Getting into hunting. In past have done multisport and adventure racing but with another *0 birthday ticking by I'm getting slower so thought it'll be a good way to keep fit. Will be mostly around Canterbury high country (have a bach at Lake Clearwater). Have decided on 7mm Rem Mag, likely T3X, once FAL is completed but what about binoculars? Have been suggested 10x42. Any suggestions on brand and model for high country? Limited budget as I'm needing to buy everything.

Saw these Bushnell Legend L series 10x42  https://www.trademe.co.nz/sports/hunting-shooting/other/listing-1899346908.htm and thought $455 seem liked good deal if they're really RRP$740, but quick search shows they're $419 at RubberMonkey & US$151 on Amazon.

Any suggestions appreciated

cheers. Any suggested brand and model? They have a lot!

If you can stretch to $900 the Swarovski 8x30 on trade me are awersome.  I have the same and they are great.  Quite heavy but optically fantastic and will last a lifetime

For cheaper look at the Minox BF 10x42 second hand for $260.  Good value at that price.

Rod and Rifle did a review a few years ago and some of the cheaper Leupold models came out ok from memory

For me you have two size options 8x30/32 for general and 10x42 for Alpine

Look for phase correction as a difference in roof prison binos for jump into mid/high range binos. 

Quality does make more difference in Binos than scopes in my opinion as you spend more time glassing than shooting

$900 is too much. Initially I'd thought I could get starter setup (rifle, scope, binos, etc) for $2k but even used it semes like $k is more reasonable.

At moment $900 seems too much for binos. Reluctant to spend big now. Initially I thought $2k for basic gear to start (rifle, scope, binos) but now it's seems like at least double that as being told rangefinder, bipod, etc ..........

I have a pair of ex east German Army Hensoldt 8x30 binoculars, they don't look flash but their compact enough, glass is superb... I almost sold them on Trade Me a few years back... reserve was $150 and no one wanted them and in the end I had them for $80 and still no takers so I thought bugger it... I'll hold onto them and haven't regretted doing so.

Remember the old saying... buy once, cry once!

I have a pair of Kahles 10x42 and wouldn't recommend anything under that power for alpine hunting.

The Kahles are a bit heavy but do the job nicely, if i bought again i'd seriously look at a pair of Steiner 10x42's

A friend who is a guide has a pair of Nikon Monarch 10x42 and they have good glass, lightweight and have been through the battles!

When looking for stuff... look at importing from overseas aswell as it can often be cheaper.

The below are two good websites i've used in the past.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/
https://shop.theopticzone.com/

I've got a pair of Yosemite 8x. Good for close terrain, but for the longer stuff the 10x would be a better bet. Otherwise can't really fault them. Good quality for a reasonable price.

Never used binos until I had a good yarn with ICEMAN and tried his!

I use thirty year old Nikon 6x pocket binos for close bush work, but not much good for fading light nor distance.

I did sit with a couple of blokes glassing distance and got to look through a 10 and 12x - and the 12x was better, but that could have been a factor of glass quality.

My brother in law has 10x something Khales, but way too big and heavy and too limited a view for our type hunting.

I do have 8x30 Nikon E's with a wide FOV and while I don't use them for bush hunting - they're a really comfortable binocular when chasing rabbits.
Near enough the same as the East German Zeiss Jena binoculars.

Never looked through a Swarovski - but I think I'd like to.

For open tops hunting in Canterbury 10x42 is definitely the way to go. Binos with a small objective lens size like 10x32 or worse still 10x28 should be avoided as the amount of light entering then and ultimately your eye is way less than the 42mm diameter lens which will make a big difference at first and last light. 10x magnification is far better than 8x for open tops but if you go to 12x or especially 15x you will have trouble holding them still and also have problems with them picking up heat shimmer.

The best entry level binoculars I have tested were Nikon Monarchs in 8x42 retailing for about $600 at the time. Many of the brands at this level and below are not fit for purpose.  They will give you a headache as your eyes try and look in different directions through badly aligned lenses and crappy glass.