What are you initial thoughts comparing them to the Meopta or Athlon? How does the glass and usability compare on both 2-12s specifically
I'll have to get it out on the range and in the field to really tell the differences but just taking each scope out and looking through them, I was surprised by how bright each Steiner was and the edge to edge sharpness on my examples seemed to be quite good. It's late but I'll attempt to surmise a few things.
It was partly cloudy today and I had no problem seeing the reticle when illuminated against the sky at higher mags. It was just lost at 2x/3x against the sky even at the highest brightness setting. I'm in Texas and don't generally shoot in snow so there's that. On the 2-12's the Steiner reticle is very crisp/sharp compared to the Athlon with illumination. The Athlon reticle, while functionally excellent, looks cheap as there's a bit of edge bleed with illumination. I'll have to go back and compare reticle brightness across the magnification range on both of them but off the top of my head, the Athlon wasn't really better mostly because the illumination isn't as bright. Theoretically, the Athlon reticle should be better at 2X given its design but time will tell.
The Steiner is obviously smaller, lighter with turrets that positively hug the scope, very low profile in comparison to the Athlon. The turret feel on the Steiner is, to me, almost identical to the Cronus BTR Gen 2 4.5-29; very firm with tactile clicks but very "sensitive" for lack of a better term as it doesn't take much change in rotation to change the settings. It seems very fine in adjustment where the Athlon and Meopta both have more movement for each click and are more intuitive with less possibility of overtravel. None the less, the Steiner turrets aren't moving unless you move them. The windage is capped and they include a conversion to an exposed turret.
In terms of accessories, the Steiner comes with a throw lever and caps, the exposed turret for windage, lens cloth, manual, etc. It has a locking diopter too which is really nice. The build quality overall is better than the Athlon and the glass is better, not that the Athlon is terrible. It is noticeable on the Athlon IMO but doesn't really bother me.
The zoom on the Steiner has nice resistance, not too much, not too little. It's slightly gritty but will likely get better and smooth out with use. I had some super expensive manual focus lenses back in the day (prior to all the autofocus stuff) and they were generally the same. The Athlon, while not bad, feels a bit cheaper in comparison and is slightly more stiff. I haven't installed the included throw lever on the Steiner yet. Really appreciate the fact the Steiner comes with everything. While the flip caps are ok, I'll likely move over to something from One Hundred Concepts when available. Still, it's nice to have that stuff out of the box. No lens hood though. I haven't checked if my other lens hoods fit either Steiner.
Could I use either at 2X to take a shot at a deer at 100 yards with certainty I'd hit and ethically kill it? Likely yes but again I need to get it out into the field. Gut instinct, the Athlon would be better and under certain lighting conditions neither might work. At anything above say 4X, I think the Steiner would be my preference. But let me get out and play with it a bit as I didn't have long to mess with it today and analyze my experience.
Another poster mentioned that a 4-16x might be better. I have a 4-16x and I much prefer a 3-18 mag range along with the 2-12 range. Dunno what it is about 4-16 range but I just don't like it. I know Steiner makes a short 4-16 so there's that!
I need to get out the measuring tape and scales. Off the top of my head, I was expecting the 3-18 to be almost 2" shorter than the Meopta. The turrets on the Meopta are skyscrapers in comparison to the Steiner. I'll take photos tomorrow or Sunday. Have an LTC class tomorrow so not much time to tinker.
I'll comment on eye box and eye relief when I have more time behind the Steiner.