Not sure why variable power are cheaper but would guess because they are usually made by fly by night companies. Sounds like you made a good choice and 10x42 is a nice all round bino. There are better binos but they cost much much more but should give a person longer veiwing time and be sharper in image quality. Your binos should be one of your most used hunting accesories. Let us know what yiu think of these binos and congrats on your purchese.