I would tend to agree with most everyone else's and your own comments. The Cascades are now in the same class as the Monarchs in terms of image quality. Leupold finally started phase coating them this production year and the improvement is noticeable.

Out of curiousity, have you checked their "on paper specs" to see what they look like. The only thing I specifically remember not liking about many of the Leupold models is their slightly narrower field of view in comparison to offerings from Pentax, Nikon, Bushnell etc.. That does make a difference in terms of comfort level and ease of acquisition.

I prefer Nikon and would go that route though I other than field of view I do not have an argument against the Cascades. Both are very good bins for the price.