I have mostly Leupold scopes on rifles that I hunt with. I find it curious that you focus on "glass clarity" - although Leupold's do not lack in that arena. Consider that a hunting scope is primarily a sighting system - not likely to be staring through it for hours - is what binoculars or spotting scopes are for. Perhaps be more concerned about durability of the guts - does it hold zero, are the adjustments precise, etc. As an observation, in 40 plus years of using them, and currently owning perhaps 8 or 10 of various models, I still do not know how the Leupold warranty might work - their scopes just always work for me - no bobbles - no "issues" - they just work, and do what they are supposed to.
To be honest, about best visual that I have in a scope is a German made Hensoldt - likely from 1960's, maybe earlier - and it does not even have a windage turret - Leupold VX-Freedoms that I bought in last few years are very close for visual clarity - with that Twilight coating, I think they call it. That Hensoldt has an almost frightening array of slotted screws, etc. under the vertical turret cap to be adjusted for setting elevation - windage has to be set with the mounting system - about as "old fashioned" as you could imagine - but the view through it will take your breath away!
Marketing, sales, etc. really kicking in I think - that people think the view through a scope tells them what they need to know about the scope's quality and durability for the hunting job. But I am old - started with North America made scopes that were not even sealed - would fog up on INSIDE surfaces of the lenses - and have had several updates and "newer" ones since then - but maybe I have not fully caught up to "modern" systems.
