Do yourself and your wallet a favor and look at Alpen. I couldn't tell a difference between them and the Leupolds in the Cabela's store. I paid $109 for the Aplens, and the Leupolds were $249.

Justin,
Frank is right, I am using a pair of Pentax DCF-SP "Superior Performance" 8X43's and they are fantastic.
They're little pricey but still not up to the level of the Swaro's, and it'd take a machine and proof to show me that the $1000 glass is better. I can sit in my stand to the point where I can no longer see color, and everything grays together and when I put the glasses up things are still sharp and brighter than what my eye can do. They are very crisp and clear edge to edge with a very flat image.
(They also focus down to like 6ft if you want to do any pass the time bird watching on stand.)
They have pretty much the same features as the Monarchs, Legends in that $300 range , Phase coated/corrected prisms, completely waterproof yadda yadda yadda........but they use a fancy hybrid aspherical lens system and supposedly better glass and coatings.
If you look around you can find them very reasonably in the $400+ish range (Ebay, Online Optics stores) If you buy them from Cabela's they'll set you back about $500-600
I just read a full review on them and the editors compared them right with the high end Euro glass, and called them a best buy in that price range.
It's the last pair of Binos that I'll ever need for whitetail hunting, and I do not "Want" for anything better.

All that said........I would not feel handicapped in the least with Frank's Nikon Monarchs or my other buddy Frank's Bushnell Legend. Both are bright clear and crisp.
I would not call either of those "settling" on a pair of binos they are high quality.

I would call my pair the next step up, and if you want to get technical the Euro stuff is the top rung although I can't see a difference VS. mine.

Another alternative if you can find a pair is the discontinued Pentax DCF-WP 8X42's that are outstanding and can be had for a similar price to the Monarchs.
Supposedly the new DCF HR-II is what replaced these but I'm not sure? (The old DCF HR's are not in the same league though so cross them off)

All of these mentioned should be in your wheelhouse for price range..........but I guess if you keep tripping over the plugs there in the office we'll be chipping in to buy you a new pair soon.

True...very true. With all these upgrades on bandwith and such I imagine you folks are just about broke.

I like my Bushnells (I have several pair - 8x, 10x, 12x and just got 16x). the only thing I don't like, as others have mentioned, is that they will fog up when I breath (under right circumstances).

Is there anything that can be put on them to stop this????

This might have been just dumb luck but I just bought a pair of Bushnell Banner 10x42
binos at Walmart for $31 bucks! They are waterproof, fogproof Bak-4 lenses, rubber armored. They were hanging with the cheaper line of Bushnells and packaging looked the same. The tag said inventory prep like it was closeout. Think it was a steal, might be worth a look at your local Walmart.

Check out them Alpen Bino's!

Hey Justin, did you make a purchase and if so what did you decide on. After an afternoon in a pouring rain my $40 dollar bushnells are now more like water goggles! Guess I'll have to spend some cash too!

I know it's not what you wanted to hear... but someone has to go along with Shhhhhh. I love my Swarovskis. YUP, they'll break the bank and the budget....BUT, there is no substitute for high quality glass. Anyone who looks through a lesser set of glass and then a set of high quality lenses(ie Swarovski, Zeiss, etc) and says they see no difference need new glasses or haven't looked through them at first or last light. There is no comparison.

Short of spending the family paycheck I'd look at several of the middle grade glasses others have mentioned, Wind River, Brunton etc. If you're a woods hunter get something in the 7 or 8 power with at least 42 mm objective lenses. I have 7x42s... they're a little better in low light than say a 10 power pair of the same size. When you decide, invest in a good "bino buddy" type carry harness that gets the weight off your neck and keeps the binos from flopping around.

I have the monarchs and I absolutely love them!!!! They are the easiest on your eyes in my opinion for the money and do well in low light I paid 200 for mine(8x40) new when nikon came out with new lines here about 2 years ago.

I have a pair of nikon reeltree 8x36 cost around $200. I hunt in the woods all the time . The 8x (eye mag) seems to be more steady in the woods than the 10x. I really like them.