I don't know if he would or not, Kirk, and since he can't return it easily don't know whether I'd bet that firmly on him preferring it to his 10x42 Zeiss Victory, a very fine binocular I've also owned and used considerably. But whatever.
Oh, I forgot one thing. I would guess (but obviously don't know, with a couple of exceptions) that most people who responded haven't hunted New Zealand. It is different than Montana, and most other places I've hunted. While an 8x would do fine for much of the hunting, as it would anywhere on earth, for an all-around NZ glass I would definitely go 10x--and did, taking a 10x42 Meopta, and was very happy with the choice. The glassing was for animals the size of small deer to medium-sized elk, usually across a canyon or even two, without any snow for contrast, sometimes in the open but often in fairly thick vegetation. Maybe the OP can comment here.
