, I find myself thinking of the differences between the gear I once carried and that which I carry today. Suffice it to say, those differences are substantial.My first binoculars were a gift my father gave me when I was a boy. Dad was career Navy, and on one of his voyages to the South Pacific he procured these binoculars. That alone keeps me from disposing of them. They occupy a space of honor on my top shelf, though there are some in the house who think that I should "get rid of the darn things". I understand that sentiment somewhat as those binoculars are not the only ones. I have a collection, small but none-the-less apparent.

The binoculars are Manons 7 x 50. They have porro prisms and coated lenses. How extensively they are coated, I do not know. When Dad gave them to me, I didn't know enough to care about those things. I just knew that I could see things in the distance and the field of view (another term unknown to me at that time) was great. In fact, the field of view, 383 feet at 1000 yards, was perhaps the single reason I carried them for so long. But the size and weight are the issues, 7.25 inches by 8 inches and more than 2 pounds. I learned early that I could steady them by leaning them on the side of a tree. Holding them free hand was challenging.
 

Source: Big Porro Binoculars,   Monocular Telescope