Ben is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys climbing, mountaineering, hunting, and fishing. He has spent more than two decades balancing work and passion, providing professional web development, software development, IoT, hardware design, and consulting services, while enjoying everything the outdoors has to offer.
When Ben isn't in the field, he enjoys building radio control vehicles, fpv drones, and tinkering on a wide range of hobby and commercial electronics projects. He combines his outdoor life experiences, with his technical skills to bring an expert perspective to GearLab. Ben is also passionate about researching products, diving into technical specifications, developing testing plans, collecting data, data analysis, and running products through the gauntlet to determine the best products and values for our readers.
Author Profile
Benjamin Hickok
Review Editor
Showing 1-8 of 8 by Benjamin Hickok
Best Binoculars of 2023
What are the best binoculars? We took 16 different models through rigorous testing in the outdoors to find out. We...
Top Pick
Vortex Diamondback HD 8x28 Review
If you're looking for binos that are both inexpensive and lightweight, look no further. These tiny optics pack an...
Nikon Monarch M7 10x42 Review
With good clarity and brightness, the Monarch M7 can definitely up the quality of your next wildlife walk. However, it...
Nikon Trailblazer ATB Waterproof 10x25 Review
If you aren't able to spend a little bit more for a better pair of optics, these might be an okay option for decent...
Nocs Provisions 8x25 Waterproof Review
Everyone wants to see an underdog win, but the performance of these budget binoculars is on par with the price point.
Vortex Diamondback HD 8x42 Review
Offering potentially the best price to performance ratio of any bins currently on the market, the Vortex Diamondback...
Zeiss Victory SF 10x42 Review
This is an incredible pair of binos that offers a premium experience at a premium price, but a couple of other premium...
Nikon Aculon A211 8x42 Review
Although this model is affordable and offers a bright viewing experience, its performance in other testing metics was...Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by Testing.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
Learn More