Looking for suggestions on which brand would be the best for the money.

Thanks in advance.

This is a difficult question to answer.

Because everyones eyes are different, then you get into clarity and focus points.

Personally, I'd say that if you are going to buy binos, go to a place that has several different makes and modles and evaluate them your self. See which ones feel the best and have the optical clarity that you want. Then evaluate the diopter. Is it too fast or is it too slow?

Then evaluate the price. Buy once cry once, but you will have what suites you the best, and if you take care of them, they will serve you for a very long time.

10x42 is, to me, just about right for hunting, so I think you're on the right track. As for which one to buy, that gets a bit tougher. Get some good ones, because you'll be using them a lot and hopefully for many years and cheap glass leads to eye strain. The smaller and lighter they are the better, and rubber armored is good. Nikon makes good binocs for a reasonable price. Leica, Zeiss, and Swarovski make great binocs at a less reasonable price. I use Leica, but if I was buying new today and money was no object, I'd probably go with Swarovski. If I had to be economically reasonable, I'd go with the Nikon Monarch 10x42 that I got for my wife. They are small, light, are rubber armored and have great glass, though I don't know how tough they are compared to the high dollar gear. That said, you could buy a new pair of the Nikon every year for the next 10 and still pay out less money than those Swarovskis will cost ya.

I love my Leoupold BX2 Cascade 10x42s I bought last year.

I really like Leupold optics but when it came to binoculars for under $500 I found that the Nikon Monarchs were clearer for me than the comparable Leupold. I also have a pair of Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42 that are absolutely great!! I think 10x42 is the best all around magnification.

You may want to look through the new 10x42 Nikon Monarch 7's. They are right at $500. The Monarch 3's are very good glass for the money too at around $250.

Bob

Original Nikon Monarch ATB, Monarch 3, Monarch 7.

I agree w/ Skylar on looking through them. For normal blind hunting I like the monarchs, if I'm going to be behind them all day I like meopta for best bang for the buck (even over the Zeiss Victory line) if you can find them close to wholesale.

Thanks everyone!

What is the advantage of going with 10 x 42 over a 10 x 50? I am looking at getting a new pair of binos and have always used a 50 objective.

The only advantage I see is that the 10x42's will be smaller. Smaller is fairly important to me, though it might not be for some other folks.

Smaller & lighter.

Do you lose much in light transmission?

Just bought myself a pair of Vortex Talon HDs 10x42 at Cabelas...I am looking forward to giving them a good low light test and seeing how they work at dawn/dusk. They glass great in the daylight.

I probably spent a good hour at the counter at cabelas comparing the Monarch 5, Bushnell Legend HD, Leupold Cascade BX-2, and Vortex Diamondback, and the Vortex Diamondbacks seemed to do better than all of them. I spent a lot of time looking at all the dark corners of the building and the bright spots too, comparing field of view, brightness, color, any visible abberration, etc...it was close, but the first pair I put down was the leupolds, followed by the Nikons, and then the Bushnells. The thing that sealed the deal for me with the Bushnells was the diopter adjustment knob was broken on the bushnells. If it can't hold up to store use, it won't hold up to kid use...plus the Vortex just appeared crisper than the rest.

So, being me, I got the next better in Vortex line, the Talons...the talons were more sharp than the Diamondbacks, and they should have better low light visibility too...I hope.

not with good glass

I've been very impressed and pleased with my Minox binoculars.

I've got some old Leica 10x40's that I've had for years. They meet all my criteria of being light, rubber armored, and small, and have great glass. Take it from me that you'll know when you have good glass when you can find the target in the binocs but can't find it in the scope. That's when you'll need to level the playing field and get a better scope. It's only money...

You can bury me with the Leica binocs. If I don't have my Leica binocs, it can't be heaven.

I am looking at getting Vortex Viper HDs. Based on reviews and comments on here, they are about the best glass you can get for the money. I trust they are good enough glass that there shouldn't be a light transmission issue.

Can't go wrong with Swarovski or Leica. They are both lifetime durable so their expense is a one time deal. In any case, buy the best you can afford as they are the single most important piece of equipment in your by in my opinion.

Depending on how and where you hunt the range finding version of the Leicas are maybe as good as it gets. I have been using a pair of Swarovski ELs for years and I can get a pretty good judge of a whitetail buck in a senderro in light that makes it hard to even tell if it's a deer with the naked eye. That being said, if I were buying today I would think hard on the Leica with built in rangefinders. I missed a monster Kudu in Zimbabwe with an inaccurate range and I would sure like to have that shot back as actress for the price of a set of those binos