Compare and contrast.
Strangely enough, the big 3 and Nikon have not mad any major entry into these 10x, 9x and 8x formats.
The Excursion 10x was awful, no depth of field etc. The 8x version is surprisingly good in optics. Durability remains to be seen.
Will link a few old threads to her as I find them.
Bushnell
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread...368#post1261368
Vortex, stick to Fury, forget lower grades.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread...&highlight=Fury
Pentax
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=117340
While the 28mm family of binoculars has some merit, it really seems that like the old adage "it is neither fish nor fowl or good red meat" applies here. I think it will be highly unlikely to see a real high end manufacturer come out with one of these. It seems to me that the costs to gear up to produce a 28mm class glass probably aren't worth it. High end glass has its major optical advantages over its lower priced competition in the true compact glass. Not much mid price stuff there to compete well with the bigger names. What there is tends to be limited in fov. So they are all fixed up there to produce prisms, lenses etc. Not so with the bigger 28mm. That would require whole new designs, lenses, prisms, casings, and assembly equip. Besides they would be competing with themselves, selling new 28mm's at the expense of their 20mm and 32 mm glass. Few people buying Excursions or Hurricanes are likely to spring for top $$ glass (that likely includes me as well).
For another aspect, the 28m glass out there is really not that much smaller than the 32mm stuff. Yes its lighter and smaller, but still close to the 5"x5" HxW format of the smaller 32mm. Also, and I have no idea why, the fov of most of the 28mm stuff is way saller than the 32mm. The 28mm Excursion is certainly not lacking in fov, for one. But some of the others, notably the Vortex Fury are only slightly over 300'. I must admit I've done some considering of the Pentax 9x28. If Pentax made that in 7x, I'd buy one simply out of curiosity to compare to my B&L 7x26.
Kevin, I've only done in the dealer comparisons of the 8x28 Fury and Hurricane. The Fury is both brighter and sharper than the Hurricane. WHy they did not upgrade the Hurricane with the Fury glass and coatings and call that upgrade the Fury, I don't know. The fov is the big thing in favor of the Hurricane.