I have a March 4.5-28x on my Kidd 10/22 and the rubber over the on/off button feels pretty beefy. It's not like a balloon that is waiting to be popped. I seriously doubt a branch poking it would have any significant effect on it.
Another similar option but with a 30mm tube and lighter is the Element Nexus 4-25x50 if weight is a concern. It has the tool free zero reset and zero stop.
I like my March scopes. Went to zero one of the 5-42x56 scopes I got recently and shoot a few 5 shot groups at 100 yards and got a nice lucky group. The shallow depth of field really helps dialing out parallax error.
I think ILya rated the Gen 1 center resolution a bit above or equal to that of the 7-35x TT in his alpha review. The IQ of the Gen 2 is supposed to be improved over the Gen 1 with less edge distortion.