The official recommended retail price of the Eterna Navigator 3 from Silva is around 270 euros. In fact, it can be found much cheaper in the shops, which makes it an interesting pair of marine binoculars in the mid-price segment. The workmanship is solid. The housing is rubberised, waterproof and nitrogen-filled, which prevents fogging from the inside. With a weight of around 1.1 kilograms, it is within the usual range for Porro prism binoculars of this size.
Binoculars with surprisingly good optics
The picture on the Eterna Navigator 3 is pleasantly sharp and bright, with good contrast. A particularly positive feature is that the sharpness is maintained right to the edges. Edge blurring, which often occurs with cheaper binoculars, is hardly an issue here. The compass mirrored into the left viewing channel is easy to read and sufficiently accurate. A reticle for taking bearings is also provided. The integrated illumination for taking bearings at night works, but is difficult to reach for users with smaller hands.
The focussing system of the Silva Eterna Navigator deviates from the standard: the binoculars have two large side levers next to the eyepieces. These allow the focus to be adjusted quickly and easily with one finger. The levers have a noticeable breakaway torque, but then move smoothly and lock into defined, clearly audible positions. However, the existing scaling is confusing. When the focus setting is set to zero, the binoculars are focused at a distance of around six metres - not infinity, as would be expected. For objects at a normal distance, you have to set the levers to four, almost at the end of the scale. The eyecups can be turned back for spectacle wearers, but are relatively hard and do not provide good coverage against false light from behind. They are also not ideal for every facial anatomy. If you have a large nose, you can expect pressure points.
As promised by the manufacturer, the Silva Eterna Navigator floats. However, it floats vertically in the water, making it harder to spot despite the striking yellow signal colour. The rubber coating of the housing is relatively smooth and offers less grip than expected in wet conditions. The biggest drawback is the protective eyepiece cover: the rubber cap is not secured in any way. As soon as you remove it from the eyepiece, it is a loose individual part with no way of attaching to the carrying strap. This means it is likely to get lost very quickly.
Good price-performance ratio
The Silva Eterna Navigator 3 has optics that are surprisingly sharp and high-contrast for the price. The compass is easy to use. You quickly get used to the confusing focus scaling in everyday use; the unsecured eyepiece cap and the somewhat slippery rubber coating are not ideal. For less than 270 euros, however, there are hardly any other 7x50 binoculars on the market that are visually convincing. We therefore award four out of five stars.
