With just two exceptions, I use nothing but Leupolds and as an outdoor writer, am able to deal directly with Leupold. I ordered a scope just last week for a rifle I bought just to have one in my collection and was hesitant to go with a less costly VX-I but was also reluctant to invest a lot of money in a scope for a rifle I might never shoot. My contact person and I had a discussion about the quality of Leupold's current model line and I learned that when the Leupold variable-power scope model names were changed from "Vari-X" to "VX" a few years ago, it was because of improvements in lenses and coatings that had become available. As a result, today's VX-I transmits more light and has cleared optics than the Vari-X II of years gone by. Today's least-costly Rifleman series basically is the former Vari-X I.
In fairness, I have to say that I have an older Bausch & Lomb 4200 Elite (which is the current Burris 4200 Elite) 6-24x on a .22-250 and it is right up there with a Leupold.
Ed