westtexducks

Steiner makes some binoculars that are called Predator Extreme. They claim that the binoculars lens coating allows you to pick out deer or other animals from brush easier. Have any of you dealt with these binoculars? And if you have what were your thoughts on them? Did the coating really work? The pair I am looking at are the 8x42s and cost about 400 bucks. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Jeff Ovington

I don't know what time of the year your hunting season starts, or what you hunt or where you live.. But mine starts in Sept, for virtually all big game, and I live in British Columbia..
In fall, everything has turned, nothing is green, everything is red and brown orange and yellow...Winter, white, brown, black...
Get the picture? No green....Even our Pine Trees have red needles cause of the Pine Beattle kill..The bottom line is, it takes alot of practice to pic animals out through binos, with glassing from any bino..
I myself use Pentax SP's...I see as many animals from them as my partners see from any of their various makes and models and way way more than my buddy who has a pair of Swaros..
Its come down to training your eye to find animals through a pair..
That's what it comes down to...Bottom line..
Anybody can see with their naked eye a deer in the field and put their
binos up after.. I'm takiing about miles of nothing but sagebrush and
rimrock were lots of thing appear to be 200 class bucks and are shrubs,
and that one thing that appeared to be nothing suddenly jumped up and
walked away..It takes alot of practice.. Alot.. Good binos are a great thing
to have,but you have to be able to know them inside out to get the value out of them.. Nothing wrong with Steiners.. I quite like them, and I do believe they did probably come up with a lens coating that enhances brown
shades in green background.. However for terrain and seasons I hunt, it gives me personally no advantage over any other bino out there..
Maybe elsewhere they might... A place that is always green...
If my hunting took place in spring and early summer, I would have a serious look at them.. But I feel it comes down to the individual looking through any bino no matter what they are..

You have to know what to look for when viewing..

westtexducks

I do realize that these binos are not miracle workers, I have used binos on a regular basis to pick deer and other creatures out from the side of a hill or down in a gully or draw so I know how to use a pair of binoculars. But the question is do these binos really make a deer stand out compared to the rest of the vegetation I do realize that I have to do my part as well but every little bit helps.

Mojotex

It has been my experience that any high quality bino can be expected to provide exceptionally chrisp, clear and concise images. The issue for buyers seems always to be price, and understanbly so. I would suggest that in the $400-$500 range, the quality is starting to show up. I have been down the inexpensive route. And for long range glassing, or hour after hour of scanning the terrain looking for detail, or picking out movement in heavy brush, or determining if what you are looking at is a log or bedded deer in big timber .... it takes quality.

Steiner offers what I'd call a line of good stuff. I would doubt that you would be disappointed. But I am skeptical of claims of being just short of magical.

There are few secrets in building high performing optical gear ... usually patents that have yet to expire. Great glass has been around for decades. It has been the relatively recent development of rugged lens coatings that has been the "magic".

In that $400 price range, Pentax offers a very good value ... and in my opinion so does Bushnell. I'd give them a look see of possible before I dropped my coins.

woodsnwater

I've owned a pair of Steiner predator 12x50's for over 4 years. They are my go-to binos. I used to guide full-time this time of year, and whether it's just because I'm good at spotting game, used to the landscape, or it's the glasses, but I ALWAYS see game before anyone else. Not boasting, just telling it like it is. I do believe these glasses and the special coating help. How much? When I figure out how to measure that I'll get back to you. One negative about the binos and Steiner CS: they come with these little plastic clips that snap into a channel on the body of the glasses to attach your harness to. Mine lasted a whole 3 months before breaking off, and trying to get replacements from Steiner proved futile. CS was terrible.
All the same, I rigged up a system of my own and still love these optics.