Anti-Reflective Optical Coatings 

Because glass surfaces reflect back up to 4% of any light that passes through, a binocular built without anti-reflective coating on its lens surfaces would deliver a very poor, darkened image. Most better-quality binoculars treat all or most of the lens surfaces with vacuum-deposited layers of magnesium fluoride and other exotic elements to reduce light loss though reflection – which increases light transmission and delivers a bright, clear view. Typically, the more lens and prism surfaces that are coated, the brighter and clearer the image, but at an incremental increase in cost.

Coated Lenses:          This means that some lens and prism surfaces are coated to produce a reasonably bright image at a modest cost.

Fully Coated Lenses:    All air-to-glass surfaces are coated for an even brighter view.

Multi-Coated:            This means that the manufacturer applied multiple coats of anti-reflective layers to most of the lens and prism surfaces.

Fully Multi-Coated:    The brightest and most expensive option, where all surfaces are treated with multiple layers for optimum light transmission.

Rubicon Coated:       A Tasco exclusive, comprised of 14 different layers of multi-coating on the objective lens with a ruby-red tint to filter out red light for reduced glare in bright light.

UVC Coating:             A special coating to filter out ultra-violet rays to reduce glare and help protect the user's eyes from harmful UV rays.