While at ETAR i was distance glassing wity my " up until now" trusty steiners and they broke and you cannot focus them anymore.. i decided to find another pair!
What isnt too expensive, doesn't fog up and is still pretty nice to have for basic field glassing.
Can yea send the Steiners in under warranty or just to be fixed?
I use Steiner T824 model 8x24 as my small binoculars.
Typically use a different pair for hunting, another pair for birds and general use.
Steiners for when I want small, space is an issue, use may or may not happen.
I have two pair of binoculars. A Zeiss 8X20, and a Swarovski 8X30. The Swarovski are nicer to use, but I usually take the ZEiss because they are handier.
I know they are more expensive than you want to spend, but I think they are worth it.
It sounds like the worm gear broke not a big deal Steiner should be able to fix the little to no charge,
Leica 10x25 have been my go to for close to 20 years. Still use them more than my 10x42 NL PUR's.
VORTEX!
I'm happy with my Vortex. Compared them to my buddies Stener's while Antelope hunting and the difference was very small.
I bought a pair of Leupold pocket 9x25 the first year they offered them, was early 90's as I remember and was my go to Bino for years, was told they were made by Leica and labeled and offered by Leupold.
They are very clear and I still use them when a big pair are not needed.
Check out Tract. I did a side by side with a few brands and they were essentially identical in clarity to Zeiss conquest for a couple hundred less. Sig and Leupold Binos were close through the day but once dusk hit the Tract and Zeiss pulled away in clarity. Especially the last couple minutes to dark. When a doe at 300 yards started looking like a moving potato through the sig and Leupold Binos, I could still identify her as a doe with the Tract and Zeiss Binos.
The smaller compact Binos are a pretty decent price and from what I under stand the Tract use Schott glass which is owned and used by Zeiss.
Kyle
I have been through this many times and hate to admit it but the Vortex diamond back HD 8x30's have been amazing for eastern hunting for me. And they are the lightest ones I have in my collection and most affordable.
Maybe just a little bigger than pocket size but Sightron BlueSky 8x32 are fantastic binos for under $200 if you can find them. Learned about them on a birding forum looking for a cheap pair to keep in my truck. They are impressive for the price.
I recently purchased a pair of Swarovski CL pocket 8x25 binoculars for my daughter, for a graduation gift. They are amazing and draw more light and clearer than the cheaper, larger binoculars that we have experienced with. They run around $900-1000 new. Customer service is top notch, too.
Thank you everyone
Probably been 20 years ago now that I bought a set of Leica 8x32's for whitetail hunting. They were expensive back then but they have been worth every penny when you consider them to be more of a lifetime type investment.
I'm happy with the Vortex Diamondback for woodland hunting.
I love my Nikon 10x42s. I've had them for 10 years now and they've been great here in Michigan, as well as out west. I don't have any Vortex binos, but I use their rifle scopes and have one of their spotting scopes. They are all great optics, so I don't see why their binos would be any different.
I realy like my Vortex Diamondback 10x28 for the woodlands. I bought them for a Colorado bowhunt but find them very useful in New England woods.
For compact binos the Vortex Diamondback HD 8 x 32s are hard to beat. Great cost to value ratio and an excellent warranty.
Thanks everyone