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7x50 gives brighter images for evening or night time use. 8x42 is more compact. Best to pick budget and size first.

What you get by paying for the Outland X 8x42 is longer eye relief for comfortable use with eyeglasses, more magnification with the same true field of view, and a much more compact design. You also probably get better quality control or stronger construction or more subtle improvements throughout the optical system. Little stuff like bigger prisms, better coatings and internal baffling. The general image quality and sharpness will presumably be better when looking at bright objects. With binoculars, generally you get what you pay for.

The 7x50 will still give brighter views in the dark, because aperture beats quality, and porro prisms (the big angular binocular design) have better light throughput. The compact roof prisms inherently pass less light, so it's more expensive to coat them up to a given standard of quality. Btw, planets are boring through small binoculars, you will rather be scanning the milky way.

42mm porro prism binoculars would be more of a compromise between the merits of the two designs. I would rather get this than the outland 8x42, if the cometron is just too large:

https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-8245-ACULON-Binocular-Black/dp/B00B7LQ73U?th=1

It is well regarded.

I think there aren't any 50mm roof prism bins in this price range, like I said they are a more expensive design.

Thanks, this is a good bit of useful detail! And with that budget, you can get something really nice. Two things you should consider are that the exit pupil size is not the main determinant of field of view, and you also need to consider the factor of "eye relief" - which becomes relevant if you wear glasses. Here is a good buyer's guide
that discusses both eye relief and field of view. As you can see from the examples they provide, a field of view of 350 feet or more would be on the high end of what is generally available.

For your intended purpose, you would probably be best served by a model around 8x42 (to pick a common size). As you might expect - the higher the magnification, the smaller the field of view, other things being equal. The issue of weight is not so much a problem of carrying them around; it is an issue of how much time you can keep holding them up to your eyes without interruption!

Here is Amazon UK's page for an item you might want to consider which is well within your budget. And here are more detailed specs showing a field of view of 65^o or 425 feet. ( for comparison the 10x42 model has a field of view of only 341 feet.)

Celestron is a well-known maker of telescopes and binoculars, so I trust them. I would be wary of binoculars from vendors without established names in optics, especially since you have the budget to get a name brand. And even more expensive models don't seem to have a better field of view than what you would get here. Good luck!

A few things like quality of the glass will go into the price differences. I recently took a chance on these Celestron 12x60 binoculars and have been very happy with them. I understand they are not the "top of the line", but I also didn't need them to be. As a casual backyard observer these have been an excellent purchase. They're a good size, but not difficult to hold or a long period. Plus, for a few extra bucks the tripod adapter is a great option.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007UQNTK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just bought a 2x pair of Monarchs for birding with my gf. Amazon also recommended these two, does anyone have any experience with either?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HKLFCQD/ref=psdcmw_297842_t1_B00C66C784

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XT7M6P5/ref=psdcmw_297842_t3_B00C66C784

Since we're total noobs idk if I'll see a benefit with the Monarchs but I did read they were th best bang for buck! But spending $520 was kinda a lot lol

Oops, I ignorantly assumed you were in the US. And yeah, they're only $90 here. They're high quality binoculars, but $200 is definitely a bit steep. It's a shame most binoculars I'm familiar with seem to be vastly more expensive in Canada.

Hm, these Orion E-Series 10x50's could be an option. They're sealed to be waterproof/dustproof, but not fogproof. Sharp & clear optics, plenty of eye relief to be used with glasses (I've tried them myself), and the same wide field of view.

There might something cheaper that's equally as good, but I'm not sure.

I own and recommend this one in 8x42: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00200C7L8/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Wide FOV and ED glass. Excellent binocular for the money! For you new guys looking for an inexpensive all-around binocular, this one will be hard to beat. Much better optically than the Vortex Diamondback IMO.

Inexpensive or compact or good for star gazing. Pick 2 ^_^

For inexpensive astro take a look at the Nikon Action EX 7x50. $76 and waterproof but weighs 1kg.

The Bushnell Natureview 8x42 is $107 and 654g. Haven't heard much about this model but on paper it sounds okay.

The lightest option that should be decent for star gazing is the Vortex Solo 8x36. Costs $100 and weighs an unbeatable 275 grams.

I'm basing "good for star gazing" on Schaefer's magnitude formulas. And this is the list that I was working off of.

Thanks for the feedback. So between the trailblazers which are waterproof and 10x25, for like $76, and these other Nikon Aculons, is there a marked difference? Would you still recommend the trailblazers for my purposes?

Those are actually the two Nikon models I was looking at, just different specs.

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I'm down to 3 models Aculon A30 10x25 | Nikon Travelite 10x25nm | Nikon Travelite 12x25mm

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What are your thoughts comparing these 3? Is the slight price difference on the 12x25 worth it over the 10x25?

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Edit: I found a good deal on the Nikon Travelite 12x25nm, so I'm down to the Aculon A30 and Travelite 12x25

No unfortunately I couldn't make it because it was a Tuesday and I had to work. I'm planning on making the next one for sure! I ended up getting these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000051ZOA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How was the launch? Was it all that you anticipated and better?

Celestron 71198 Cometron 7x50 Binoculars (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DV6SI3Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VA9KBbNNQQ6NV

I have these. I wear glasses and have a slight astigmatism. The eyecups fold down to accommodate glasses. They work fine with my glasses on.

If you wear glasses, I believe any binoculars with foldable eyecups would work.

What do you think of this pair? Is it missing anything crucial ? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9Z24J0/ref=psdcmw_297842_t2_B00LAT2QFM?th=1&psc=1

Zoom binos are terrible. I would get fixed-magnification 12x50s - https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-8249-ACULON-12x50-Binocular/dp/B00B7LQC4O/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1509813572&sr=1-4&keywords=nikon+12x50

Celestron 71347 Outland X 10x42 Binocular (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004P1IMFA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TdK3DbG4CY3PJ


Multi-Coated Optics
Waterproof and Fogproof
Protective Rubber Covering
Twist-up Eyecups for Quick Adjustment
Moisture Resistant Neoprene Carrying Case
No Fault Lifetime Warranty

Although there’s a lot more you can choose from for double the budget:
Leupold Yosemite/rogue
Vortex raptor/vanquish
Opticron Savanna WP
Nikon travelite
Pentax Papilio II
Celestron nature dx
Hawke
...