What are the Best Hunting Binoculars? Here’s My Opinion
Every hunter has their trusty go-to gear. Or maybe you don’t and that’s why you’ve come here to get an idea of what you should get. Either way when it comes to the go-to best binoculars for hunting, the Steiner Predator is a great pair of binoculars for a good deal (around $400).
I bought my Steiners a few years back so the most recent Predator model looks slightly different than the pair I have now. All the technology has remained the same just the molding is slightly different. At the time I think I paid somewhere around $550 from Cabelas, something I was a little uneasy of at the time. After the first time in the field I realized that they were worth every penny and then some.
I have to admit that what drew me to them was the fact that they are made in Germany. The Germans have pretty strict quality guidelines therefore you can expect almost anything from there to be high quality. These are no exception.
Steiner Predator Review
Hands down the best hunting binoculars under $500 that I’ve owned.
The binoculars are very versatile; I’ve used them in the snowy late season hunts in northern New Hampshire as well as in the rugged dry terrain of Idaho. There are no ideal conditions for these binoculars to be used in because they work great in any condition.
A few of my straight-to-the point brief highlights of these binoculars:
- Lightweight. For a versatile set of binocs these are quite light coming in at under roughly 29 oz.
- Rugged. The housing unit is ‘virtually’ indestructible (‘virtually’, so don’t go out and take a jack hammer to them and tell me well you said…). Steiner was the first optics manufacturer to introduce this indestructible rubber-armored Makrolon housing.
- Fog proof. Probably my top reason for loving these binocs. They hold up and remain fog proof regardless of the conditions. This is due to their nitrogen-charged fog proofing elements. The nitrogen in the housing prevents condensation from building up on the inside of the lenses. This alone puts them on the top of my list as best hunting binoculars.
- Water repellant. Raining on the last day of that hunting trip? Worry about staying dry instead of ruining your binocs because these guys will hold up in any rain storm. They have a special coating spread across not only the lenses but also the entire frame so they are sealed tight.
- Field of view. At specs of 10×42, the Predators provide a great field of vision, gets you up and close for those moderate to further out targets.
This is usually the part where I now go into the cons of the product, but honestly, I don’t have a bad thing to say about them. I’ve dropped these from my stand sending them crashing down to the ground hitting a few limbs along the way and expected to have just let $550 slip away…nope! Luckily they held up for me that time. Not to mention all the whacks against rocks they’ve received from my slips on the ravines, cliffs, and rivers.
These really have been through almost anything a normal hunt could put them through and they’ve come out on top. I hope this luck continues so I can hold on to these for a few more years.
Overall these really are the best hunting binoculars for the price. Think they sound like something you’d be interested in? If so don’t pay as much as I did, Here’s a link where you can pick them up for around $400.
