Just put out the money and buy a Swarovski, Leica or IOR Valdada.
That way you will never have to buy another set in your lifetime. Unless of course they get stolen, lost or damaged, which binos frequently do.
As mentioned, stick with 10X or less.
If you need more, buy an accompanying spotting scope.
Something else, not all glass is created equal. Even the same model, from the same company. There are always slight differences.
If you can, look at several different models and several of each model. Not always easy.
Take them to a window or ask the vendor to accompany you outside to view them. If possible, buy them late in the year or very early spring, so you can check them out under low light conditions.
I have a nice set of 10X Swarovskis. They were a Christmas present and I am paranoid about damaging them.
I already had a pair of Tasco Extreme Elites. When I purchased them, I had the opportunity to pick through a dozen they had in stock and compare them to Leicas and Swarovskis. In all honesty, the Tasco glasses were every bit as sharp, clear and with the rare earth coatings, gathered light beyond legal shootable limits.
I have had the opportunity to compare them to 3 different models of IOR Valdada binos and the IORs, actually gather light better. It must be the Schott glass and the coatings they are covered with. It might also be that IOR manufactures some models of Leica and other high end glass.
Whatever, don't just buy the first pair of binos behind the counter. Often as not, the vendors will gripe or refuse to allow you to compare one pair to another. Walk away. There are other vendors.
A vendor in Kamloops refused to let me look through the new in wrap pair he had. He would only allow me to look through the display pair. The display pair were excellent. I walked anyway. There was another fellow in there as well and he bought the unwrapped, new in box pair. Needless to say he was disappointed. They were finicky and difficult to balance focus from side to side. They also wouldn't focus well at distances over 500 meters. He ended up sending them back for warranty work and it was close to a year before they came back. Admittedly, they were excellent after repair. These were high end binos. Over $2000.
When it comes to binos, it pays to be extremely fussy.
Same goes for rifle scopes.
I have bought several scopes of the EE and sold them at the next gun show for a loss. Unless someone insists that they are good, because they are a good name brand, I will tell them why the price is better than reasonable and that they should be returned for warranty work.
