I got them after comparing Leupold Cascades, and Alpens. I shoot a lot of 3D and plan to eventually end up at some IBO events, and that limits you to 8.5x, so I got the 8x42's. I hear now that Vortex has some good stuff too and I may try them out someday. I would love a 12x42 pair for local 3D events and hunting.