I'm actually a big Leupold fan, and have had a pair of original Mojaves in 10x42 around my neck for the past dozen years. They have been rock solid, and have taken a beating. Their performance hasn't degraded, despite being rained on, laid on during a prone shot, potato chips falling into the lens (forgot to take them off during lunch!), etc. That being said, I have decided to upgrade my binos. The reason being, I had the misfortune of spending a lunch hour glassing through a pair of Swarovskis while my hunting partner was napping, and I realized that I was missing some detail during mid-day glassing in the shadows, etc. Any pair of binos will pick up an elk in the middle of the field.
I have looked through both the BX-5s as well as the BX-4s. I feel the BX-5s are superior in almost every way, with the exception of "user friendliness." In other words, for me, it was pretty easy to find the sweet spot on the BX-4s, whereas the BX-5s were a little tougher.....perhaps enough so to be annoying during a panic situation where you only have a moment to view a buck running into the trees. The BX-5s were definitely better once dialed in. Also, the build quality on the BX-5s is better, not that the others are bad. One thing Iliked about the BX-4s is they are more compact, and a little easier to handle.
Summing up.....I think the BX-4s are a better bang for the buck than the BX-5s. As mentioned earlier, BX-5s are getting awfully close to the new SLC price point. Another wrinkle....this past weekend, I was able to look through the BX-4 and Burris Signature HDs, both in 10x42. Honestly, for $50 less, I think I liked the Burris just as well as the BX-4s, and they "felt" like a higher end piece of glass than what their price would indicate. Super smooth focus (Zeiss Conquest feel), good ergos, nice looking. The only thing I didn't like about the Burris was the the center hinge, while being super smooth, and felt like high quality movement, it was a little "too easy" to move, but it didn't prove to be a factor.
