RE: binoculars?
I have a pair of Zeiss Classic 10x40's and a pair of Swarovski SLC 10x50's. The Zeiss's are great, enough power in a fairly small package, I can wear them all day with any fatigue. When planning on doing some serious all day glassing, I'll go to the bigger Swarovski's. They are simply surperb optics, if there is a down side to them ,it's their size and weight. I highly recomend a harness such as the one crooked horn outfitters makes. If you just use bino's for ocasional glassing any of the lower end makes will do. For extended usage, I would suggest a higher quality because of less eye fatigue. It's not written in stone but most top notch outfitters will be using and reccomend Swaro's and Zeiss.
just some thoughts, doubleA