About twenty years ago, I stumbled on a pair of Zeiss binoculars at a pawn shop. Little folder, pocket sized. I didn't get a screaming deal on them like I did on my bigger Zeiss binos , but somewhat less than what they go for. My middle Son prefers them to the bigger pair, strictly because of their size. They are SO handy. And they do not give up too much to the bigger pair either. He sort of took them off of my hands, and I only see them, in his hands, during hunting season. I think that if you go with the top tier offerings from ANY of the major brands, you will be happy. My other Son, has a fairly new pair of mid-sized Pentax binos, not even their best grade, and I guess because of new manufacturing technology, they hold their own pretty well too. When I would check out scopes or binos at gun-shows or stores, I would look through them at something in the darkest part of the building. I would see if I could see rivets or nails up in the roof beams or rafters, where it is dark. With cheap glass, you will not see much in the shadows. One BIG advantage of pocket binos, is you tend to put them back in your pocket when you are not using them, whereas with bigger binos, you tend to lay them down somewhere, and then forget where you laid them. I hope you find something that suits you. MM