Steiner Safari Pro 10x26 Binoculars Review

If you had to make a check-list of what you would need from the ideal travelling binoculars, these Steiner Safari Pro 10x26's would fill in most peoples boxes:

Compact - Check
Tough - Check
Good Optical Performance - Check
Value for Money - Check

Steiner 10x26 Compact Binoculars
I guess the most important feature of any compact binocular especially one for travelling with would be it's size. These Steiner Safari Pro 10x26 binoculars have a foldable design making them easily fit into even a small pocket. Simple to carry in your luggage and simple to carry with you when out in the field. As a safari binocular this is a great advantage as even on a walking safari, you can carry your binoculars as well as your camera or guide book with no problem.

Tough
The interior optics on these Steiner Safari 10x26 binoculars are enclosed and protected in a tough, good looking casing that is comfortable and well balanced to hold. The construction is robust and whilst they are not fully waterproof, they are water resistant which should be fine for most uses.

Optical Performance
Whilst it is probably true to say that Safari Pro's don't use Steiner's ultimate quality optics, you must remember that these are a fraction of the cost of top end binoculars and yet these still offer you a very impressive bright and sharp image. Steiner say that their optics also block haze and filter UV light, which protect your eyes making them comfortable to look through as well as to bring you sharp images.

Field of View and Magnification
I love the 10x magnification that gets you just that bit closer than 8x, yet it is not too powerful so as to make the image unstable (the higher the magnification the harder it is to keep the view through the binoculars still). What is really impressive is that even with a 10x magnification, the Field of view on these Safari 10x26 binoculars is 309 feet at 1,000 yards. This is far better than all other compact binoculars that I have reviewed and is even comparable to many medium and full size binoculars with a 10x magnification. Field of view is important as the more that you can view (the wider the image), the simpler it is to initially locate an object through them and then keep them in your view, in the case of fast moving objects like birds.

Good value For money: they can often be found being sold for less than $120 / £110. Again as a travelling binocular, this is ideal as you are probably if something is going to get broken, stolen or lost it is probably most likely to happen when travelling and so in my opinion it is always wise never to travel with anything that you cannot afford to replace.

Eye Relief
These Steiner Safari 10x26 compact binoculars have 11mm of eye relief, which is probably a little below average for binoculars in this class, but will be more than fine for most people.

An eye relief of 14 to 15mm is usually enough for most eyeglass wearers to be comfortable, but Steiner state on their material that "The eye relief was extended to make the Safari Pro functional with eyeglasses." If you do wear glasses when looking through your binoculars, I would suggest either first physically checking the binoculars before you buy or make sure that the shop that you buy from readily accept returns should they not work for you.

You may also like to consider the Nikon 10x25 Ecobins Binoculars, that have an eye relief of 13mm and are the longest on any compact binoculars that I have so far reviewed.

Eye Cups
I like the soft profiled eyecups on these, that are designed to fit the contour your face and block out distracting side-light. It must be said that I generally prefer binoculars with soft rubber eye cups than those harder twist up versions, this is a personal preference as I find them far more comfortable. On the down side some people say that they perish over time, but I can say that this has never happened to any of my personal optics.

Focusing
Once you have correctly set the binoculars to your eyes, which is done very simply using the diopter adjuster (see how to focus your binoculars), focusing on any object is quick and simple using the smooth centre focusing wheel. One thing to note is that the minimum close focusing distance is a rather far 18.5 feet which is not great if you like taking a closer look at insects or flowers near you. If you need to focus on closer items, you may wish to consider the 8x22 Safari Pro that has a close focus of 10.5 feet, or the Nikon 10x25 Ecobins Binoculars (9.8 feet).

The only small gripe that I can find with these is that it is too easy to move the diopter adjuster by mistake. This is not a huge problem, but can get a little annoying, especially if both your eyes are not the same and having to keep finding the correct setting. I recommend that you make a mark with a pen or by making a small cut with a sharp knife, that way you will be able to very simply return it to the correct setting for your eyes.

The binoculars come with a distinctively styled protective case for storage as well as travel.

Main Features & Highlights

• Compact, foldable design
• 10x magnification with 26mm objective lens
• UV-filtering, glare-reducing optics
• Field of view: 309 feet at 1,000 yards
• Roof-prism design
• Tough, durable rubber armour chassis
• Includes nylon case and neck strap

Conclusion
In my opinion these 10x26 Steiner Safari Pro binoculars offer an incredible quality to value ratio and are for me the best in their class. If you are looking for a compact, tough good value pair of binoculars ideal to travel with, these should towards the very top, if not the top of your shopping list.