Thank you for all the advice! I finally got to try all the bins mentioned that I could reasonably get my eyes on. For what it is worth, here are my thoughts.
Zeiss 8x30 SFL
This is the one I bought.
FOV is great, clearly larger in both AFOV and true than the Swaro NL Pure. View is bright, colors are great, and it is lightweight.
I love the balance of it, I can one hand it with reasonable steadiness, and focus wheel feels lux. Twist eyecups are great and the individual flip down lens covers mean no loose parts that can get lost. They clearly thought about the use case I have (pocket+ bins), and it works very well
Zeiss 8x32 Victory SF
Absolutely stunning view, FOV best that I looked through. But very heavy and large. Not a good fit for my use case.
Nikon Monarch HG 8x30
Nice bins, but FOV was noticibly smaller than the SFLs. I tested both MHG and SFL on a cloud snowy (low light) day and the SFLs were noticeably brighter. They are a bit smaller than the SFLs, but it really wasn't much. I would be hard pressed to find a pocket that the SFLs wouldn't fit in that the MHGs would.
Swaro NL Pure
View was incredible, colors seemed very true and felt very sharp. FOV was smaller and they were much heavier and longer than the SFL. Probably wonderful for a different use case, but not something I want to pack up a mountain.
Opticron traveler BGA ED 8x32
Small, light, inexpensive (relatively), these would have been my top choice if it weren't for the glare challenge. Anything within 30°of the sun had glare across the whole FOV, making it quite hard to pick out anything. If you were observing from inside a shelter, or can find extension tubes / hoods that cut the glare these punch above their budget class.
Now that I have had the SFLs for a few weeks and done a few trips with them, I continue to love them. They are easy to throw in my pack without the bulk and weight of the 14x40s, but let me see detail across valleys and pick out paths and interesting things I never would have seen otherwise.
Haven't tested them canoeing yet, but that will come.
Thanks all!