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Steiner Predator Xtreme 8x42 Bino Review � A Best Buy for Hunters

Howdy ladies, gentleman and others. The purpose of this post is discuss my experiences using and testing a set of the new Steiner Predator Xtreme 8x42 Binoculars that Doug at Camerland has graciously loaned me to review for the Fire. I, like many here on the Fire, have been a long time customer of Cameraland NY, Doug is a professional in every way and his customer service is beyond reproach.

I have a background with Steiner binoculars having used their 7X50 Military Marine binos extensively in the USMC. The Steiner Military Marine Series of Binoculars are porro prism models and have an unsurpassed standard of durability, which is probably why they are one of the most issued military binoculars in the world. I also have a set of Steiner Merlin 8x32 roof prism binoculars that I have used for years.

Predator CAT Lenses

Before starting my review I did some background research on the Steiner Predator line. The new Predator Xtreme series is the 6th generation of the Predator line. As with all of the Predator line the optics are fully multi-coated with Steiner�s proprietary Predator Color Adjusted Transmission (CAT) lens coatings. The Predator CAT coatings and their binoculars are unique in that they were specifically developed for hunters, not bird watchers or general users. I will go into detail why this is important in the review below. The coatings are designed to bring out the brown/red color spectrum, which most game is colored, in relation to other colors. To achieve this it tones down colors in the green/yellow color spectrum. Do the lens coatings work as advertised? Yes.

Specifications

The basic specs on the Steiner Predator Xtreme 8x42 Binoculars are as follows:
Field-of-View 381' @ 1000 yd
Minimum Focus Distance 6.5'
Eye Relief 18.5 mm
Dimensions 5.8� x 4.9� x 2.4"
Weight 25.7 Oz
Pressure-purged to 14psi with dry nitrogen and argon gases for waterproof and fog proof performance in all weather conditions
Waterproof to 3.3 feet / 1M
Warranty 10 Years

Of the above specification information there are several standouts. This glass has an excellent field of view at 381�. This compares very favorably with other high dollar 8x42 Alpha glass, 360� Zeiss Conquest, 405� Zeiss Victory, 394� Leica Ultravid HDs. The field of view also far surpassed other similarly priced mid level binos and even some more expensive 8x42s, 330� for the Nikon Monarch and Pentax 8x43 EDs. The glass is waterproof, not water resistant. Steiner used both Argon and Nitrogen purging which should really make these binos fog proof, most makers still just use Nitrogen. This glass also has a tripod adapter built in it, a feature not seen on many binos in this price range.

First Impressions, Packaging and Accessories

The Steiner Predator Xtreme 8x42 Binoculars are shipped in a an attractive cardboard box sporting the cool looking Steiner green cat eyes logo. They come in a nice hard case that has a carry strap, a quick detachable (QD) neoprene neck strap, QD fold down objective covers, plastic one piece eyepiece covers, lens cloth, manual and warranty card.

The QD neck strap is genius. It comes all set up, you just snap it in, pushing a tap and pulling to take it out. It is also super secure, I have used the same setup on my Steiner Merlins for years, I actually used my Merlin chest harness during the test as all Steiner snaps are the same size. What is great is that you have a QD neck strap then get a spare set of snaps, which Steiner sells, to use on your chest harness. You can change back in forth in 2 seconds, no more threading or buckles.

The QD objective covers work the same way with the same type of QD snap. The objective covers fit snuggly in the binoculars, then drop down out of the way giving a clear view when needed. If you want to remove them just push the tab and pull, that easy.

The binoculars are fully covered with rubber armored and I am sure these binos will live up to the Steiner reputation for toughness and durability. I have seen an add where Steiner runs over a set of Military Marines with no damage done. The rubber armor has built in pebbling that provide very sure gripping even when wet, I love the feel of it. They also have nice thumb rests on the underside that contribute to steady comfortable hold. The binocular feel solid in your hand and are comfortable to hold, not to heavy and not to light for 42MM glass.

Eyepieces

The eyepieces of the newer Steiner Predator Binoculars (C5s and Xtremes) are a big step up from the old style that had no adjustment system. Unlike the old style eyepieces these allow a user to wear glasses (like me) and can be adjusted to individual tastes. The eyepieces have soft rubber wings on the outer half of them that provide viewing which is not distracted by light coming in from the sides, if I were not a glasses wearer I would keep the wings up as I think they help you keep focused on your viewing. The wings easily fold out of the way when not needed and they stay folded out of the way un-noticed. The eyepieces have the fully down position and 5 click adjustable stops to extend them out. With 6 total positions anyone should be able to find a setting they like. The interpupillary adjust on these binos was also really good. I have a big 7 � size head and had room to spare on adjustments.

Focusing

These binos have the standard roof prism style center focus wheel. The wheel is very smooth to operate, not to hard or to easy, just about right for me. It does not move unless intended too. It requires 1.5 turns to cover the complete focus range of the binoculars. The binoculars are focused for each user in the standard roof prism manner, with the left barrel having an individual focus. The individual focus feature on the Xtremes is also an upgrade from older Steiner models in that it has distinct clicks which will prevent the focus from moving while handling, a great feature. Overall the ease of use and focusing on these binos is super.

Viewing Experience

Bottom line is this glass is crisp, bright and clear, especially considering the cost. I used a set of Leica 8x42 BNs and Leupold 8x32 Gold Ring High Definition (GRHD) for comparisons sake.

Crispness/Definition

For this test I placed a Redfield sight in target at 89 yards and 192 yards away in trees. I did this test in bright mid day light to maximize all the optics. The target is black and red, having multiple targets and grid squares. Bottom line was that all there compared very favorably.

The Xtreme glass is very crisp and clear. It loses just a little bit on the edges, but such a small amount it is almost hard to notice. I would rate these image clarity on par or just beneath by the smallest margin the Leupold GRHDs, and a step below the Leicas, but a small step. But remember the other two players cost more or a lot more (Leicas) than the Xtremes.

Low Light/Color Transmission

Using the same trees and distances from above I added a varmint hunting rabbit decoy, it is covered in brown deer like fur, so I figured it would be a good test. I also used a 8 point deer antler shed that is a darker than normal shed. As the sun went down I realized I should have used the rabbit in the good light test as well, the brown fur of the rabbit definitely seemed to have a little more pop in the Xtremes versus the other two binos, this was especially true at the 192 yard tree as it was an evergreen (Cypress). With the rabbit in the evergreen tree the rabbit color seemed noticeably sharper with the green in the back ground noticeably duller, realize I am saying just the colors not the image clarity was affected . This is as designed by Steiner with the CAT lens coatings. The difference became more pronounced the later it got. I think this would be of great benefit for hunting deer or elk in black timber, giving you a much needed edge in picking out a resting animal that is not moving by making their brown coat stand out a little more. There was really no noticeable image quality difference between the three as the sun went down on the antler shed or the Redfield sight in target, but the Leica�s image had a slight edge as should be expected.

As far as the low light ability of the Xtremes I would rate it just a bit ahead of the GRHDS by about 1-2 minutes of usable hunting time and about 2-3 minutes behind the Leicas.

Other Testing

Figuring I had to be like the big boys in the magazines I did the freeze and dunk tests. I took the binos and left them in the freezer for about 3 hours. There was slight lens fogging when they were removed, but it cleared up in less than 10 seconds. I then dunked them in a five gallon bucket of warm water for about 2 minutes. Pulling them out there was no leakage or fogging. I figure this is about as extreme as most hunters get.

I took the glass out turkey hunting, yes I was successful. I carried them in my chest harness. They were handy to carry and proved very steady to hold due to their gripping surfaces. In the field the glass was definitely clear and crisp. Again I did notice a definite pop to the brown tones in the deeps woods when viewing 3 deer I ran into that were feeding down in a ravine during mid day, the ravine was thick with greenery. I also noticed the pop again with some turkey hens which are fairly brown in color against the back ground of a green wheat field.

Bottom Line

I think these are GREAT!! hunting binoculars for any price, let alone of the $399 that Cameraland is selling them. The only caveat I have is that these are at their best as hunting glass, not as birding or general viewing glass. They will do well in roles other than hunting but you may notice that some of the colors in the green spectrum are not as brilliant as they should be, but this is as Steiner intended it. You will love these binos the first time you find a deer or elk standing still in some deep timber, that is when that extra color from the browns will stand out and you realize that a animal is standing there. A great piece of glass, full of features, made specifically for hunting at a great price. There was really nothing I did not like about these binos. Thanks to Doug at Cameraland for the opportunity to test them and Rick Binn for the best hunting board on the net.

Be safe all. Spence in OKC.

Very nicely done spence. Thanks for the time and effort to educate us.

Spence,
Thanks for taking the time to get involved and do such a detailed review.

Steiner Predator Xtreme

Time to post some thoughts as, I�ve had these for several days and it�s time to move them on. The Predator Xtreme is a continuation of the Steiner Predator series. It is a replacement for the Steiner Predator C5, as that model seems gone. The Xtreme is a lot less money as well. I had a Steiner Predator 8x30 porro in the original coating with the violet color tinge. I didn�t really like that color tint and the binocular sort of sucked, but the philosophy of the Predator coatings seemed to work. I thought once about updating to a Predator roof prism with the same coatings, but never did. I am a fan of the Steiner Peregrine XP, but have never paid much more attention to the Predator line. The technology has apparently advanced quite a bit, for the view now bears no resemblance to the original Predator. The violet tint is gone. The new CAT technology enhances transmission in the red and brown shades and reduces transmission in the blue and green side of the spectrum. This is supposed to enhance animal color and make them more visible, the same as the original Predator. How this works, I�m not sure, but the image seems to have a pretty neutral color balance. Colors seem to be reproduced naturally. Red is red, green is green, Yellow is yellow, and blue is blue, etc.

Anybody who has held a Predator C5 knows just what the Xtreme looks and feels like. This is a dead ringer for the C5. The image even appears nearly identical. My C5 experience is limited, but I did have my hands on one in a dealer a few days before I got the Xtreme from Doug, so I did take some notes, but the comparison is not a direct side by side. Two things from the C5 do stand out however. The C5 is sharper on the edges and the C5 I had focused each eye sharper for me than does the Xtreme. The edge sharpness is not much of an issue for most, and the individual barrel focus difference may well have been sample variation. Also keep in mind the price on the C5 I had was $789, and Doug has the Xtreme for $399.

I personally have one gripe about this particular Xtreme. I get continual partial image blackouts unless I sort of lean into the eye cups so that my eye brow is contacting the upper eye cup and the lower part of my eye socket area is held slightly away from the bottom of the eye cup. Another cure is to hold the binocular about 1-2 mm away from the eye socket, which is a pretty poor cure. I could fix this easily enough with a ring of rubber from a bicycle inner tube placed to extend the length of the eye cup the 1-2mm distance. That would render the angled eye cups feature useless. It happens to be a feature I like, so if this was mine, I�d simply learn to hold it as described above.

There is also a characteristic I�ll mention. The first time or two I put the binocular to my eye, there was a sort of purple flash, which I thought was odd. Looking closer, when the binocular is held away from the eye far enough the exit pupil can be seen in the center of the ocular, there is a bright, �enthusiastic�, purple band from 2:00 to 10:00 outside the exit pupil, extending to the edge of the lens. As the binocular is brought closer to the eye, the band switches to two areas between the exit pupil and the edge of the lens, on the inside of the binocular, as the binocular is brought to the eye this purple reflection flashes back around the edge of the image, creating the �flash� effect. I called Steiner technical service and they said this was normal and is an effect of the CAT coatings. As I mentioned, there is no purple tinge in the image, but it is a bit of a strange effect.

Steiner has built a reputation for building tough binoculars and I doubt this one�s any different. It is likely the best built of the better mid price glass available.

This is in the same overall optical quality as the ZEN ED 2, the Kruger Caldera, and the Theron Wapiti APO-ED. This Xtreme is not as sharp (edit: Let's make that not as bright) as the others, but the difference is probably insignificant. The Xtreme does pretty good duty looking through foliage in twilight at non colorful targets. We have a pair of Great Horned Owls in the big Elm trees in the backyard and the Steiner does a good job of picking their details out of the dim light and twigs.

Spence mentioned the focus travel of 1.5 turns. That is what it is, but that is a bit misleading. It takes one full turn of the focus wheel to go from the close focus distance of about 6 feet out to about 100 feet. That only leaves one half turn to go from 100 feet to infinity. That folks is called a FAST focus.

Spence also mentiond other things in his good review I need not repeat.

This is a very good binocular. One of four upper quality mid priced binoculars that are excellent choices for outstanding optics for less than $500. I'd be perfectly happy going afield with this glass.

One question just out of curiosity, and not that it matters much to me anyway......How did Stiener produce this at half the cost of the C5? Where/what corners were cut to pare the price down that much?

JGR

Good question. This is just my opinion and that's all it is, but I would place no bets on this being totally "Made in Germany". It says Steiner Germany on the box and the binocular. The printing on the box and included literature does everything to leave the impression that this is a German product. It talks about German engineering, German design, German excellence, and Steiner's experience as a German binocular maker. However, the terminology "Made in Germany" never shows up. For that matter neither does "Made in" ever appear. In my view, if this was a real deal "Made in Germany" what on earth should possibly prevent that from being large print advertisement both on the binocular, the packaging, and on the website? Personally the only thing I can think of is there is a substantial input of parts from elsewhere. I'm cynical enough to think that Steiner is well aware of the China sentiment and is avoiding the issue. I tend to think they do just enough to adhere to German legal status on the made in Germany issue and are leaving it there.

Steiner owns a big facility in China, so it seems to me this has to be used to get to the price/quality this shows. I'll give them the engineering, design, development and experience. That's not the issue. But I bet the design and development leads to a product of the Steiner facility in Germany and then it is given to the Steiner facility in China to produce at least some to a lot (who knows how much?)of the various things that are in a binocular.

This is probably like what Kruger does with the Caldera. Kruger owns the whole process of the binocular from start to finish, likewise Steiner owns the whole process from start to finish. However Kruger has to use terms like "Crafted in the USA" or "Engineered in the USA" or "Assembled in the USA from US and imported parts". Kruger also makes no effort to hide or mask the China influence as they use it.

I called Steiner a couple of times and the first person obviously had no clue and the second one adroitly danced around the question.

All that aside, this is still a very good binocular.