Retired Educator
★★★★★ Legendary Member
Do you need a tripod with the 12x50's, if your doing lots of glassing?
That will depend on how steady you are and it's different for everyone. I'm not as steady as I was when younger. Still stand by my advice to try different sets to see which you prefer for the same reason, everyone is a little different. Don't use a tripod with binoculars but do rest them on knees or some other rest unless it's just a quick look or moving them to look at a larger area. Then when I stop to look at something that caught my eye it's time to use a rest of some sort.
If price was not a consideration I would definitely own Swarovskis. But price is a consideration for most of us as well as how many times a year do we use them? Some types of hunting require more use than others. Upland game, not so much, big game in the mountains or open country you will use them a lot.