I dont think Id go for a really expensive pair. I think something like
THESE would be as high as I would go, price wise and need wise.
They're the range before my EDIIs. One thing to watch out for is the speed of focus - 3/4 of a turn from min to max is very quick, which means it's a bit harder to get them as sharp as can be until you get a feel for the focus mech. Bins with slower focus have more scope to tweak the focus once you're in the zone. Fast focus is popular with bird watchers in situations where you're looking at something close one minute and then want to quickly focus on something further away. Also good for tracking birds in flight if they're moving away from or towards the viewer. I find the Sierras to be a bit easier to get the focus just-so for static subjects, but they're too slow for the tracking thing and switching quickly between near and far subjects (too much frantic wheel winding when trying to shift in a hurry). For typical viewing distances (say 10-20m out to 100m or so), I find I barely move away from the zone I'm in - I just make little adjustments.
Note that the end-to-end turns figure given in the blurbs and reviews tends to be to the mechanical limits, but that most bins have some mechanical overshoot past infinity (or 'far enough away as makes no difference'). The Sierras are 2 turns mechanically, but about 1.5 optically. The Endeavour EDIIs are 3/4 of a turn mechanically, but optically about 0.6 of a turn.
I have no idea whether this speed of focus thing matters for stalking, but I did find it noticeably different between the two bins I have. I learned to make micro adjustments on the EDIIs when tweaking to get the sharpness spot on.
A comment on the open frame style: They're generally touted as being easier to hold because you can wrap your fingers around the barrels, rather than have them trying to find somewhere to go over the big lump in the middle with the single hinge type. In reality, the finger wrapping thing depends on how far apart the barrels are, and that is set by your interpupilliary distance. Mine is 60mm, and I can't quite get my fingers down between the barrels, although I can get the tips into the gap reasonably well. In practical use, I don't really find either bin better, they're just different and I adapt to whichever I'm using. The rubber armour on the EDIIs has a bit more tack than the Sierras, and that probably contributes more to a feeling of good grip than anything else (with bare hands - not tried with gloves).
It's a good idea to try the other people's bins - and to find out what they like and don't like about them for their particular usage. There could be requirements for stalking that are only obvious to those that do it (like sensible magnification, good light, decent field of view, and quick focus for birds). The differences in binocular specs often don't look like much when considered as abstract numbers, but they can affect their suitability for a particular purpose more than one might think.