... Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. ...
Well, like most of life, this purchase involves tradeoffs. The birding community is obsessed with binos, so you can find a few weeks' reading by searching "birding binocular comparison."
Binos have numbers like "7x35." The first number is the magnification and the second is the diameter of the objective lens in mm.
Unless you're planning to use a tripod, magnification is not a "some is good, more is better" thing. For me, holding lighter-weight 10x binos is little unstable. I can actually see better with 7x.
Field of view is also a consideration. The mfg. specs will give you this, but generally the more magnification the narrower the field of view. A narrow field of view makes it harder to find that itty-bitty bird against a huge background of trees that all look the same through the binos or that grizzly on the mountainside.
Larger objective lenses get you several things, including larger binos, heavier binos, and more light gathering capability. The "exit pupil" determines how much light gets to your eyes. Divide the objective diameter by the magnification to get exit pupil.The classic "7x50 night glasses have an exit pupil of 7.15mm. The itty bitty 10x20 binos, 2mm. Young people's pupils will open to 7mm at night, so they can use the 7mm exit pupil. Us old folks, not so much. YMMV. Exit pupil also affects how easy the binos are to adjust for our specific pupil spacing. Small exit pupil=harder.
Binos can be either "roof prism" or "porroprism." You can read about these on the internet. Generally, roof-prism binos are more compact and more expensive for a given quality of seeing.
Most manufacturers of high-end binos also have lower-priced lines. Nikon was mentioned. Zeiss, Leupold, etc. are also in this category. The birders' pages will make this clear. Stick to these manufacturers and avoid consumer-only brands like Tasco or Bushnell.
There are attractively-priced miliary binos out there (like
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Steiner-Germany-8-30-Military-Marine-Binoculars/264028176021) where eyepiece focus must be adjusted individually. You probably do not want this.
We have a pair of Zeiss 10x20s that I bought in ignorance. They are difficult and uncomfortable to use. Their only virtue is small size. My go-to binos are a pair of Leupold Katmai 7x32s similar to these:
https://www.amazon.com/Leupold-Katmai-Compact-Binocular-56420/dp/B001HN5GPI. These roof prism binoculars are a spectacular compact bino at a medium price point. Unfortunately they have been out of production for several years. I had a pair stolen and it took me a year of lurking on eBay before I found a replacement. 7x32 or 7x35 glass is probably the sweet spot for your needs.
The old rule "Do not buy cheap tools." applies here. $150 is not a lot of money and it is a tiny, tiny fraction of what this trip is costing. Doubling that budget should get you some good quality glass.
So a lower magnification can save you bucks and probably be absolutely fine for your DG's,
