Best bins available at the $200 price point - Celestron TrailSeeker 8x32mm Binoculars

The good:
* high-quality, durable magnesium alloy construction instead of aluminum typical in the sub $200 range
* superior optics with dielectric and phase coated BaK4 prisms and fully multicoated lenses compared to other options at this price with BaK7 prisms and partially coated lenses
* very wide 7.8 degree field of view
* super lightweight, coming in at 15oz
* compact at only 5 x 4 x 2.25 inches
* easy and responsive focus knob without being mushy
* ample eye relief with or without glasses
* both focus and diopter are smooth and hold their setting
* eyecup settings lock-in
* incredibly clear image with bright light, vivid colors and high resolution
* wide field of view
* very comfortable neck strap
* top-level prism and lens construction gives surprisingly good low-light image for 4mm exit pupil bins

The bad:
* some distortion at the extreme edge of view
* may be too small for large hands

The ugly
* made in China
* poor warranty

I took these on a hike this past weekend to give them a real-world shakedown, and they were great. The compact size, rubberized coating, and textured grip made them feel easy in the hand. The focus response is smooth and quick (even though it does take about 1 3/4 full turns with the knob to go from zero to infinity), the colors are true, the image is sharp, and the depth of field is surprising. Best of all the light weight made it very easy to hold for an extended period and when in the pouch I didn't even know I was carrying them. On top of all of that, the build and materials (fully multicoated lenses, phase and dielectric coated BaK4 prisms, magnesium allow body) leaves all other options in the sub-$250 price choking on dust, including Nikon Aculon and Prostaff, and Vortex Crossfire.

However, there are a couple of drawbacks that do leave me a little cold. The first is that these are made in China. Now I realize that isn't necessarily a bad thing as Chinese products can have the same level quality as products made in England, Germany, Japan, or the USA, and that pretty much every pair of sub $300 binoculars are made in China regardless of brand. But too often Chinese products use cheap materials including toxic or dangerous substances and are plagued with quality and build issues. Even worse, many Chinese factories use forced, child, or slave labor. Because of that, whenever possible I try to avoid anything made in China just to salve my white liberal guilt, if no other reason. The other problem is that the Celestron warranty isn't very good. Nikon and Vortex have a no-questions-asked warranty, but Celestron will only cover what they consider to be manufacturing problems. That means if I drop these two inches and something goes wrong, or Celestron doesn't think a problem is because of manufacturing error, I’m SOL.