Been looking for a quality 10x25 compact like the Leica Ultravid (pricey), Swaro (long close focus) and Zeiss (didn't seem bright) and liked the look and feel of the Nikon LXL 10x25, almost bought it at $450, but ran into a store closeout on a Brunton Epoch 10x25 at $235. Figured there must be something wrong with them (probably what's wrong is that it lists retail at $649!), but store told me they were new, not refurbished, had the full HALO warranty, and I could return them for a full refund if I wasn't satisfied. I checked them over very carefully, took them outside in low light, etc. I must say I am very impressed with these binos--wide FOV, great close focus, bright in low light (considering it is a 10x25) nicely armored, great ergomonics for my small hands, adjustable eyecups with detents, great little hard shell Pelican case. Minus might be that they are 3-4 oz. heavier & a little bulkier, mainly due to the armoring. I find that the gain in weight and size seemed to help in stability of the 10x glass--some of the above compacts were hard to keep steady. Anyone else out there used the Brunton Compact Epochs?
I have not handled a compact Epoch so I can't make any comment directly about your specific question but, I have had a fair amount of experience with Brunton optics. Both my dad and uncle have carried around some (long discontinued) 7x42 porro prism Brunton Eternas. These are quite good glass. I also have had the opportunity to give a fairly casual once-over to both the current Eterna and full-size Epoch line and they also seem like very nice binoculars.
The problem that has always existed for Brunton has not been that they make shoddy product but, that they overprice everything. My dad and uncle got their Eternas on a inventory liquidation sale at a sporting goods store that was going out of business. As I recall they spent about $200 each. The original asking price was closer to $500!! (These are porro prism glasses mind you.)
Price the Epochs closer to say the Bushnell Elites and Leupold Gold Rings and you might have yourself a worthy bit of competition. But whose going to spend over $1500 on a brand that has no real pedigree (nor a reasonably solid gaurantee that they will be around for the long haul) when you can (for the same price) buy a Leica, Swarovski, or Zeiss? Or perhaps better yet, buy an Elite and save yourself a huge wad of cash.
The same is true for the compacts. If I was going to spend $650 on a compact, I would go for the gold and buy the Leica Ultravid. However, if you managed a compact Epoch for $235, then you likely have stumbled onto a truly fantastic deal. If a store near me was offering that deal, I would be hard pressed to pass it up.