I am looking to get a set of binoculars for this upcoming hunting season and while I am well aware that with optics you get what you pay for I am looking for that sweet spot of price and performance. I don't hunt out west and the furthest distance I can see is about 500-600 yards where the typically distance is under 300 yards. For that reason I was thinking of going with 8x so I could free hand easily.

My default when it comes to scopes is the Vortex Viper line since they seem to be a good value and a good product overall. For binoculars does this hold true? Any ones you would go with over the Vortex Viper line? They run around $500 so I'd like to keep it in that ballpark unless it is really worth spending more.