how much do I really need to spend on binocs?

[270WIN]

I am third on these The Leupold wind rivers are good bino's.

i have a 10 x 50 wich may be on the large side for carring but i have them on bino buddy and can carrie for hours with no tiring as all the waits on the shoulders

[Schutzen]

For the $ you can't beat Nikon binos, I have a pair of Venturers that are just outstanding they are 8x25. I think they were about $200.00 and well worth every penny. I have had them for about a dozen years now and they are treat to use Theres a newer version available now but I would not hesitate to get them either.
Most guys can do just fine with these type of binos but if your doing alot of serious trophy hunting then something like a good quality 9x32 or 10x might suit better. The thing with 10x is they are a little harder to steady for some especially if your freehanding them versus leaning on someting like your knees for instance. I heartily agree that binos are the proper ting and spend what you can afford on them. I would do some review searches first tho on google . I bought my last pair on the recomendation of a Consumer report test and they were right on!
Good luck.

[ex bc guide]

I have a pair of nikon 8x40s they are great on clear days, with overcast weather and rain I do not find them to be all that great, they are not so good at counting points a long ranges,I think my next pair will be 10x50s zeiss I was looking at them the other day,but they do come with a heavy price tag.
Mike

[rock]

Very inportant piece of equipment when hunting , purchase what you can afford bigger the lense draws in more light, smaller less light, I carry 2 most of the time, just a habit I've had for many years. As everybody say's the more there worth usaully the quality goes with it, I learned that a long while ago.

[Nails]

I purchased a pair of Bushnell Legends 10X42 roof prism and have been super happy with them

.I presently have a pair of pentex 8x compacts. Great for the heavy timber. I have tried a buddies pair of bushnell legends 10x42 in the field and there great. For the price of $400.00 these binos are my next purchase. Just having the extra magnification makes a difference along with the clairity.

Leupold wind rivers I am not familar with, I have heard wind river products seem to be good also. If money was not a issue then that would be a whole different issue for responses.

[7 mag]

Hold on thar just a doggone minute!
Before ya go go runn'in round throw'in money away, Have a scan on Ebay.
I have picked up some pretty fine optics on Ebay.ca for bargin prices, Worth a look.

[todbartell]

$300-400 is good.

I have a pair of Nikon Monarch 10x42's which I got for $400 and I like them.

[1/2 slam]

Save your money and get some good ones. Pentax DCF series are great. I own 2 pair. No offence to anyone but the compacts are ,for the most part, garbage. I've had guys claim their compacts were fine. They then looked through my 10 x 42 Pentax's and realized how bad their compacts really were. The old adage "you get what you pay for is true.

7 mag is right. Have a look on e-bay. My buddy saved about 200 on the pentax's he bought.

[rrfred]

On tight budget this year- needed a second pair for my son- so I scooped a pair of 10x36 nikons this summer, pretty good stuff for bout '225ish. also have a waterproof pair of nikons with almost 10 years of good service to report.

[Darren]

I bought a pair of leupold wind river 10 x 40 cascades after last season and I have seen a ton more game this season because of them. As everyone else has said, binos are not something you wanna cheap out on. I am quite happy with mine, I think they were just under $500. I would be interested to compare mine to something more expensive like swavarskis though to see what the noticeable difference is. 10 x is about as big as you wanna go though as any more magnification is too much to hold steady.