Bino's are one of those things where how much you should really spend on a pair depends entirely on how you intend to use them.
East of the big river hunters don't typically have bino's glued to our eyes for extended periods of time. The cover is to thick and/or the distances being glassed are much more limited so they're only using them occasionally when they think they see or hear something, or for a quick scan of the edge of a woods across an open field. In this limited role one can get by with much cheaper/lesser quality bino's.
Out west is a different story though as a hunters bino's are probably more important a hunting tool than his/her rifle. Out there you rely on your binoculars to be your eyes as you spend most of your time atop buttes and hills glassing the wide open spaces that surround you looking for any sign of movement. In this role high quality glass is mandatory to ensure as clear a picture as possible to pick up that movement from 400 or 600 or 800 yards away - even over a mile away in some instances. Lower quality glass just doesn't have that capability, and the lower quality glass will also lead to eye-strain sooner as your eye is working harder trying to focus with it.
I've found that bino's in the $300-600 range to be a great compromise between the low-end budget minded and high-end binoculars. Best suggestion is to keep an eye out for sales/clearance at the end of the season as last years models will get drastically market down to make room for next years new models. And as others have noted, keep an eye on Cameraland NY's demo lists in the Vendors Specials board here as Doug usually has some real good deals up for grabs and their customer service is second to none.
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