Long time lurker, first time poster.
I have a question for you guys. I have some decent binoculars including:
Nikon Buckmasters 10x42 (Lots of use)
Burris Landmark 8x32 (Kept in the truck)
Leupold Yosemite 8x30 (Kept in the car)
Pentax UCF WR 8x24 (Lots of use)
Nikon Action 10x50
Nikon Action 10-22x50
Old School Bausch & Lomb 7x50 (Owned a long time)
Nikon Travelite V 10x25
Nikon Sprint III 7x21 (Had these a long time and they've seen a lot of use)
Anyway, I talked the in-laws into buying some quality binoculars as they live in a remote area and have endless opportunities to look at birds, hummingbirds, deer and to a lesser degree, stars. They had a few sets of 10x50 Powerviews and a couple other sets that I'd given them. I threw out a few options and without looking through anything better than mine, they ordered a set of Leupold McKinley 10x42s, largely based on my Yosemites, the guy's favorable opinion of Leupold riflescopes and the fairly reasonable price. I was trying to steer them towards the Nikon 8x32 SE porros as they are, in my opinion, the best sub $1,000 binoculars I've ever looked through.
Flashforward, we house-sit their place when they are out of town and I've really grown to like them. I'm sure they aren't the best in the world but I really admire how clear they look edge to edge and how they just generally don't seem to induce any fatigue whereas my better sets will create minimal fatigue after extended periods though the old B&Ls are very easy on the eyes.
So my question is what will get me the closest to these for less money? I don't have a preference between porros or roofs and weight isn't very important to me on this pair. My priorities are brightness, edge to edge clarity and minimal fatigue. When I say brightness, I don't mean light-gathering as much as just a generally bright view. I don't need a ton of eye relief as those with more than 15mm or so, I tend to turn them back to about 15mm.
I'd like to stay under $300 if at all possible. $400 would be my absolute max unless I just put off the purchase for a year or so.
I've looked through Monarch 3s, Vs and Xs and the aforementioned Nikons. I've not looked through any Leupolds other than the Yosemites and Rogues and I've never looked through any Vortex or Eagle models.
Any of the $200 - $400 Leupolds worth the money?
Basically I would like something that looks about like the Yosemites but in a more robust package and just generally everything being a step or two better.
I have a question for you guys. I have some decent binoculars including:
Nikon Buckmasters 10x42 (Lots of use)
Burris Landmark 8x32 (Kept in the truck)
Leupold Yosemite 8x30 (Kept in the car)
Pentax UCF WR 8x24 (Lots of use)
Nikon Action 10x50
Nikon Action 10-22x50
Old School Bausch & Lomb 7x50 (Owned a long time)
Nikon Travelite V 10x25
Nikon Sprint III 7x21 (Had these a long time and they've seen a lot of use)
Anyway, I talked the in-laws into buying some quality binoculars as they live in a remote area and have endless opportunities to look at birds, hummingbirds, deer and to a lesser degree, stars. They had a few sets of 10x50 Powerviews and a couple other sets that I'd given them. I threw out a few options and without looking through anything better than mine, they ordered a set of Leupold McKinley 10x42s, largely based on my Yosemites, the guy's favorable opinion of Leupold riflescopes and the fairly reasonable price. I was trying to steer them towards the Nikon 8x32 SE porros as they are, in my opinion, the best sub $1,000 binoculars I've ever looked through.
Flashforward, we house-sit their place when they are out of town and I've really grown to like them. I'm sure they aren't the best in the world but I really admire how clear they look edge to edge and how they just generally don't seem to induce any fatigue whereas my better sets will create minimal fatigue after extended periods though the old B&Ls are very easy on the eyes.
So my question is what will get me the closest to these for less money? I don't have a preference between porros or roofs and weight isn't very important to me on this pair. My priorities are brightness, edge to edge clarity and minimal fatigue. When I say brightness, I don't mean light-gathering as much as just a generally bright view. I don't need a ton of eye relief as those with more than 15mm or so, I tend to turn them back to about 15mm.
I'd like to stay under $300 if at all possible. $400 would be my absolute max unless I just put off the purchase for a year or so.
I've looked through Monarch 3s, Vs and Xs and the aforementioned Nikons. I've not looked through any Leupolds other than the Yosemites and Rogues and I've never looked through any Vortex or Eagle models.
Any of the $200 - $400 Leupolds worth the money?
Basically I would like something that looks about like the Yosemites but in a more robust package and just generally everything being a step or two better.