That was certainly part of it. Another aspect, unfortunately, was the fact that they were not German...everybody knows only Germans can build binoculars for that price
. Remember that this dated to 2006 or thereabouts. Steve Ingraham's BVD review of the Gold Ring HD is spot on the money. There was all sorts on nonsense posted about them in various forums. Still another aspect was the fact that Leupold was entering a new area for them and they were not and likely still are not viewed as a prime binocular source. Their first Gold Ring was a stout, expensive binocular that lacked phase coating and could not compete against the cost equal binoculars that did come from Germany (or Austria). Rifle scopes are another matter. Another aspect was the weight...everybody went nuts over the spec sheet and never bothered to seriously look at one. The weight is glass...good glass. Good glass with proper balance
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Another thing not to be taken lightly either is the made in USA stuff. People likely got offended that they were not 100% made here. But as Bill has pointed out more than once that has not happened for a long time. The death of made in the USA binoculars, and the trend toward better quality for less expense probably arrives with the advent of the JTTI. As far as I know (and this may not be right) the last mainstream USA binocular was probably the B&L Zephyr. Even the last several years of the Zephyr were made in Japan.