Interesting thread, but I have a favor to ask. Mostly the only actual brand names mentioned here are the big three European ones while the Asian glass is referred to only by that generic name, Asian. One post mentioned Burris HD's but that's about all I've seen as far as actual brand names the glass from various factories is sold under.
So, unless it's verboten could you be more specific about exactly which brand names and hopefully specific models of Asian glass compare favorably with the best Zeiss/Swaro/Leica's? I understand the various makers with non-Asian names have many or all of their binoculars made by Asian factories but that still leaves potential buyers guessing as to exactly which ones you're talking about. I know Nikon makes some great binoculars (I've owned several of theirs) but they and Pentax are the only Japanese names I'd know of, and don't know any Chinese or Philipine brand names at all.
On a slight tangent, this is partly why I bought my Leica Trinovids back in 2000, an 8x42 and an 8x32 which have given years of great service. Had tried a bunch of different models by Burris (their old 7x35 porro from the early 90's was terrific for the price range, I'm pretty sure that was made by Pentax) and a bunch of Nikons and Swarovskis, but figured at that time that the only way to be assured of getting the absolute top of the heap at the time was to go with the prestige name.
I understand what you're saying about how the "cheap" binoculars have gotten a lot better and quite possibly have left my 18 year old Trinovids in the dust of time but without specific names and models one is still left wondering exactly which "Asian" glass to look for. If there are too many to list then even a random list of the better ones would be helpful.
