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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: ozy clint on December 23, 2008, 09:22:00 PM
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i'm in the market for a new pair of binos. i want something reseanably compact for closer range work. my current pair are the steiner nighthunter 10x50, awesome binos, great for long range open country glassing (alpine) but a bit bulky and to higher power for hunting wooded country. i'm thinking of the steiner 8x30 nighthunters. i really like the auto focus of the steiners and i believe they offer comparable optics to that of some other vastly more expensive brands. low light performance is a must, as is nitrogen purging and waterproofness. so what is your "go-to" pair for most bowhunting situations?
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Leupold 10X42s. Use them here in Oregon in all kinds of weather and have held up to the test. Waterproof, fog proof and shock proof. Under $300.00 too.
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I have a pair of Leupold "Wind River" binoculars that work great. I think they are 8X50. Using a Cabelas harness type sling has worked very well for me.
For work I have a pair of Canon Image Stabilizing binoculars that are real good too. They cost about twice as much and require batteries. Neither could be considered compact, but I like them.
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Nikon 10x42 Monarch ATB,
I've got the Steiner Military/Marine, but the Nikons are much "brighter" and clearer at low light.
Also much smaller and lighter.
They are my "go to" binocs anymore.
John
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For many years I used a pair of Bushnell poro-prism 7x26 glasses that are very compact, light and have very good glass. I think a lower 6 or 7 power glass is about optimal for the thick woods in the upper Great Lakes, and probably the eastern part of the country as well. For the past 10 years or so, I've been using a pair of 8x32 Leicas. Won't find a better glass, but a tad larger and heavier than the Bushnells. Wish Leica made a 6 power binocular. My brother has some 8x30 Steiner Predators that he likes a lot. Good glass, fairly light and compact and slightly on the high end of mid-range in price.
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Nikon 10x42 Monarch. Light and work great with glasses
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Zeiss 10x42 Conquest ABK. Awesome binocs. I see things my buddies can't see.
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Nikon 10x42 Monarch, great glass for the price.
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Nikon 10x42 Monarch - for all the reasons everyone else has stated.
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8x30 swarovski hands down the best all round binocular I have ever used. just the right size and very durable.
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There is nothing else out there that compares to the Leica 8X32 Ultravid HD binoculars for deer hunting. Of course, the price is just as high as the quality. For "just" $2,000 you can have the best pair of binoculars made. If you must have only the absolute top of the line, you need to buy them. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, I suggest the Burris 8X30 Signature Selects at about $250. Nothing wrong any of the binoculars others have suggested either.
Allan
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Amar911, I don't want to get this thread off topic, but "top-of-the-line" binoculars still belong in a discussion on "binoculars-in-general".
Have you compared the Leicas against some of the other "big guns" like Ziess, Swarovski and Kahles?
(Not real sure Kahles belong in that category...but going just off of prices they ought to.)
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I never leave the house with out a pair os Nikon
Travel-Lite 8-30's. Cheap and will fit in your pocket and won't break the bank if lost or broken yet work great for $99.
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Vortex 8 x 42.
Great glass for the money.
Best guarantee out there. period.
Tough.
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Hi mate, I just bought a set of Swarovski 8x30 and as what was said above hands down the best binos I've looked through as well as light enough to carry around your neck all day. We also used 'em in the Army as well so there good glass.
This was my third set of binos in ten years and I should have just spent the cash in the first place.
Give Halls Firearms a call in Townsville as there price was the best in Oz at $1525. It may seem a lot but when you brake that cost over the years you'll get out of 'em its nothing.
AK.
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Nikon monarchs. For me the best buy for my money. Mark
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Soilarch,
I have compared the Leicas to EVERY other "big gun" brand. In fact, I own several of those other high priced brands, including Swarovski and Zeiss, and the Leica 8X30 Ultravid HD's are easily better than the rest, including the earlier model Ultravids which I also own. The Ultravid HD's are not just in a "binoculars in general" category, they are the finest binocular for deer (or almost any other animal) hunting with a bow, at least in my opinion, and that is what was asked in the post that started this thread. It is a lot of money to pay for a pair of binoculars, and there are plenty of others that will work just fine, but if function, not money, is the overriding factor, then those are the binoculars to buy. Most people will choose something less expensive, and they will be well justified in doing so, because $2000 is a heck of a lot of money.
Allan
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When it comes to optics you get what you pay for. Purchase the best you can afford.
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I've had a pair of Leica 8x32BN's since 2001....The best $$ I've ever spent! I've used them every day I've hunted since I got them. Like someone said, when you break it down over the years of use you get out of top-end bino's....it's next to nothing.....
Before I had these I had a pair of Leopold's that I liked a lot.....
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I like Bushnell 10x25 H2O binos.
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I picked up a pair of Leupold 10X50 about a month before our deer season this year. Man they are awesome. I really like them for the style hunting I do.
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My wife bought me a pair of 8X EL swarovskis about 6 years ago. I couldn't believe it!! She was comparing prices and ended up calling a large retailer in Wisconsin, maybe Eagle Optics (somethig eagle?) She was sure what she should get and this was truly a surprise so she didn't want to tip me off. My wife was ready to buy actually make a purchase and the lady on the phone at Eagle Optics suggested my wife call a few of my hunting friends to see what they recommend. I was impressed by that, she could have had the sale but told her to make some calls first. Anyway, she made the calls, called Eagle Optic back and bought the Swarovskis. Honestly, that's something I never would have purchased myself. But I am sure glad I have them. Top quality glass is superior, and more expensive. It's not just the name, there is a difference. And the best thing is NO eye strain. Ozy said reasonably compact for close range - 8X EL's fill that need.
Since then I've bought my wife some glass, but you can't use that hunting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL YOU TRAD-GANGERS !!
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Sightron 8x42. Quality well beyond the price.
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10 x 25 swarovski's they are amazing for such a small tool. I like them better than the 10x 40 burris I have- super light and work better in the twilight.
SL
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my Leica 8x42 attached to Bino-buddies... they are all I carry up here.
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Swaro. 8X30. Best money I have ever spent. BILL
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stiener 8x30s for close to 10 years now. love um.
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My eyes couldn't tell the difference between the Leica 8X32 Ultravid HD and the Swarovski slc 8x30. The Leicas were very bright, but so were the Swarovskis. I have the EL 10x42 and the slc 8x30. The 8x30 is the best woods binocular I've ever owned and I don't see how you could improve upon it.
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Used under hunting conditions, I really like my Nikon 10X42 Monarch's. Decent glass, durable, fairly small, and light weight. The "better" binos are just too expensive for me to be lugging through he woods or climbing trees with.
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Nikon 8x42 Monarch ATB. I remember reading that they were the ones to get over the 10's if you were birding but I forget exactly why but I conclude they would be the best for my deer woods, etc. I wouldn't pay more than they were for what I use them for. To each his own.
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I love my Zeiss 8x30's, also have a pair of Nikon 8x42's that are excellent as well. The Nikons are just much heavier and bulkier than the Zeiss. The Nikons have now been relegated to being my truck binoculars.
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For all around use I find it hard to beat Stieners 8X30 Predators, they work well in open country and in the big woods of the Adirondacks. Best $ I ever spent on hunting gear.
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Lots of good recommendations above, but I would like to share another. Look at the Nikon Superior E 8x32. They are a porro prism, not a roof prism. Porro's can be made more optically perfect than roof prisms for less money. You must spend big money to get a set of roof prisms that will match the optical quality of good porro prisms, and the Nikon model is one of, if not the best, porro prisms. In birding website studies (and birders are the most demanding optics users out there), the Nikons have shown to be optically superior to almost every other glass, and they can be had for about $500. They are also fairly light. You'll have to spend another $1,000 to equal their optics. Just food for thought. Paul.
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I'm with Curt (Guru) on this one. I bought a pair of Leica 8x30's and I feel this is about as good as you can get for an overall hunting bino. I can't believe how many years I hunted with junk binos that normally just stayed in the truck. Like Curt, I rarely even step foot in the woods, no matter what I am doing, without them. They are the perfect weight, perfect shape, compactness, etc., and overall some of the best money I have ever spent on hunting. Yes they are expensive, but I should have just bought them right away, as I have gone through numerous pairs of lesser quality binos, with lesser warranties, and probably spent more than the $1200 or $1300 that I spent on these.
Also, I think it is important to buy the right power for the situation. 99% of my hunting is for whitetails in pretty thick cover. 8x32 is about right. My buddy has a pair of 10x42's and that is just too much for most whitetail hunting situations. The extra power makes it difficult to pick apart the cover, and the size and weight of them pretty much causes him to leave them in the truck most of the time.
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For under a mile glassing for deer & elk in the woods type hunting, 3-D Shoots, 8x32 Fury Vortex Optics.
For glassing out further to a couple miles or under, Viper 10x42 Both have awesome glass!
ElkNut1
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Alpen..
Some of the best optics for your $$$ out there. They compare to optics costing 4X as much.
Check into them you won't be sorry.
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Agree with the Alpen.
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I have a set of Lieca 10X32 BN that I love. They are factory refurbs. Got them from Rockstad Ent. in California for $900. They run an ad in Gunlist for high end new, used and refurbished glass with great prices. Great guy to do business with. They sent they binos to me with a note "If you like them, send us a check. If not send them back." PM if you want their phone #.
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I have a pair of 8x30 Swarovskis and a pair of 8x20s. They are both great binoculars. But I always end up hunting with the 8x20s because they are lighter and fit in my shirt pocket. There is only a few minutes in the morning and evening when you will notice a big difference in light gathering ability. Gary
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I started hunting in 1986 with Pentex, went to Nikon, then to Leupold, and now hunt with Swarovski and Leica. I went the expensive route and would have been better off in the long run buying a quality set to start. I like my Swarovski 8x30 SLC's when whitetail hunting but find I need/prefer a 10x glass when after elk and antelope in the open country. All around for wooded country whitetails I would go with the Swarovski 8x32 EL’s, but my next pair will be a 10x42 EL’s because half my hunting is in open country. That being said, you can’t go wrong with the Leica brand in those specifications. Both the Leica and Swarovski’s quality are unmatched when it comes to optics, ones opinion of which brand is better is most often determined by which one the owner laid out a small fortune to buy. I view good optics like bows, my selfbows get the job done, but they don’t work nearly as efficiently as my custom bows.
This is what I would do in hindsight: Shop around and find the absolute best quality optics you can afford, and then ask yourself if you will be happy with them in ten years? If the answer is yes, buy them. I was perfectly happy using the Nikon and Leupold or fifteen years. If the answer is no, buy the best “bargain” pair you can get by with and stash the rest of the money in a saving account, piggy bank, water bottle, our whatever, just don’t let the wife or girlfriend know about it. Now, every time you use the cheap, I mean “bargain” pair, you will get a glaring incentive (pun intended) to contribute more money to your savings. You might be surprised how fast you add money to your stash and within a few years it will be large enough to buy some quality glass. If, after a couple of years you find the fund was spent on something else or it quit growing, you know that the low cost glass works good enough and none of your money was wasted on something you really didn’t need. There is nothing wrong with spending your money on something you like or need more. Think of it this way, for the price of a set of 10x42 EL’s you could buy two Black Widows, or two Schafer’s, or two Morrison’s, or…… I think you get my point.
Personally, I choose to shoot little yellow bows that I make myself and spend my stash money on optics instead of custom bows. Okay, I Lied, I still buy custom bows, but not as many.
;)
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The Nikon Monarch 10X42's were the Consumer Report winner according to my wife (who bought me mine -to keep me from spending big money on another brand).
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Get the best glass you can buy. I really like my 8.5 x 42 Swarovski. Maybe not as compact as the 8 x 30's, but I can pick out the open spaces inside the bush and trees and pick out the little pieces of the animals in the shade with these. Great light gathering, sturdy, etc...
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I don't have any experience with high end binos,so I don't yet know what I'm missing! But I really like my 6x30 Leupold Yosemite's. I believe they have a good warranty. I can't imagine a better bino for under $100. They are fairly compact and the 6 power is really easy to hold steady on moving game and they are about perfect for the small woodlots and thicker cover that I hunt. There aren't many options out there for binoculars that are less than 8X, which is what I wanted.
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I'm glad I went the route of buying my swaroskis the first time. Bought a pair of 8x30's in 1990 for $350. Best money I spent. 2 years ago the hook for the strap broke while hopping a fence/ I sent them back and they sent my a whole new body with the same lenses in them. No charge.
The 8x30's are the right combination of size and weight. I carry them every time I go out.
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I bought these this year and like them very much. Leupold Katmai 8x32. They seem the right size for the area I live in. Nice size to use and wear while hunting.
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/products/binoculars/katmai-series/katmai-8x32mm/
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I have a old pair of Bausch & Lomb Discovery series in a 7x42 they are excellent for light gathering in the thick stuff. I also have a new pair of Bushnell Elite's in a 10x42 for more open country. I would stay with the lower magnification if I had to choose one pair. To much magnification in the woods turns twigs into tree trunks.
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Walt Francis nailed it spot on.
I had already sent several hundred dollars on CHEEP binoculars with crossed eyes and headaches.
In 1984 I spent $550.00 on a pair of zeiss 10x40, 24 years latter I am still hunting with them, I had to send them back once for repair ( my fault )
Out west I spend a lot of time behind my glasses, 90% spot and stock, if you cant see it you cant hunt it.
If you hunt mostly from trees, I don't think your binocular choice is as important.
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I love Leicas...always have, always will.
I hunt out West..and the 10x42's are the finest optics I've ever used. A little heavier than the Swaros because they use a metal body, rather than the polycarbonate.
However, someone came to our spot and stalk hog camp with a pair of 6x30 Leupold Green Ring binocs. They are under 100 dollars on the web. I poo-pooed them right off the bat.
Then I used them. I have to say I was amazed. For thick country, like where I hunt in SC these are all the binocs you need as a bowhunter. If you also hunt with firearms, probably should think about something else.
Great warranty, great price, and fantastic glass.
I never believed it possible...but I have used mine now for 5 months and they work great.
I highly recommend them.
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Stiener Predators, 8x30. They do everything I ask of them in the deer woods for about $300.00.
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I have Swarovski 8x30 that I absolutely love !!!!
A couple of years ago I bought my wife a pair of Nikon Monarch 8x30 that for the price are great ......... they come very close to the Swarovskis
I was so impressed wiyh the Nikons I also bought a pair of their big ones ( 10 x 56 ) for summer scouting and out of the truck watching . They are also very good .
All in all ,for the money ......... Nikon Monarch are a good value
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I don't have anything else to compare them too but I do like my Vortex. They were recommended on here sometime this past year.
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Nikon 8 X 42, Monarch ATB. Great binocs at a great price. They don't weigh much, and they have very good optics. They won't break the bank either.
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I use a pair of 6x32 Eagle Optic Ranger Platinum's. They don't make this model any longer but if you find a set on fleabay, buy them. They offer very sharp and bright optics and come with a no fault lifetime warrentee and it doesn't matter who orginally bought the glasses, the warentee follows the bino's. They offer a 400+ foot FOV. Think I paid $150 for them. I also have owned some high end glasses (Leica/Zeiss/B&L Elites,ect) and take nothing away from them, they are some of the best glasses you can buy but also understand that there are some real good "bargin" glasses out there. Kahles and Fujinon also make some nice glasses. Good luck in your search!
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Vortex Fury 6X32. Perfect for the wood lots I hunt. Extremely wide FOV. Bright, clear, reasonably priced, and a full life-time "no questions asked" guarantee that is transferrable to any new owner (does not require proof of purchase). If you drop them and break them they will replace them at no charge.
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leuopold Katmai 6x30
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I'll also say that I like the Leupold Katmai 6X30. They are a little smaller and lighter than the Vortex Fury's. I read a couple of reviews and the Fury won in most areas (FOV, brightness and depth of field), however, they are larger and about 4 ounces heavier. I might end up getting a pair myself someday.
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I own 8x32BA Leica, very compact and the best investment I've made in all my hunting gear. My next will be the Leica 12x50 Ultravid HD.
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I hope your right Ray cuz I just used my gift cards at c$Bel#'s :scared: . I do own the 10x42 El's, just to much glass for Ohio woods.
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For close range stickbow hunting where you need to pick apart the woods with binoculars, you'd be hard pressed to find much better than the Leuopold Katmai 6x30 binos. You will have plenty of resolution for the hours you'd be loosing arrows on game and you'll greatly appreciate not only the wide field of view, but also the greater depth of focus. Higher magnification binoculars used to pick apart the woods while stickbow hunting will have a shallower depth of field within focus, whereas the Katmai will have a greater depth of sharp focus making it far easier to pick out a game animal from cover.
I save the higher magnification binos for glassing large open areas especially during times of low light, but I prefer the lower magnification binos for close range stickbow work when picking apart cover.
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Most top class binos work well for the average hunter,but if you spend hours glassing and maybe you arein the rain fog etc. well you need something really adeguate. Swarosky,Leica and Zeiss provvide you that extra performances. It could be nice to have them in 5or6X power for hunting the woodlots
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I don't usually buy optics at Walmart but one day I was there and noticed a pair of Leopold Mesa Compact 8X23's on clearance for $75 so I bought them with the intention of probably taking them back.That's been 4 months ago and I still have them and use them everytime I hunt.They're pretty good in thick cover and light enough to use "one-handed".
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Nikon Monarch 10x42's...Had them for probably 8 yrs? Use the bino harness, feel naked when I forget them in the truck, whether bowhunting, turkey hunting, or just hiking or shedhunting!!! If I cain't tear em up, they gotta be good!!!
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Leupold Golden Ring 8x42.
They're a tad bit on the heavy side (33 ounces) but, that little bit of extra weight really helps stabilize the image.
No one can hold a candle to Leupold's Golden Ring Warranty. Not just for its no-fault transferable nature but more especially, because of its many decades worth of unimpeachable warranty service.
Others offer similar warranties on paper but, until they can point to a similar amount of time honoring their warranty, they'll remain followers, not leaders of the pack.
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After a lot of research, I chose Nikon Monarch 8x42. Portability, price, clarity, light transmission, guarantee, etc. I don't know that you can find their equal near the price. Check out the recent (in the last 18 months?) article about binos in either Traditional Bowhunter or American Hunter. Good luck, Dan
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Have a pair of Steiner 7X35 wide angles. Had them for years and great glasses for the price I paid for them. You don't have to waste time focusing them when you need to take a quick look. Always wanted a pair of 6X30's but when I finally made my mind up to buy a pair they discontinued them. Always thought the 6X30's would be perfect for thick Whitetail cover, small and lightweight. Sierra Trading Post has 8X30 Steiner Predators right now for $169.