The Leupold you mentioned sounds like a compact version, because of the small objective diameter. If so, it won't have the same eyepiece and eye relief characteristics as the 6x42 model.
Most variables when turned to 6x aren't as friendly as the 6x42 Leupold either, so saying "my variable has a 6x in it" doesn't always hold water. A 3.5-10x40 Leupold comes close.
