>>2120197Even a $10 monocular is better than nothing. Anything more than $20 is going to be fine but heavy as shit, beyond that point you're paying for reduced weight more than anything up to around the $120-$200 tier. You almost certainly aren't going to need to go past that.
8x42 is plenty for most purposes, easier to use than 10x50, and easier to cart around but that extra oomph can be worth it in low light. It's ultimately going to be a tossup.
Anyone telling you to spent $2k on nocs just wants reassurance that they were right to spend $2k on nocs. They weren't.
Scopes, on the other hand, cost that much. Think long and hard before getting bit by the shorebird bug.
Good luck, have fun.
