I have the B1 in 8x42 and 10x 42. I have a B2 in 9x45, had the 7x45 for review, and have access to a B2 11x45. I have the B3 in 8x30, had the 6x30 for review, and have a C1 8x42. The comments posted above I largely agree with. The B1 is the way to go if you don't like big binoculars. Having said that the B1 is not small. Th B2 is incredibly well balanced and I really don't notice what I would call excessive weight. I use a Rick Young Outdoors harness. Don't let the little straps fool you, that is the best harness going...provided you don't require bino protection. The 9x45 B2 is the sweet spot for the B2 series. Maven understates the fov of their binoculars. I have been around and around with them over the fact, but it is what it is. The real fov of the 7x45 is 420, not 389. The 9x is 405, not 367. The 8x B1 is 420, not 389. The 8x30 is 445, not 430, the 8x C1 is 360, not 341.. It is my personal opinion that most users tend to over magnify themselves when choosing binoculars. I tend to be mostly an 8x or 9x user, but I think magnification preference is a pretty personal deal, so I tend not to argue the point much, if any these days. The reason the argument even exists is that even way out west, both magnifications work. But personally if I can't see what I need with the 9x, the 11x won't cut it either, and a spotter is needed. Same thing with the 8x vs 10x B1. For whatever reason the 11x seems to have a shallower depth of field than it should. The wider field of the 9x with its better depth of focus makes for a lot easier on the eyes glassing. Depth of focus decreases with magnification, but the 11x seems shallower than some 12x, so I'm not sure what is going on there. I may someday spring for the high dollar glass, but until then my go to combo is the 8x30 B3 and the 9x45 B2. If pushed, I'd have to say the B2 is a better image, The contrast to my eyes is a little bit better, especially at distance. The operative words are "A little bit". When the image hits the eye balls, they both work.