Cabela's XT, Leupold WR Cascades, Burris

I was at the competitor in Owatonna, MN, this weekend and looked over the binoculars. I was trying to avoid "Made in China" optics and noticed some really nice ones made in Japan in my price range.

Leupold cannot (will not) disclose manufacturer.

 

I'm not sure what knowing the manufacturing company's name is going to do for you.  It certainly isn't in-and-of-itself a mark of any degree of overall quality.

Let's just assume for the moment that the three binoculars in question are indeed made from LOW.  Each one of these brands still establishes the overall specs for their particular binocular including what kind and how many lens and prism coatings will be used as well as the acceptable limits of manufacturing tolerances and quality control standards.

Take for example the Nikon Spotter XL (and XL II) and the 60mm Bushnell Elite.  They are both made in the same manufacturing plant, at the same time, by the same people.  The rubber armoring and brand badges are (of course) different and their is a small difference in the eyepieces to make the magnification ranges different (15-45x for the Bushnell and 16-48x for the Nikon) yet the Nikon costs almost $100 more.  I always wondered why this was and assumed it was to pay for the brand-prestige of the Nikon name.  I was wrong.  After having had a chance to examine both of these scopes recently I have come to discover that the Nikon is better.  The difference, I believe, is in the eyepiece. The Nikon offers a very slightly narrower FoV than the Bushnell but it's eye relief is much, much longer (15mm for the Bushnell vs. 19mm for the Nikon.)  The image in the Nikon is also sharper. 

Another good example is the Nikon ED 50 spotting scope.  It is widely considered as an absolutely brilliant optic.  In fact, many hard-core birders are even making it their primary spotting scope.  It is made in China - a country that, deservedly or not, generally has the reputation of producing only the worst kinds of junk.  In fact, many people won't even buy stuff that is made in China for this and other, more politically-based, reasons.  Amazingly enough however, lots of these same people choose to ignore the "Made in China" label on this little wonder-scope. It's that good.  What is the difference between it and the other crap coming out of China?  Manufacturing Tolerances and  Quality Control.

I think you would be much better off comparing binoculars on their individual merits, rather than on the manufacturing facility where they originated.  They may have come from the same plant but, that doesn't mean they are of comparable quality.  Nor does it indicate the kind of warranty service you will receive from their respective brands.