Steiner Predator 10x42

The Predator 10x42 is the long-range half of Steiner's hunter-focused pair, adding reach for western and open-country hunting while keeping the CAT game-contrast coatings, bombproof NBR armor, and lifetime warranty that define the line. The sentiment pattern mirrors the 8x42: hunters who own them tend to be loyal - citing decades-long durability and bright legal-light performance - while optics-forum enthusiasts argue Steiner's roof-prism glass is a step behind similarly priced Vortex and Nikon options and reserve their real Steiner affection for the porro-prism Marine classics.

Practically, the 10x42 is light for its class at 23.8 oz, grips beautifully with gloves, and focuses down to 6 ft. The two biggest knocks are specific to this configuration: 14mm of eye relief is simply not enough for most eyeglass wearers, and the 4.2mm exit pupil gives up some of the dusk brightness that makes the 8x42 shine. Add the line-wide gripes - stiff diopter, an eyebox that wants precise eye placement, and marketing claims for the CAT coating that independent testers couldn't reproduce - and this is a binocular you should handle before buying if you wear glasses.

It's best for open-country deer and antelope hunters who want tough, no-babying glass with hunting-tuned contrast and don't wear eyeglasses behind it. On sale around $350-400 it's a defensible alternative to the Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42 (better armor, comparable glass) and undercuts the Viper HD; at full retail, most forum threads steer buyers to the Viper HD 10x42 or up to Steiner's own HX 10x42, which fixes much of what the Predator compromises. Glasses wearers and low-light obsessives should default to the 8x42 version.