KARL Steiner started his one-man shop in 1947 and, despite Germany’s poor post-war economy, within six years his company had 50 workers. From this modest beginning, Steiner-Optik flourished and expanded so much that in 2008 it was acquired by Beretta’s US-based Burris division, which resulted in a considerable expansion in the Steiner product line.
Steiner’s accomplishments were many, starting in 1967 with the use of binocular bodies made of Makrolon, a polycarbonate which was lighter and tougher than aluminium alloys. In 1973, Steiner introduced the first nitrogen-filled military binoculars to prevent interior fogging, which were adopted by the German military. In 1988 the US Army placed an order for 72,000 Steiner military binoculars, of which only four were rejected. In 2006, Steiner was the first to develop a water and dust repellant exterior lens coating.
Initially, Steiner’s primary focus
