This Athlon Midas ED review will help you determine if these binoculars are worth the money. I also compare these binoculars to the next generation model Midas binoculars (the Athlon Midas G2’s) so you know which are the best value for the money.
Table of Contents
This Review’s Credibility
I am not affiliated with Athlon in any way. I bought these binoculars with my own money and have loved using them. Because I liked them so much I wanted to do a review of them. I did an initial review of these binoculars (and 13 others). The Athlon Midas binoculars were my favorites for the money.
I felt a longer-term review would be helpful to add to that initial review. So this review reiterates my initial findings as well as my experience with the binoculars for about one year.
This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Of course, you are not obligated to use my links, but it does help fund these posts in hopes of bringing more value to you!
How These Binoculars Were Tested
As I mentioned, I did a much more in-depth initial review of 14 binoculars (which includes the Athlon Midas ED’s and Athlon Midas G2 UHD’s). These 14 binoculars were all at different price points ($200 to $2500). I compared them to see which were the best value. You can also watch my YouTube review of these binoculars here:
14 Binocular Video Review (Includes Midas ED’s and UHD’s)
Athlon Midas ED Review
The Athlon Midas ED binoculars were amazing and outperformed even the most expensive binoculars. For the price, I could not tell the difference between the hyped direct-to-consumer Maven C1’s in the picture quality. They also did the same, and even better in most cases, in low light situations than the 350-500$ tier binoculars.
The image from these binoculars is incredibly clear, crisp, and bright. The adjustable diopter is very precise, and the focus knob is easy to turn with one finger, which I appreciate for finding focus fast and when I have cold hands. The wide field of view is very convenient and helpful in many hunting situations
These binoculars are incredible, they’re light and convenient and come in a great carrying case, have great lens caps that stay attached to the objective lenses, and the twist-up eyecups have the perfect settings for me. Absolutely fantastic pair of binoculars and they have a small price tag compared to the other binoculars in this test.
Athlon Midas Long-Term Durability
In this initial review of 14 binoculars, long-term use was not covered because the purpose of that review was to compare many binoculars that I only had a short time with. Thus, I was only able to gather first impressions of build quality.
Now that I’ve owed the Athlon Midas ED binoculars for almost a year, and through one hunting season, I can talk more about their long-term durability and performance.
Basically, I am still just as happy with these binoculars as the day I bought them. They perform just as I thought they would based on my initial review. Additionally, they are holding up really well in the outdoors. I haven’t dropped my binoculars and I haven’t abused them drastically in the field. However, they have held up just as I would have expected them too.
Athlon Midas ED Review – Field Notes
| Build Quality | Average, feels sturdy in hand. |
| Bulk & Weight | Slightly better than average, lower-profile |
| Usability | 1 finger focus knob adjustment, everything works well |
| Field of View | 426 FOV, very wide |
| Brightness | Excellent, bright white, amazing for the price |
| Low-Light | Excellent comparable to more expensive binos |
| Clarity/Color | Edge to edge is very well done for wide FOV |
| Chromatic Aberration | Slightly better than average, not very noticeable |
| Price | Inexpensive, one of the more affordable options, especially for what you get |
| Warranty | Athlon offers a very good lifetime warranty. |
Athlon Midas ED vs Athlon Midas G2 UHD
Athlon Midas G2 UHD Review – Field Notes
| Build Quality | average |
| Bulk & Weight | slightly better than average |
| Usability | average |
| Field of View | 426, tied with best |
| Brightness | excellent, bright white |
| Low-Light | great, comparable to more expensive |
| Clarity/Color | edge to edge is very well done for how wide |
| Chromatic Aberration | very little |
| Price | inexpensive |
| Warranty | lifetime |
Conclusion
I compared both Athlon Midas binoculars to 12 other binoculars (see video above). It was clear after conducting this review that both the Midas G2 UHD and Midas EDs were the best value binoculars, for the money they were unmatched.
You can’t go wrong with either one for the price. When compared to the Swarovski’s, there was a difference, but for hunting applications, there wasn’t a 10x difference in price. For the price difference, the Midas’s had, in my opinion, 80% of what the 1000$+ binoculars had to offer.
If you’re interested in how to choose binoculars, you might like my post below:
