Cabelas/meopta binocular sloppy hinge

[realunlucky]

Bought a set of Cabelas branded Meopta meostar B1 15x56 in the classifieds and they have a ridiculously sloppy hinge. They will not hold their shape without hand holding which to me basically canceled thier usefulness on a tripod.

I have little doubt meopta would service them for a modest fee but shipping out of country for repair means losing out of using them on the tag I bought them for. Anyone have any ideas to baby them though the season? Anyone have experience with an adapter that would hold there position while on the tripod?

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[realunlucky]

The binoculars on the outdoorsman will only stay at the narrowest position as both sides flop all the way together.

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[canyonhunter47]

I had a similar problem with a pair of Vortex that I noticed a couple days before season. I got by sticking my wallet in between the two barrels to hold the right IPD. It’s not perfect but tolerable if you’re mainly using them on a tripod and assuming the barrels are still aligned/collimated.

Edited to add:
This came up before and one poster said you can tighten the hinge with a flathead under the stud. Never tried it myself on my Meoptas so YMMV

 

[Stingray]

Meopta USA is in Florida. I’d call them and ask about it.

Also, text Doug from Cameraland. He didn’t sell those new but is a Meopta dealer and more importantly, goes the extra mile for Rocksliders. Trust me.

 

[Lionhound1975]

A few years ago I had a set of binos than developed a floppy hinge. I rigged it by folding a roll of bubble wrap (small bubbles) between the barrels at their widest position, pushing the barrels down until it was the perfect distance width for the eyepieces, then wrapped some black tape around the barrels. It wasn't pretty but it worked great and didn't add any weight or volume. It held up thru several trips until I sent them back to the manufacture.

 

[realunlucky]

My buddy has this old school bino mount. Looks like it might work anyone seen anything similar that's not a strap mount

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[realunlucky]

Looks like someone tried to tighten the hinge prior to my ownership. I checked and seemed tight but was scared to further Marr the brass.

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[texag10]

I'd echo calling Meopta US and seeing what they can do. They were pretty great when I lost an eyecup and Cabela's "lifetime warranty" told me to pound sand.

 

[MattB]

You just need a little sand in the hinge. ;-)

 

[realunlucky]

I tried a rubber O ring under the outdoorsman adapter. It was semi-successful at adding tension but wasn't super smooth.

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[realunlucky]

Ended up sending them back to meopta. Have to pay for all repairs and wait 10-12 weeks. Basically gave up the entire season to hopefully turn these binoculars into something other than paper wieghts. So unhappy that I paid a fair price for someone's broken binoculars.

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[PredatorSlayer]

Ended up sending them back to meopta. Have to pay for all repairs and wait 10-12 weeks. Basically gave up the entire season to hopefully turn these binoculars into something other than paper wieghts. So unhappy that I paid a fair price for someone's broken binoculars.

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Real unlucky…

 

[realunlucky]

Just got these back from meopta. Had to pay to have them fixed but just happy they would still do a service on the binoculars they built for cabelas.