Yes, I have tried just about all the mid-tier binoculars. I can understand your confidence in Meopta because they have been around a long time, but I don't think Maven or GPO is going away anytime soon. They both seem to really cater to hunter's offering rifle scopes and spotting scopes also, and they are quite popular in that market. Both GPO and Maven give you exceptional value by, as they say in their advertising, avoiding the middle man and selling direct to the consumer. The GPO HD's are MIJ, and they come back to Germany for a final inspection before being shipped, and most of the Mavens are similar except I believe they are inspected in Lander, Wyo. where they are shipped from. But if you feel better about buying a Meopta I would recommend one of the Meostar's. The thing I didn't like about the Meopro was the soft edges, and all the Meostar's have sharper edges all the way up from the standard B1, B1 HD and B1 HD Plus. Of course, they get a little better as you move up the food chain, but the price goes up also with the optical quality with the B1 HD Plus topping out at $1500. The Cabella's Euro HD is pretty much the same as the Meostar B1 HD, and sometimes you can find them on sale at Cabella's. They have some on sale now, but I don't believe they have the 10x42.