Smoked the competition - Vortex Diamondback 10x42mm Roof Prism Binocular

I looked through a lot of different binos before purchasing the Diamondback 10x42s. I found some that cost twice a much that were not as bright and clear, one example being the Zeiss Terra ED (at $449.99). I was amazed as I'm a huge Zeiss fan with most of my hunting rifles wearing Zeiss scopes. The least expensive bino that I thought comparable was the Nikon Monarch 7 10x42 which are $419.95 here on Optics Planet.

While I slightly preferred the Steiner 10x42 Merlin Pro ($499.99), mainly because of the side shield eye cups, they were not worth an additional $270.99 (over twice the price). I called Vortex to find if such an eye cup was available and they suggested adding Eyeshield Winged Eye Cups manufactured by Field Optics Research. I found them on eBay for $13.95 shipped.

If you wear glasses, you will love the eye relief. It is so significant that I have to extend the eye cups out all the way in order to use them without glasses. Even then I do not touch the eye cups. In a perfect world, the eye cups would adjust further out and have side shields.

Although I'll be using them primarily for hunting, I took them to a football game and let a friend (a high-end Leupold scope user) look through them. His reaction: "Wow!" When I told him how much I paid for them, he could hardly believe it.

High quality, half the price, and an unbeatable warranty that protects you against ANYTHING except loss. What's not to like? Run over them with a truck: no problem. As a result of this purchase, I'll be looking at Vortex scopes as I have a need. Call me a fan.