I was originaly looking at leupolds cascades. Then I heard a lot of talk about the monarchs. I didn't want to spend more than 300.00. I also read a field test done by a writer from outdoorlife. He even went so far as to pour hot coffe on them to test the fogging. He also had a 600$ pair (I don't remember the brand)that he was comparing them to. and he was very impressed with the quality of the monarchs for the price range they are in. and then I talked to people on various forums and found thebang for the buckmost people said they liked the monarchs. SoI went to a retail store lookedthrougha pairand I liked them. So I got a great deal on a pairfrom e bay. Iwent with the 10x42 just for personal pref.