Steiner Ranger LRF 10x42 Range Finding Binoculars

When I go stalking, I like to travel light, and I am sure the deer laugh at some hunters with all their high-tech gear! One item I am never without is a decent set of binoculars, as observation is key to all stalking. However, knowing the distance to your target is equally advantageous.

I tend to stalk known areas. I use a handheld laser range finder and have memorised distances, but having these features in a set of binoculars reduces carry weight and increases useability. Enter the new Steiner 10x42mm LRF (Laser Range Finder) binoculars, which are built to the same high standards as their rifle scopes.

These are the first integrated LRF binoculars with a roof prism design, achieving simplicity of design and size, yet still accommodating all the new laser wizardry with very easy-to-use controls. You can view, range, and adjust the key parameters with just two buttons. The 10x42s show a good blend of magnification and objective lens size, and they cost £1,199, making them excellent value considering the quality of optics and accuracy of the electronics.

Spec

The roof prism design houses the electronics without any extra bulges or lumps, so handling is very natural and effortless. Overall dimensions are no bigger than a normal set of binoculars and the supplied Cordura and foam strap takes the strain out of carriage in the field. They’re not heavy at 1100-grams, and Steiner has managed to perfectly balance them in the hand due to the long 6” focus tubes and moulded dark green rubber armoured grips with scalloped undersides. They are very well protected from rough handling in the field and rated to achieve an impact resistance of up to 11G. Weather resistance is also very good, with a one-piece eyepiece cover and flip-down soft rubber eye cups to keep moisture and debris out. Flip-up rubber cups maximise the clarity of the image in the field by cutting out any extraneous light.

Operation is simple, with a good-sized central wheel for focusing, with a proper serrated finish so it actually grips the finger. It certainly helps when focusing, as the gearing is such that a fast focus is achieved with minimal wheel movement, yet it’s fine enough to optimise clarity and focus. You can spot game quickly and get the image pin sharp to check antler size, or if it is a hooded crow or a mud lump at 400 yards!

Each eye normally sees differently, and each eyepiece offers individual dioptre adjustment, so when set, and the central focus wheel is used, you have the LRF set up to your own eyes for pinpoint clarity.

Being 10x42s, there’s an exit pupil value of 4.2mm, a relative brightness value of 17.6, and a twilight factor of 20.5. So, a good blend of a closer image of your quarry combined with enough light transmission to see it in low light conditions. The lenses are all multi-coated and the clarity, as you’d expect from Steiner, is excellent. I have used a pair of old Steiner 12x42s for all my trips to Europe, Africa, and America, and they have never let me down.

Out in the field

In use, you have good edge-to-edge definition, no vignetting at all, and the image is flat, so it’s a very clear and relaxed picture, which translates to less eye strain. I used them for rabbits, foxes, and deer at all hours of the day, and at some astonishing distances, and I found no compromise in image quality at all. Importantly, they are completely fog-proof too, as Steiner nitrogen fills them with a two-way valve system that prevents fogging of the lenses and perfectly seals the binoculars against moisture. 

Ranging

A button on either side of the central hinge helps achieve an accurate range figure, with the right-hand side being the on/off button and the left, feature selection. Switch on with one press of the right button and a display with a central range indicator, distance ranged, yards/metres, angle of shot or horizontal distance are displayed in the right-hand eyepiece. Unlike some laser range finders, these have very clear red lettering/numbers. Next, press and hold the left button to change from metres to yards or single presses allow three different laser sensitivity settings. These are shown as symbols in the eyepiece - no symbol indicates standard mode, the golf flag symbol is priority to closer objects and is displayed first, the deer head is priority to another object (ignore bushes, branches etc.) and the distance object is displayed first, and the rain cloud indicates distance measurements in bad weather are maximised.

Single presses of the right-hand button change the brightness (six intensities), and if held down, the LRF goes into scan mode for targets that are moving. The only other option operated with the left button is a secondary display of the actual horizontal distance or angle to the target symbol, showing the actual angle you will be shooting at if looking up/downhill. This is very handy as the LRF has an inclinometer integrated. This means you can accurately work out your own rifle’s down-range trajectory based on corrections for this angle.

I have used these binoculars for four months now, for roe, red, crows, and rabbits, and you can range from as little as five yards all the way up to 1,800 yards. The maximum distance I measured was 1,641 yards! They have been 100% reliable and offered instant and very clear ranges, even in the worst of the weather.

Conclusion

To sum up, they are great value, feature very clear optics, and are easy to use out in the field. They make observing and then ranging a target clear, accurate, and simple.