Remember the "binocular guy"? Back in November Alan Brooks from West Sussex, England got hold of us with some super helpful binocular advice to augment our How to Choose Binoculars Beacon article. The guy knows his stuff! When I asked him why, he explained:

"I'm an electronics engineer by trade with a long standing interest in photography, so I have a basic optics grounding and a technical bent. I've used binos for longer than I care to remember - the job occasionally requires a fair degree of surveying (GPS, tellurometer etc) and my hobby is sailing. I guess that you could call me a nerd and curiosity goes with the job. I just can't buy anything technical without trying to understand what I am buying and getting the best that I can afford."

Ah-ha! Now that's our kind of shopper! Informed buyers are the best buyers because they know exactly what they are getting, and what to ask for.

As for sailing, that's actually not Alan you're looking at at the helm of the asymmetric dinghy, but a friend at his club. But that is one type of sailing he does. He explains,

"Most of my sailing is as a dinghy and powerboat instructor at the local club... However, I also regularly crew for a friend on his 31 footer and we sail out of Chichester Harbour on the S.Coast of England."

We were so pleased with Alan's binocular help, that we sent him a complementary ShipStore.com t-shirt. How about sending us your own feedback, your own suggestions, your own advice, and you just never know. Maybe you'll catch us on a generous day too!