Personally I have a pair of Zeiss Classic 10x40's and a pair of Swarovski 10x50 SLC's and wouldnt trade them for anything. I do think you get what ya pay for with glass. I always tell people to buy the best they can afford. If it's a pair of high end optics such as Leica fine, if it's a pair of Bushnell's fine...it's their choice and money.

I was brought up with my father telling me son....."you might as well start out with what you are going to wind up with" and have for the most part followed that.

I have found out over the years that binoculars can be used for much more than just hunting....take em to a ball game, a concert, the zoo fencning work, bird watching...whatever...

Another thing to think about is being able to turn them over in the future if you want to sell them.The best optics are going to hold their value much more that a so so pair. You might even consider them as an investment.