Let me play devils advocate here and say...both. Lets say youd buy Conquests for....650, with no tripod.
If you have a limited budget, look for the best used deal you can on a Leupold BX-4, Maven C1, Sig Zulu6, Vortex Viper (japan made). I might be missing a few in this price range. But you should be able to get any of them for 300-400. Ballpark anyway. The conquest is going to be better, but IMO theres a bigger gap between the crossfires and the ones I listed than the ones I listed and the Conquests. Especially the ones I listed AND a tripod.
Next, grab a Slik 632. I have a 624, 634 and 632 and its not even close that I prefer the 632. You cant stand and glass, but I never do and the 632 is the sturdiest, lightest and least expensive out of the 3. Right now S&S has them for 194.
For heads, the Aziak Ball head is a really solid option. I have one of the Aziak that I keep on the 634 that I bought to just have a ball head, that I find myself actually using a good bit. Maybe youlll want a pan head down the road, but the Aziaks are 60 bucks right now. You just arent going to find many heads better for that price.
And an Aziak Bino Clamp, right now they are 30 bucks.
So Conquests and no tripod at 650
And 1 of the options I listed, with tripod, head and bino clamp for 600-700.
Those binos should relatively hold their value if you decide to sell them at some point and go to mid tier or alpha. That gets you to this season with decent primary binos and a tripod set up.
In a year or 2 if you want to bump up to Conquests/Maven B Series/Trinovids, or up to Alphas etc you should be able to sell them for roughly what you paid for them, and youll already have a tripod/head set up in the process.