I tried a 10X once and they are terrible. To much magnification and usually to large to carry. The best I've carried have been either 8x40 or 7x35. If you feel the need for 10X, you probally need a spoting scope.

For a general use, IMHO, I think you would be best served by an 8x. Please feel free to give me a call to talk about which bino would be best.

The ones you mntioned all have a "relative brighness" of 5(lowest magnification divided by objective lens diameter) with the exception of the 7 x 50 with a 7.1, a slight advantage during low light.

Thanks for all your replies. We actually went hunting this past weekend, and my brother had a pair of 7x35's, and he loved them... I had a chance to look through them myself, and realized that it is plenty already. I plan to try out some 7x50's as well... but now I know that the 10x is more of a waste of time for the hunting that we plan to do.

Any suggestions as far as going with waterproof ones though? I'm not sure on this issue. Please advise.

Welcome to the forem there Sniper
I carry a pair of (semi) compact 10 power. They are nice but to get detai on something small way off you need to find a good resting branch/log/stump. To do it all over again I think I would drop back to an 8 power pair. But yes I definetly recomend water proof as opposed to water resistent (or what ever they call them). You go griz hunting some day (lots of mula to do that!!!) and it may rain every day on you. Last thing you need is to have your optics let you down.

Thanks ADKBEAR... I was thinking along the same lines, so I think I will definitely opt up for a nice pair of waterproof ones. I'll let you know what I decide on pretty soon!

Thanks again!

Most good quality binos are waterproof and gas sealed. More important is to select binos that are clear, relatively bright and offer a wide field of view. You don't have to pay $1000+ for a good pair. You'll find that most real good quality glass in mid-sized in the $550+ range with an 8X30 or 8X40mm are light enought to carry and give you good performance. Kahles, Stiener, Leupold, Nikon come to mind. Just remember to look for brightness and clarity (sharp focus). Unfortunately there are too many lower end binos (and scopes) out there in the $100 to $200 range that are very blurry and absolutley useless (lower end Bushnell optics comes to mind). What good does that do anyone??? ,)

With the quality of optics improving in the last few years I think that best quality/value/price is to be found in Minox binoculars. In the under $1000.00 price class they really cannot be beaten. Their HG series was just rated "Best of the Best" for 2006 in Field & Stream.