I just received my order from Cameraland for this scope. I was on the fence with all of the mixed reviews I have seen, but I decided to give it a shot. Cameraland included a note that says "not refundable if mounted", so I wanted to do what I could to try this out before mounting it.
It's been a while since i've owned a top tier optic such as a Kahles, but it would be an unfair comparison anyway. Because I have an XTR2 on hand, that will be my comparison.
Initial impressions, scope is a lot beefier than I thought (in a good way). It feels like a quality optic. The finish has more of that nightforce flat finish compared to the PST line or XTR2 with the shiny black coating.
Turret feel- I like turrets that require effort to move them. These are perfect for my taste. Without looking at the scope, I can adjust 1 tenth up or down and know/feel that I only did 1 tenth adjustment. In comparison to my 4-20 XTR2, it takes a conscious effort to only move the turret 1 tenth without looking. I generally end up moving 2 tenths. No mushiness in the turret as some others have reported.
Controls- the controls have a good amount of friction to them. The magnification ring is just tight enough for my taste. I don't see myself needing a throw lever for this. I will update if that changes once it's mounted and in the field.
Glass- here we go. Initially, I looked through it and thought "yeah it's nice". Then I grabbed the XTR2 and compared side-by-side. Looking at trees anywhere from 100-430 yards away the biggest difference between them was brightness and definition. The Steiner is much better in these two aspects. On low power, you don't see quite as much of a difference, but with both optics on 16x, it's a huge difference. The XTR2 shows it's cloudy and dark glass whereas the Steiner does not drop off in performance from 4 to 16x. I would say it's definitely a step up in optical performance.
Eyebox- hands down the Steiner wins. Both are about the same in maintaining a good sight picture on lower powers. Once you get into 12x and higher, the XTR2 becomes finicky to maintain a good sight picture. Granted I am holding these optics instead of them being mounted, but that just means the Steiner would be even easier to stay behind than the XTR2.
FOV- Steiner wins. I had a NF SHV F1, and my biggest issue with that scope was the small FOV. Personally it felt like I was looking through a toilet paper tube. I preferred the XTR2 over the SHV F1 because of this alone even though the glass quality was much better than the XTR2. The FOV on the Steiner is even better than the XTR2. This was a weighted decision for me which is why I compared specs on FOV listed by each manufacturer prior to purchasing. Turns out they were right because the Steiner had the highest FOV on 4x when compared to the NF SHV F1, XTR2 and the Toric 30mm (lowest FOV).
Conclusion: I feel confident enough that I can now mount this scope without worrying about having to get my money back. For $800, this is a steal (unless it doesn't track lol). The box was sealed with Steiner tape that said certified and inspected. So let's hope that's true.
I will update once it's zeroed and some field use.
It's been a while since i've owned a top tier optic such as a Kahles, but it would be an unfair comparison anyway. Because I have an XTR2 on hand, that will be my comparison.
Initial impressions, scope is a lot beefier than I thought (in a good way). It feels like a quality optic. The finish has more of that nightforce flat finish compared to the PST line or XTR2 with the shiny black coating.
Turret feel- I like turrets that require effort to move them. These are perfect for my taste. Without looking at the scope, I can adjust 1 tenth up or down and know/feel that I only did 1 tenth adjustment. In comparison to my 4-20 XTR2, it takes a conscious effort to only move the turret 1 tenth without looking. I generally end up moving 2 tenths. No mushiness in the turret as some others have reported.
Controls- the controls have a good amount of friction to them. The magnification ring is just tight enough for my taste. I don't see myself needing a throw lever for this. I will update if that changes once it's mounted and in the field.
Glass- here we go. Initially, I looked through it and thought "yeah it's nice". Then I grabbed the XTR2 and compared side-by-side. Looking at trees anywhere from 100-430 yards away the biggest difference between them was brightness and definition. The Steiner is much better in these two aspects. On low power, you don't see quite as much of a difference, but with both optics on 16x, it's a huge difference. The XTR2 shows it's cloudy and dark glass whereas the Steiner does not drop off in performance from 4 to 16x. I would say it's definitely a step up in optical performance.
Eyebox- hands down the Steiner wins. Both are about the same in maintaining a good sight picture on lower powers. Once you get into 12x and higher, the XTR2 becomes finicky to maintain a good sight picture. Granted I am holding these optics instead of them being mounted, but that just means the Steiner would be even easier to stay behind than the XTR2.
FOV- Steiner wins. I had a NF SHV F1, and my biggest issue with that scope was the small FOV. Personally it felt like I was looking through a toilet paper tube. I preferred the XTR2 over the SHV F1 because of this alone even though the glass quality was much better than the XTR2. The FOV on the Steiner is even better than the XTR2. This was a weighted decision for me which is why I compared specs on FOV listed by each manufacturer prior to purchasing. Turns out they were right because the Steiner had the highest FOV on 4x when compared to the NF SHV F1, XTR2 and the Toric 30mm (lowest FOV).
Conclusion: I feel confident enough that I can now mount this scope without worrying about having to get my money back. For $800, this is a steal (unless it doesn't track lol). The box was sealed with Steiner tape that said certified and inspected. So let's hope that's true.
I will update once it's zeroed and some field use.
