Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics new vortex VIPER 6x32 review

i hunted with my new 6x32 viper (purchased from cameraland, thanks DOUG) today. wow.

whats not to like about this...... an excellent binocular

Optics easily on par with way more expensive brands.

LIGHT and compact.

great sharpness center and edge, FOV is good, very relaxed view, bright, contrasty and excellent focus wheel.

the obj and eyepiece covers are excellent.

I could barely feel these 19oz binos around my neck.

I recommend them as a great woods bino ....

I hunted with a set of them this past season as well and certanly agree. They are a great binocular.

What are their physical size and/or do you have a pic of them next to something for comparison? Thanks

How would you rate them in comparison to the Leupold Yosemite 6x30?

Good to know. I'm considering the 12x for some field hunting around here. My Swaro 7x are great but I need more magnification on some of the antler evaluations.

Bruz

I've been really torn to buy these, but I already have the Leup Katmai 6x32's which are more compact than the Vipers. But the optics of the Vipers are slightly better than the Katmai's. I don't really *need* the Vipers, but having another quality 6x bino is never a bad thing....

Here's a nice review from Koshkin with pictures for comparison:

http://www.opticstalk.com/vortex-viper-6x32-binocular_topic20739.html

The Yosemite's of mine are just as sharp - maybe a tad more - in the center but the yosemite's do seem to vary some as to quality. I think the Vortex had a better sharpness over the entire field and were abit more compact and I suspect more rugged as well.
As for quality for price you still can't beat the Yosemite porro prism binos.

they are smaller than any other bino i have owned. 19oz and very compact

Scott,
Here's a few pics of the Viper 6x32 next to my Trinovid 8x32's. Should give you a good idea of size...

I want to add a warranty note, too. Vortex and Eagle Optics are related and the warranties are for real. My 10x50 EO Rangers got trashed (not by me) and I sent them in for extensive repair. They fixed them and had them back in less than two weeks. Rebuilt. NO CHARGE! The unconditional, transferable warranty is real and is worth a lot.

I have both. AS far as qualitative comparison, I give an edge to the Vipers in terms of overall field clarity, lack of CA and flare, and neutral color. As a previous poster mentioned, they are close to the same if you only look at the center of the field.

However, when using them in real life, I see a very significant difference between the two. The Viper can be used for hours without glassing headache, where many people who use my Yosemite do get a headache after a while. I can see bullets holes further with the Viper than I can with the Yosemite. In decent light and with a regular target, I can see 243 holes at 100 yards well enough to call for correction, whereas I can only do it with the Yosemite at about 75 yards. My friends see the same difference between the two, although the respective distances may be different for them: like every one after 40, I have been losing some visual acuity in the past few years...

I luv my 6x30 Yo's how do the two comp in terms of weight?

Thx
Dober

the 6x32 vipers are 19 oz.

the vipers are better on paper

dielectric prisms
ED glass

the YO's really shouldnt be as good based on materials used but to some they might be good enough

Have you ever used the Yosemites?

nope...thats why I mention above "shouldn't" and "on paper"

according to the leupold website, these use fully multi-coated lenses. Which is good but fairly "normal" on any 200$+ bino.

the vortex employs Extra-low dispersion (XD) glass enhances resolution, color, and contrast as well as dielectric coatings on prism mirrors. These option and not typical (outside of chinese bins, these are made in japan) in this price range.

this is why I said "on paper" the viper looks like a better bino.

'On paper' could have been a chart one was looking at through the binos to test them. 'Shouldn't' from actual use, meaning they are as good, surprisingly.

Hence the question.

Steelhead,

I have used both, and IMO the Viper is a much better binocular. Better overall optical quality, and the Leupold's build quality doesn't even compare to the Viper.

Of course the Viper is 3 times the price of the Yosemite but at approx. $330(clearance) from Cameraland and other retailers for this caliber of binocular it is a steal.

I purchased the Viper 6x32 from Doug earlier this year thinking they would be an excellent woods binocular(which they are)but after having hunted with them I'm finding myself reaching for them regularly whether in the woods or the wide open.

They are a gem!

Leftybolt

West of Pecos

You may well have a little bit of a collimation issue with your YO. Eyestrain like you describe has never been a problem with mine.

However, I'd expect the Viper to be better overall for serious long term use. I like my 6.5x32 Fury better than the YO, and there should be a difference between the Fury and Viper, as there is in all other sizes.

I have both the Viper 6x32 and Yosemite 6x30. They are both superb binoculars for the money, but Viper is a few notches better (as it should be considering the price difference).

ILya

I just spent a few hours in the treestand in this wonderful 70 degree November Indiana weather. Had the Vipers around my neck and used the heck out of them, peering through woods and underbrush constantly. Glassed a young buck at 250 yards and could clearly see the rack with 3 tines on each side....

Did I mention how much I like these Vipers?