Hi Andy, I have used a pair of Swift 8.5X 44 Audubons since 1966. They have been excellent. They are a little heavy, but well balanced. The newer ones have a plastic-like body and are much lighter. My wife has a pair of those. So what is the negative - Ah! It is creeping up on me! Now that I really can not see well without my spectacles, I find they do very poorly while wearing spectacles. They have a very short eye relief distance - I think it's something like 12 mm, and 19 mm is needed for satisfactory use with glasses. I was just to my ophthalmologist, and he confirms that contacts with my combination of astigmatism and need for bifocals just aren't likely to be satisfactory. Possible, expensive, and hard to get used to is the way he describes it. Thus it is likely cheaper and easier to buy a new pair of binoculars with the necessity eye relief. So I'm looking too. BUT, if eyeglasses are not your concern, then I wholeheartedly recommend the Swift Audubon 8.5X 44 binoculars. They have served me well here and on foreign trips. If I can shed any more light, just send me a message. Best wishes for good clear-sighted birding, Tony Futcher -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthony G. (Tony) Futcher, Ph.D. e-mail: tfutcher@cuc.edu Director of Records, Columbia Union College fax : 301-891-4121 Takoma Park, MD 20912 office : 301-891-4119 -----------------------------------------------------------------------