The body of the binoculars is heavily rubber armored with a particularly comfortable and relatively attractive coating, well contoured to fit average hands. In fact, the whole physical unit is very similar to the Swarovski and Leica units of a similar size. When compared to phase-coated roofs, or to high quality porros, the image lacks just a bit of fine detail resolution, and a bit of contrast. It is also not quite as bright as you might expect from 7X42s. I did say, however, that the Discoverers are a good example of their kind.
Field of view is excellent.
Eyerelief is so long that I had to wrap rubber bands around the pop-up cups to keep them only partly collapsed. The view is very easy and natural and the binoculars are balanced well enough to make them quite steady in the hands. Without direct comparison to optically superior systems, many birders would be completely satisfied with the Discoverer's performance. Those of you who read my review of the WindRiver roof prism offerings from Leupold and Stevens may remember that I suggested they target a different segment of the birding market. Good, exceptional, inexpensive roof prisms are simply too hard to make.