This may be outside your parameters slightly, but you may be able to hold out for a used Kowa TSN-773 and come in close to $1500. I picked up a used 883 with tripod and head for $1900. It had the older eyepiece, but was an excellent value. You could also find a used Kowa 553 and be under the...
I've owned the 55, 77 and 88. If you're trying to save money and don't do a lot of digiscoping I'd go with the 77mm. If your budget allows I'd do an 88 and 55 and then choose which to use on the basis of how far you're going to walk. 10lbs for the 88, tripod and head vs. 5 lbs with the 55...
I've owned the ATS 65 and the Kowa. I agree that it is a fair comparison for the reasons you mentioned (cost, size, weight are all close enough). I had the 20-60 eyepiece on the Swaro and always felt like I was losing a lot of brightness after 45x. This may not be much of an issue with the newer...
My favorite compact binoculars by far are the ZEISS Victory pockets. I think they're the best deal in binoculars. Having a 25mm objective, eye placement can be a bit trickier than something with larger eye cups. But if you can manage that they are shockingly good. I could almost use them as my...
Great review. I just picked up the new 80 xw eyepiece and am really impressed. It's wider at 35x on my 883 than my TE-11WZ is at 25x. I won't get rid of the zoom, but am using the fixed a lot more these days.