New Bino's $400-$600

[pashok23]

I have some Leupold Mojave BX-3 and I'm very happy with them. Very good in low light conditions.

[Limhangerslayer]

I just purchased the talon hd's and it's hard to beat the glass or warranty of vortex.   I wasn't impressed with the eye adjustment of the bx-3's

[bankwalker]

I just returned my viper hd spotter today. opted for a set of 12x binos. (I wanted 15x50 viper hds but couldn't wait for shipping time)
Looking through viper hd, talon hd, and nikon monarch 5s all in 10x power to compare each quality (cabelas didn't have all them in 12x to compare).

I went with the nikons in 12x42 for $299 on sale right now. I love how small and light weight they are, they're smaller than my cabelas alpha extreme 8x42s.
The focus dials are butter smooth.
The ED glass is great. I took them with me tonight out fishing and the low light viewing was great for a 12x42 and pretty small exit pupil. I was quite surprised

Now then...The viper hds were brighter than the nikons. But they were not $369 brighter than the nikon monarch 5s.

I would definitely look at the nikon monarch 5s or 7s. I don't think they have 12x in the monarch 7s. But most people opt for 8 or 10 x.

Also for what it's worth. The guy behind the counter made mention that Nikon is pushing towards having a very similar warranty to that of Vortex.

[JDHasty]

Ya plus I'm not sure about Vortex warranty but I know Leupold is great. Something to consider

Tough to beat Vortex' warranty. Lifetime no questions asked.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Tough to beat either.  I have sent Leupold gear in to them on Monday and had it sitting in my front room on Friday when I got home from work.  But Swaro, Leupold, Vortex are all absolutely fantastic.

I have a six-year old and have told Vortex to invoice me for the cost to undo the damage the kids have inflicted on my 6x32 Viper (screwed the ocular off while I was watching the Eburg Rodeo) and they simply would not hear of it.  I bought both kids Leupold 6x30 Yosemite binoculars and have never had to send them in for any reason.  When my 12-40x60 scope got lens fungus it was back w/new lenses in it in less than a week.  Over the course of the last 45 years I have busted up some Leupold gear on accident and never one time could I get them to take my money when I told them to invoice me for damage caused by my own negligence.   Swarro has been just as good about bending over backwards to get my gear fixed and back in my hands and if I have ever been asked to pay for a repair I don't remember it. 

Nikon - well we also have Nikon optical instruments and really like it.  We have a pair of 8-42 EDG bins and they are as good, or better than anything out there, but honest to God if Nikon ever gave two hoots in a barrel about getting broken gear repaired in a timely manner or getting parts in your hands by the time you need it or even answering your correspondence - it is a well kept secret. 

[jackelope]

Kinda goes along with my experience with Minox also. Had a md50 mounted to a tripod fall out of the back seat of a jeep on 35's. Landed on the spotter. Broke off the foot where the tripod mounts to the spotter. Repaired under warranty even after I asked for an estimate for repairs after explaining exactly what had happened. Actually sent me a new scope in the package because they couldn't fix it.

[cbond3318]

I don't have a pocket full of reviews to offer because I usually ran the 100$ bushnells because I had a habit of destroying gear annually. Now that I am a little older and a touch wiser I upgraded to the Vortex Talon HD 10x42's , not hard to be blown away considering what I came from but they are awesome and I have the confidence to use them knowing I have the best warranty in the market backing them up.

[Bean Counter]

...
Nikon - well we also have Nikon optical instruments and really like it.  We have a pair of 8-42 EDG bins and they are as good, or better than anything out there, but honest to God if Nikon ever gave two hoots in a barrel about getting broken gear repaired in a timely manner or getting parts in your hands by the time you need it or even answering your correspondence - it is a well kept secret.

Surprised to hear this! 

I had a pair of the Monarch ATBs and after 5+ years of hard, heavy use one of the eyecups came lose. They sent me an upgraded pair for free in good timing. I sold them and found a steal of a deal on a 10x32 EDG and I agree, its like crystal meth on glass 

If I had to buy a pair at retail right now without thinking I'd probably go for the Monarch 5. The 7s are better, namely in field of view, but you gotta pay a lot more to get there. Both the 5 and 7 will be a cut above the 3, namely because the internal prisms are dielectrically coated as opposed to silver coated.

[JDHasty]

I was probably a little hard on Nikon.

Nikon has been very good to me over the years and I certainly appreciate everything they have done, but there have been times that I have not even been able to get them to answer my correspondences. 

I purchased a Nikon Field Microscope http://nikon.com/products/sportoptics/lineup/fmicroscope/fieldmicroscope/index.htm , which was in their North America Sport Optic catalog for a year or two, for my kids and have been trying for years to purchase the accessories that were shown in the Sport Optic catalog. I presented this Field Microscope to my daughter on her fifth birthday and she will be seven in less than two months. 

WTF, if you go to the page linked above the accessories are clearly shown but by God as my witness I have spent at least twenty hours on the phone and have sent dozens and dozens of emails to Nikon trying to purchase these accessories and finally just gave up. 

I bought this for my kids to use with the hope being that owning this optical instrument will help to start them on a life of inquiry into the natural world around them.  My kids get a pair of good binoculars when they turn three, 6x30 Leupold Yosemite, and are encouraged to use everything we own, and we don't have junk.  It just frustrates the living hell out of me that Nikon has been so damnably unconcerned that I cannot purchase the accessories for this instrument.