I have'nt been on an elk hunt yet, this will be my first, but I have used binoculars extensively whitetail hunting and have always used a cheap pair of 10x24. I decided to buy a good pair for this elk hunt and purchased a pair of Leupold Wind River "Katmai" in 10x32. These are "great" binocs! They are small and easy to carry but have exceptional glass. Not as big as the 42 and 50 objective binocs. They are nitrogen filled and waterproof. I would recommend them to anyone with a limited budget. They run about $329 at Cabelas.