u/TheLearnedHeckler

Please help!

I'm taking my mom to Great Basin National Park next month for my birthday and I want to get a pair of binoculars for the trip and beyond.

I'm mostly interested in using the binoculars for looking at the night sky, but I've decided against a pair of astronomy binoculars since I want to be able to use them for other stuff too. So no 20×80's; perhaps 10x50? I'm completely sold on the idea of a tripod mounted pair for sitting and getting lost in the sky at night, but portability and durability are also important.

Right now I'm feeling like the Nikon 12x50 Monarch M5. It should cover my bases, right? I think the field of view is at least OK and the quality of the optics should be good.

I'm of the buy it once mindset, so the $400 cost is part of the game, but is there another brand or something I'm missing out on?

Thanks!