Barska has a bigger following in the U.S. than it does in Canada. The folks in the U.S who have and use Barska scopes can't say enough about them. I've heard more positive things about Barska than negative. One fellow I know has a Barska scope the Tactical 4-16x50. He personally put his scope through a torture test. First, he placed in the shower for 30 minutes than he placed it outside for 1 hour during the winter. When he took it out to the range it still worked. You be the judge, everyone has their favourites. If you interested in Barska check them out at Barska.com. If you need more information let me know I'm a Barska dealer.
From what I've seen etched glass reticules are very good. One scope I know of that has the etched glass reticules are the Valdada scopes.