binoculars advice

I

ipm

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Feb 26, 2009
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Does anyone have (almost EDC) experience with Steiner Binoculars?

In particular, are the 7X50 Commander V or XP worth the cost?

What is an alternative to the Commander V from other manufacturers?
 
Me personally I am not a fan at all of Steiner binoculars after selling binos for about 2 years I was never really impressed with Steiners. A fellow employee at the store had a pair of Steiners that would fog up constantly even after sending them in for warranty repair twice. While I do not have experience with those particular pair or binos that you are talking about but I do have experience with the brand and I am as said above not a fan, but do not let this dissuade you from getting those model of binos.
 
i have the 8x30 military marines. i bought them for my warbag and they get tossed around quite a bit. i would have preferred a roof prism, but didn't want to spend the extra $$ for a beater.

good optics, good field of view. im not a huge fan of the individual focusing, but for the most part once they are set they are focused to infinity.

i also have a pair of leica 8x20's. by far a superior optic. much clearer, and though smaller, seem to gather light better. and its a roof prism!!
 
Check out binoculars.com. Bought my Nikon 8x32 Monarchs from them, great price, great service, excellent optics IMHO. Lots of good reviews.
 
one thing is that Roof prism(straight tube) binos are more rugged and durable and will last longer and also have better coatings than the porro's prism(offset tubes) also the Roof's have internal focusing and that is nice because they are housed inside the tubes and are protected and the porro's are not. And if you are planning on using these for any time and slinging them around your neck then get these http://www.crookedhorn.com/cms/shop...age.chcustom.tpl&product_id=31&category_id=12
and throw away the strap that comes with the binos. The harness distributes the weight around your back and shoulders and makes carrying a pair of large optics much easier and also keeps the binos close to your chest and also are nice and comfortable when you have them up to your face. You can find them at any Wal Mart atleast here in Texas don't know about in Canada.
 
bitter1 said:
one thing is that Roof prism(straight tube) binos are more rugged and durable and will last longer and also have better coatings than the porro's prism(offset tubes) also the Roof's have internal focusing and that is nice because they are housed inside the tubes and are protected and the porro's are not. And if you are planning on using these for any time and slinging them around your neck then get these http://www.crookedhorn.com/cms/shop...age.chcustom.tpl&product_id=31&category_id=12
and throw away the strap that comes with the binos. The harness distributes the weight around your back and shoulders and makes carrying a pair of large optics much easier and also keeps the binos close to your chest and also are nice and comfortable when you have them up to your face. You can find them at any Wal Mart atleast here in Texas don't know about in Canada.
Click to expand...

good advice. :thumbup:


also, it is always better to try them in person, of course. ive found the eye relief with different models (even the same brand) can vary greatly.

cabelas and bass pro normally have a pretty good stock. if you cant try them in person, buy only from a reputable dealer who will take them back.
 
Thank you Tom I used to do sell optics at a previous job and while I didn't use the harness system for any period of time (just for short periods while demonstrating one we had set up on some binos) I had met some customers who swore by that harness system and I can see why. Also if you look around you can find the Alpen Apex series for around $250 at least that is what we sold them for at the store when the store was open.
 
I have a pair of German Army Steiner 8x30 binoculars that I have used regularly as "beaters" for about 10 years, at sea and on hunting trips. They are not pretty and have no frills, but are exceptionally rugged, give a good clear picture in most conditions and the 8x30 size is a good general purpose FOV and magnification. I expect these to last another 10 years easily.
I can't comment on late model Steiners, but given the good quality level of these old Army issue ones, I would be confident that you would be buying good quality optics in the later models.
Get some advice from the birdwatching clubs. These people really know their binoculars.
 
I've only owned one pair of Steiners and wasn't overly impressed with them, but in all honesty I haven't looked at the rest of their line.

For the lower price range 2-300 dollars, Nikon makes some nice optics and some of the Leupold Wind River series have very good optics. The other plus for Leupold products is their service, usually 7 day turn around...
Look through them first if you can because everyones eyes are different.
The wife got a new pair of Minox last year. They are very nice but IIRC they were right around 400.
These days you really don't have to spend $1000.00+ to get good quality optics.
 
I have a pair of 7x50 Military/Marine that I kept on my boat for at least 12 years. They held up well and did a good job of light gathering at dusk or dawn.
They took a lot of abuse in a salt water eviro and held up fine.

We now have a pair of 8x42 Pentax WPs that have been beat around our Jeep for 4 years. They've been excellent for wildlife and birding. These are an older model and were really a buy at the time.

Win
 
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All I know is that Alpen is sold under the Alpen name at least that's the way it was at my store.
 
I have a set of the Steiner 10x50 M&M. I also have a discontinued pair of Leupold Wind Rivers that is fractionally brighter at half the cost.
I dislike the individual eye focusing on the Steiners, and in my case I don't find that once focused they're mostly good at most distances. The reason I have the Steiners is because of the rubber armor and the attached lens covers. They are my ATV glass. I thread the rear one-piece cover onto the carry strap so it never gets lost, and between it & the easily removed (but still tethered) front caps, I can carry the binocs openly in very dusty country with the lenses covered, while leaving the binocs quick & convenient to use.
I don't like to have to keep track of four non-attached lens caps, but I do like to keep the lenses dust-free between uses.

The body's moderately dirty, but I don't care & don't bother to worry about keeping the outside clean.
For ATV, they're great. For other uses I prefer other glass.

Denis
 
crowsniper said:
From what I have read lately, Zen Ray binoculars are supposed to perform as good as the big 3 binocs for around $350 .If I were to buy a pair anytime soon I would definetly look into these.
http://www.opticstalk.com/forum_topics.asp?FID=9&SID=2c7a5ec4b9aac49fee4b2c9bbff8fdf3
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/forums/16/1/Hunting_Optics
http://www.zen-ray.com/
http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=916078
Click to expand...

+10
Tech has really made a huge difference. If you can pony up 300 or so, you can get AMAZING binoculars. Amazing, no regret, lifetime warranty- the works. The optics freaks have been going nuts. Been staying out of the loop intentionally for a while, because at these prices, there's no excuse...
Zenray, Promaster ELX ED (the top of the line one- not the cheaper ones), and the Hawke ED are all considered contenders with the best binoculars out there. They're roof prisms at a price that didn't use to be worthwhile at all... If you're looking for a primary, non compact- there's no excuse not to try one out. Seriously, read on birdforum, 24hourcampfire, or other places... essentially, the bladeforums equivalents of binoculars are raving- imagine a sebenza guy talking about how a $100 knife is making him sell his sebenzas, because the $100 knife is the same quality as the sebenza... that's what's going on.
Zero
 
I bought the 7X50 Steiners 25 years ago (paid $125, a lot of money in the early 80's) and they lived in my pickup for 20 years. The rubber is cracked and they look tired, but they are just as clear as when they were new. Best money I've ever spent.

The individual focus works great if you have pretty good eyesight. Focus 'em once and they're good to go. When you get older and your eyesight changes to the point you need glasses, the individual focus becomes a pain because of the way eyes work. I've had to give them up and go to central focusing glasses.

I had some 10X50 Nikons that were good and the latest issue are 10X42 Alpens. I really like them.
 
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