Maven CM1 8X32 mm ED Monocular Gray/Orange

I am not a hunter or birder. I purchased it for mostly static subjects while traveling for touring vistas, architecture and animal viewing. (Cruising, hiking, safari, etc.)This is a meticulously constructed, rugged monocular. Nicely packaged, it comes with a microfiber storage bag (can double as a lens cloth), lens caps for both the eyepiece and the objective and a wrist strap. Personally, I wish it had included a neck lanyard instead.Quite reasonable size and weight for an 8 x 32 mm scope. I am not an expert by any means, but the optics are clear and bright and there is a very generous field of view. No significant spherical or chromatic aberration for the “average amateur” user. At least for my needs, the eight power magnification is more than sufficient and it is not difficult to stabilize with one hand. It has a moderately textured, rubberized feel. Very easy to grip and use whether you are right or left-handed.I agree with the criticisms of the overly tight focus ring. I wish it was somewhat looser and more aggressively textured. It does not feel like it will loosen significantly, but this remains to be seen. As others have reported, the focus ring is easier to grip with the eyecup extended. With great effort it can be incrementally focused with one hand but it’s a real challenge to maintain aim. This is not a major concern for my needs as I don’t need rapid focus capability. The eye cup is well constructed and provides a significant amount of adjustable eye relief. At least with my eyeglasses, there is a much wider “apparent” field of view if I use it without my glasses unless I press the eyeglass lenses firmly into my face with the monocular.My initial impressions are very favorable and I’m happy with the purchase. The quality is commensurate with the price point. When I’ve used it for a while I will update this review if I have anything to add or edit.

After couple months use, super handy optic to always have with you or in your vehicle.8x-32mm OBJ gets great low light performance. Small on size but huge on performance!Coated lens is very clear, surprisingly clear like a good Swarovski Optic is.EZ to adjust and focus if you extend eyepiece out one click/turn. Focus ring is stiff as it should be. Once set, not easy to move out of adjustment by mistake.8/8/2025 UPDATE:finally discovered one negative about this product. For prolonged viewing, it lacks a 1/4" adapter socket for attaching to a tripod or better yet a camera type handgrip. Using a handgrip for prolonged viewing would great assist long minutes of viewing.

I have owned this monocular for a year and have used it regularly. The CM1 has bright, crisp optics, is well built, and is compact and easily fits in a pocket. The focus ring is stiff, but it is not enough of an issue to not buy this monocular. The focus ring has not loosened up over time.

Been using it about a week. Wanted a compact optic to take when walking dogs, hiking etc. to look at birds and other nature things. It is a nice size to put in my pocket and take along. The views through it are what a ~$200 optic should provide, true color, decent field of view, bright (consistent with the aperture) and minimal warping of the image at the edges. It feels nice in my hand, however, as others have mentioned, the focus ring is very tight and unpleasant/difficult to use. To use this for birding, for example, you are continually modifying focus since birds are sometimes near and sometimes far. In addition, the eye relief adjustment is too loose relatively and is easily unintentionally modified... especially with its proximity to the too tight focus ring. Anyways, IMHO, it would be a joy to use (deserving a 5 star rating) with a significantly looser focus ring and a slightly tighter eye relief adjustment (the eye relief would not likely be an issue if the focus was looser). As it is, I feel charitable giving it 4 stars.

I had seen some reviews of Maven binoculars and the value and quality is certainly there in this monocular. The reduced size and weight from what a medium-sized binocular would be is what caught my interest for turkey hunting use. The focus ring is a tad stiff but at 80 to 120 yards I don't anticipate much need to change the focus. Set it and forget it. The two lens covers are very good and will go a long ways to keep dust and dew off the polished surfaces. I anticipate using a camera strap to wear around my neck and having the 8X32 ED Monocular ride in the chest pocket of my hunting shirt. Quality glass for a mid-priced optic, I'm pleased.

Absolutely terrible focus ring. U must use two hands to use it. An otherwise outstanding product, very well made and made of quality materials, however the design (focus ring) REQUIRES perspective buyer to keep looking, as this item is NOT IT

THE GOOD: fantastic optics, great color, crystal clear and very bright. Compared to Celestron Nature DX ED, it has higher resolution, better edge sharpness, less glare and ghosting, and a brighter image (even with a 32 to 42mm disadvantage).THE BAD: minimum focus distance is a pathetic 16 feet. Compare to Maven’s own C1 8x42mm binocular which focuses to 6ft. The focus knob is also very hard to turn, impossible unless you extend the eyecup. They basically just turned the diopter wheel from their C-series binoculars into a focus wheel. As a diopter it SHOULD be hard to turn as you set it and forget it, but it’s terrible as a focus wheel, hard to grab, hard to turn. You will never follow fast birds in flight with this.VERDICT: this is a great piece of glass that is really limited by its focusing capabilities. I’m sending mine back despite the superb image.