It depends on the magnification of the binoculars. Lower magnification binoculars are quite usable hand-held, and they can be stabilized pretty easily in a zero-gravity chair. The nice thing about smaller binoculars is that you can have them on hand in the car. They're great for road trips, because you can get them out for a quick view when you stop under dark skies.

Binoculars are very nice on a tripod, especially with a parallelogram mount, but being able to use them without a tripod opens up many more observing opportunities.

Telescopes need a mount and tripod (or Dobson-style mount) too! The price and barrier to entry with binoculars is smaller than any telescope you can't fit on your table top, and I think they're a great way to wet your feet and make sure you're willing to drag something out into the cold late at night.

I agree with your recommendation, but they do make small tripods.