https://www.theverge.com/23523047/canon-image-stabilized-bin...
That being said I would be wary of recommendations from sites that write articles around affiliate links. Not saying the Wirecutter recommendation is necessarily bad, just that I would be wary. Same with the Verge link I shared although I could not spot any direct affiliate link for the item itself in that article, only for other related items.
8x42 is the „default“ size for birding, but I also like the easier portability of a 8x30.
Generally - Swarovski, Zeiss, and Leica are at the top of the pile. There are many good (and much more affordable) options.
Honestly, at that price point - I would consider an 8x42 from Vortex. They cater to the hunting crowd - but they offer a no questions asked warranty for life. Literally, you could throw your bino’s at a brick wall, and they’ll send you another pair.
And like a camera, binoculars are a bit of a personal choice because a person is not likely to lug around binoculars they don’t like a lot.
I travel with a Bushnell Banner 10x50 wide field that I bought at the SPCA Thrift Shop for $12.
That’s the thing, just about any binoculars are probably good enough optically. Even rank amateurs’ inexpensive binoculars from the 80’s like mine.
Provided they have large enough elements and sufficient magnification, of course. Yes, there’s some chromatic aberration and I noticed it after reading an online review and not before or since…though I guess if I take them out tomorrow after writing this I might if I got bored looking through them too long.
But since these are a gift, ask your wife what she wants…assuming she wants binoculars, then she will probably have something in mind. And if she isn’t asking for binoculars, have an idea where they will be kept…
Mine were the SPCA volunteer’s late father’s. He bought them when he retired. I asked if he had been a bird watcher. No she said as she rang me up. Then she went to the back room, because they were her father’s and all.
So I guess they sat in a closet for a couple of decades, which is why I mention talking to your wife and/or having a plan.
Which is to say, good gifts aren’t about the specifications. Fitting in a purse might or might not be critical.
Good luck.