First a question for you:

1. How important are the binos to the success of your hunt? If the answer is critically to very important, then I would look to invest more than what you intend to spend. I presume that you are spending thousands of dollars on this hunt, and if binoculars may possibly mean the difference in success or failure I would encourage you to step up to a higher quality bin.

In my experience, there are no shortcuts in optics. I admit that I haven't used the Steiners you mention so they may be terrific, I just don't know. You can find some decent glass at the$200.00 price point but only in a poro-prism design. These are bigger, heavier, more prone to failure from a waterproof standpoint, and more difficult to carry comfortably than roof prism bins. With that said, the Steiner brand is a good one and the bins you mention may work for you.

I recently spent a considerable amount of time and effort researching roof-prism binoculars in the 300-500 dollar price range. Stepping up to this level of optics gets you fully-multi coatings on all glass surfaces. You also get multiphase coatings to correct the bending of light resulting from the prism design. The roofs in this price range are nitrogen or argon purged and completely waterproof. In summary, you are buying a high quality glass that is more rugged, waterproof, and handier to usethan the poro-prism bins.

I ended up purchasing the Pentax DCF-SPs in 8X43, which is the next to top of the line that Pentax makes (they were top of the line for many years until Pentax introduced a new binocular this spring, the DCF-ED, which offers extra-low dispersion glass. These retail for $900.00 and are, thus, out of my range). The DCF-SPs are a terrific binocular, offering a very flat view that appears focused out to the edges. The dioptor setting locks in place once set for your eyes. They have a tremendous amount of eye-relief, making them easy to use when wearing eyeglasses or sunglasses. Many experts considered them, when introduced, to rival the optics of much more expensive offerings from the European companies. These binoculars set the standard for high-quality roof prisms at an affordable price. They retail for just under $600.00, but you can find them at Amazon.com today at $409.00.

Just under the SP line is the Pentax DCF-WP II. These are anoutstanding roof-prism bin that can be had for $339.00in an 8X42. They are a few ounces heavier than the SPs (the SPs have a lighter magnesium alloy body) and a very small step below the SPs optically, but I would be happy to own them if I didn't purchase the SPs.

For the small difference in price I would not hesitate to go with the SPs. In case you were wondering, I don't work for Pentax, I simply learned from researching the purchase and examining a lot of binoculars from Bushnell, Nikon, Leupold, etc, that Pentax offers a very high-quality product at a price that represents a terrific value.

I failed tomention that they both contain a full lifetime warranty - for twenty bucks to cover return shipping they will fix anything that goes wrong.

Good luck,

mouthcaller