This depends on the use you are going to put it to. In the south of the UK, most of our stalking is woodland/farmland and dawn & dusk. Deer often appear in the very first or last moments of legal light and premium glass can give you the identification and shot when cheaper glass would have failed.
However, in the Highland the stalking is more day time: getting up to high ground before dawn or extracting a deer in the dark is not really a option. Here, good but not premium glass is just fine.
I have two deer rifles, one equipped with Zeiss Conquest and one with a Hawke Endurance, very much opposite ends of the stalking spectrum. Both are surprising good but the latter seems to lose me 5-15 minutes depending on the light conditions.
My stalking binos are Vortex Viper HD 10x42. They are robust, have a fantastic warranty and a good depth of focus so you can scan without constantly fiddling with focus but last light becomes a real challenge. I have used Zeiss top end on occasion and find that I fiddle with focus endlessly.
Would I pay 3-5 times as much for premium glass? Right now, probably not, money too tight, but if I was D&D stalking every week I would probably do so after a few more frustrating outings!
IF I could find a really objective (no pun intended!), back to back review, I would definitely buy a compromise make at about 1000, not 2500.
