whelen36,

Swift is a little known company that makes fine optics. They are held in very high regard in birding circles, and birders are often very picky. Certain Swift binos rival even Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski. I have personally used Swift binos for the past 10 years without incident. So far, I am very pleased with my 3-9x40 Premier. They, too, have a lifetime waranty and the Premier goes for less than $150 depending on the store.

I can' t remember the actual store I bought mine from but I just did a quick search and found prices from $117-150. They may have a new model in Wide Angle, which I would highly recommend. My Swift binos are wide angle which is very helpful.

Take a look at:
www.swift-optics.com for the factory site, and
www.peepsun.com for good prices, and
www.binocularsdirect.com for more good prices.

I hope this helps.