Solitary, you nailed it. I went through all this same analysis over the last week since my World's Greatest Wife gave me a new T3 for our anniversary.

I loved the Z-Plex reticle for all the reasons you mentioned and the clarity was wonderful. I also liked the 44mm option for a little more FOV without the bulk of a 50mm bell. I went into this with the intention of getting a great big ol' honkin Black Diamond, but after allowing myself some time to make a good decision, I went with the Zeiss. I concur on the selection of the 3.5 to 10. I hunted the last two years with a borrowed Swarovski that had the higher power... I tried a long shot on an elk at high power, but without a bi-pod or sticks, I could not keep it still enough and it definitely hurt my confidence in my shot. So, I think the max of 10 makes more sense for open country elk hunting as well as the timber stuff.

Glad to hear you had a good warranty experience--that was one lingering doubt I had versus the Leupold stuff.

A big thanks to all who posted here for the good info. I will be looking at elk through my new Zeiss this fall if all goes right!