Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Bushnell CS (again) and the Fusion 1 Mile question/query input please

Well, some here may remember me bragging on Bushnell Customer Service a couple of years ago when I bought a pair of Fusion 1600's, they quit working soon after, and Bushnell sent me a new pair with only a few days turnaround. I was pleased and enjoyed the good optics and lazer reading of this pair of binocs until very recently. Last Winter, like the first pair did, the lazer rangefining mechanicals just quit working. Would not show up no matter how many new batteries I tried, pushed the button for on, or how I held my mouth just right. They were, in a word, DUN.

Was pretty busy with health issues and staying alive for a few months there but finally got around to returning them in May. In JULY.... two months after.... I got a letter asking for a payment of $150.00 to repair thse no longer in warranty binoculars. I was not happy, at all. I waited a little bit to cool down and proccess this plus I did not have $150 for quite a while. Sold my Model 19 Smith, had a few dollars in my pocket and called them yesterday.

The first rep I got ahold of was very understanding of my dilemna and frustration. He took a few notes, went to talk to his manager and he/they offered to sell me a brand new set of the Bushnell Fusion 1 Mile LRF Binocs (which they swear do not have this recurring problem, they have discontinued the Fusion 1600's) for only the difference in price between the original cost of a Fusion 1600 and a Fusion 1 mile when they were both being sold. This amount was $380 for a new upgrade pair VS $150 for a set that I knew ha engineering issues, and I had $420 left from my handgun sale so I jumped on the offer!

Customer service there was not as lightning fast, but in the end I think they redeemed themselves reasonably well. Hopefully, I am about to recieve a pair of LRF Binocs that are reliable, rugged and dependable.

Now for my query, anyone here been using the Fusion 1 Mile Binoculars since they came out? Are they working well and turning on when they should every time? Good optics, etc?

Thank you in advance for your reply. If the Fusion 1 miles have the same tendency to fail, I should sell them without opening the box, sell some other gun(s) and try again to find a pair of used Geovids like I had when I was going to Africa and Alaska all of the time. Those things simply work. Pay once, cry once, then enjoy if you know what I mean.

I had boughten a pair of the fusion 1 mile binos off of eBay last year in October. When I got them they would not range at all. The display would come up but they would not range near or far.

So I gave Bushnell a call and talked with a nice guy in CS. All was well until I told him where I had boughten them. At that point he told me they would not warranty them beings they were purchased on eBay. It is their policy to not provide any warranty for their products that were purchased there. To say I was a little upset would be an understatement to say the least. I mean, I hadn't had them 3 days and they never did work. His advice was to return them to the guy on eBay I bought them from.

I ended up getting another pair from the seller and those worked flawless right outta the box. I sold them when I upgraded my glass this summer so I didn't have a whole lot of use with them. I can't tell you about the longevity of them but I did find it interesting in Bushnells CS policy. That said enough to me that I won't be using them in the future. Just something to think about with them. A guy needs to be careful of warranty claims even if they are brand new.

Reno

Thank you for your reply and input. At this stage, being broke etc. I will give these a try this year and go from there. Kinda stuck with that plan for now. I guess that since this is a brand new pair of Binocs, and I will have a fresh new warranty card to send in, I will have another two year "limited" warrany on these. Will try to upgrade/replace them before that runs out.

The optics on my old Fusions were great, if these are as good, and work for two years, I am golden.

Anyone else have any experience with the Fusion 1 Mile version?

Run away fast as your legs will carry you!

I had three pair in 5 weeks all brand new all failed in some way. Optics were great on pair one. Laser no good.

After that the replacements were worse and worse. Another friend of mine who visits this site frequently had two pair and both failed him as well.

I bought Leica Geovids refurb for about twice the price and they are built Leica tough and work 100% flawless every time.

I'll not buy any kind of technology from Bushnell again. The Game cameras were just as bad. The frustration over these brand new 1 Mile Fusion glasses was not worth the savings over the Leica Refurbished glasses.

I remember you sharing this with me last fall, when my 1600's went bad. No can do on the Lieca's right now but hopefully soon. Maybe these new ones are better, kinda like the first release of a new gun or car has bugs that get worked out. I can only hope.... Stuck with them for this fall, in all liklihood.

New binocs just arrived, have to hope for the best with them and use them at least through deer season.

Repeatedly taking a bite of a schit sandwich is not a good approach to finding a better tasting solution.

I'd put the new ones up for sale, cut your losses, and invest elsewhere.

Sounds to me like they don't have the bugs worked out yet.

I don't like or trust Bushnell products just based on my experience and those guys who I have hunted with - there are some staunch Bushnell defenders here on the campfire I found out. Selling them in new condition with a clear conscience sounds like good advice to me.

Sending checks to people who sold you poor quality equipment doesn't seem like the market is working as it should but since you already are committed all you can do is make sure to stay on top of them during the short warranty period.

I like the idea of range finding binos but pairing electronics that fail and are rapidly obsolete with optics that should last decades doesn't seem like the right mix for me.

safariman,

How much did you spend on the first pair that broke? The second pair were their replacement, right?

Add the $380 you just spent on pair number three (in three years?) to that original tally.

How close would that total get you to Geovids or Swaro or Zeiss BLRs?

Are you really going to trust a company that has a horrible reputation for quality and CS, that has already sent you two bad pairs, that has reneged on their lifetime warranty once?

If you, you don't sound broke. You sound rich, because only a rich man spends money on stuff that he knows or ought to know he'll have to replace and especially that will be used for trips that only come along when he can afford them.

Good advice here, much thanks.

The ones that came yesterday are my old one's. They are still better than decent binoculars, maybe I can sell them really cheap to help with the cost of an upgrade.

To answer the question proffered, I paid IIRC about $600-650 for the original binocs. Ad $380 to that and I am in these new ones about $1,000.00 or so. Still a very long ways away from even a used pair of Leica Geovids from what I have seen. I have not looked in a while, though.

The only way I can get into the better LRF binocs that I can see is to sell these new Bushnell's, then also sell my 329PD for the additional cash needed. I would really hate to do that, but I might. Thinkin on it.

I only use these for a few days a year during deer season as my elk hunting is on hold until post kidney transplant. The deer hunting around here can be done from a 4 wheeler and I have the permit to do just that i.e. disabled hunter plaque. The 329PD 44 Magnum is one of my favorite handguns that I use often.

Maybe the Bushnells will be OK for a little time as I use them, until I am on the mend down the road someday soon I hope.

Anyone want to trade me a pair of Bushnell 1 mile fusions for one of thier kidneys?

This is bad news, and as recommended I would quickly sell
these new ones, and move on.

There are lots of binoculars and rangefinders. Trying to
make both work together is not easy. Bushnell is average
with both, so the experiment with this concept seems to
be one to avoid.

On the topic of bad, you should have seen the one's Leupold tried to build and sell a few years ago. ICKY! I bought a pair, tried them out for one day and they were awful in every regard. I have not seen a pair on the market for quite a long time. Maybe they will try again some day but if Leupold could not pull it off, this sure tells me that very few companies can do it and do it well and correctly.

If I were you I would sell them and roll the funds into a Zeiss 8x26 PRF or Leica CRF rangefinder. Either one of those and a set of binoculars would be a step up from what you currently have.

The only all-in-one rangefinder binoculars on the market worth a damn are from the Big 3 (Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss). Everything else IMHO is a turd.

Man, I HAD the Leica Geovids, 10x42, and had to sell them during tough times a few years ago. Same-same with my 329PD, 7mm Mashburn and other nice stuff. Slowly getting them all back now. Maybe I just use the Bushy's until I have enough dough to replace the Leica's I used to have. What wonderful instraments they were! No way to get those right now, and I am pretty spoiled now on having my binoc and LRF all in one package. On a moving animal having to use two pieces of equipment can put a critter out of decent range, IME.

I still have not heard form anyone except JJHack who has actually used one of these 1 mile Busnell's yet. Anyone here actually have some hands on experience with one for more than a couple of weeks?

How many people do you need to hear it from before you will understand that these Bushnell fusions suck. Seriously, cut your losses because if you open the box they will be depreciated to the point of being worthless

Sell them and then go buy a quality pair of binoculars. The new Meopta HD's are fantastic and they won't depreciate like the Bushnell's will

Tough to watch guys ask for advice on a subject and then completely ignore it and make a brain dead decision

It appears that unless the advice is exactly what safariman wants to hear, he will disregard it and keep asking the question until someone tells him what he wants to hear in the first place to justify whatever action he has already determined to be the one he wants to take.

True!

I just went to cameraland's website and posted links to a bunch of high end glass that's been discounted and then my phone reset my message I was typing. Nuts and bolts, you can get some absolutely fantastic binos for what you could sell those Fusions for. With as much horse trading as you do you should definitely do this and come out way ahead vs keeping those fusions

Ha! Perfect! I might need to get that put on a T-shirt.

Mark,

Fire up your Google and you'll soon see that JJHack's recommendation to "run away as fast as you can" is a common theme.

Throw away that sheit sandwich. Continuing to take little nibbles in an attempt to convince yourself that the "taste" isn't that bad is just sick, gross and twisted.

No matter how you try to rationalize it in an attempt to sooth and fool yourself, it's still what it is.... a sheit sandwich.

I assume we will not be hearing anything more about this issue
from Safari.

Hit me over the head once, but not twice.

I see Doug does sell the full Bushnell line, but not the Fusion
RF binocular. I don't find this model at SWFA either.

Now I don't wonder why ?

Thnnks everyone, good advice being proffered here.

I will google some prices and put it up on Craigs List etc.

Quite the dog pile here.

I've been using a pair of Fusion 1600 RFB exclusively for 4 years now. They've gone from the forest floor chasing moose in snow, ice, and -30 F weather in the late season, to gaining 3000 ft up in the peaks of the Rocky Mountains chasing sheep in early September. They've taken a few spills onto rock and concrete, ridden with me in the truck and on the ATV, and hanging on my chest over some of the roughest terrain. They have enabled me to spot sheep at 2+ miles away, and consistently range dark objects out to 1700 meters, even in -30 F temperatures when it's so cold it takes the display a second to show the reading, with accurate enough readouts to enable me to make first-round hits beyond 1000 yards on sub-MOA sized targets.

Sure, the glass is mediocre, comparing favourably to a pair of 10x42 Vortex Vipers I had, but it's certainly serviceable. The rangefinder has been simply awesome. Overall, the pair that I have has taken some serious use and kept on ticking. And by "use" I don't just mean riding from the basement shelf to the range and back, all the while sitting on a silk cushion. I have been extremely pleased with the purchase, and would likely buy another pair tomorrow if this one gave up the ghost.

Jordan Smith,

Thank you for (finally) a report and impressions from someone who has actually USED a set for a while.

My set that quit on me also were used pretty well as in hunted with and bounced around a bit before the display went bonkers.

If this set of the newer 1 Mile Fusions does not sell right off, I will put them to use, utilize the 2 year warranty on them if needed, and be saving up for the Leica Geovids again. Whie my 1600'a worked, they were a fine piece of hunting equipment and enabled me to make a long shot on my biggest Mule Deer ever, an hhonest to gosh 30 incher as well as the longest shot on a deer I have ever made, 618 yards on a pretty good 4x4 Mule deer buck.

They certainly were not a schidt sandwich. If these also give me 2-3 years of service, that might be all I need from them. If I don't get a kidney transplant by then, I will not feel like hunting and might not even be around. If I do get a kidney transplant soon, I will be able to again work and earn money and afford the Leica Geovids like the ones I had before.

Now, how many people saw THAT eventual result coming? No matter the advice against doing something, so long as one person says "yeah, I ate that schit sandwich and it was just fine", safariman was going to stick with taking another bite. The justification that "well, I'm sick and broke" should have been seen, too.

safariman, why do you even ask for advice when you aren't going to do anything any differently than you wanted to do in the first place regardless of what is said by anyone else or even multitudes of others with experience? JJHACK seems to know a bit about these things. FOsteology and huntsonora as well, among others. Yet, one person says "yeah, they worked for me" is enough for you to discount all the other advice and have you stick with whatever it is you've already committed to in the first place. If you read Mr. Smith's response, you'll also see that he doesn't have any experience with the 1 Mile version that you have, either. He has a different set (one of the versions that broke on you and Bushnell dropped the ball on repairing, in fact). That's rather amazing in several ways.

The 1600 fusion and the 1 mile version are 100% different models.

A quick once over of the one mile would be all anyone needs to put them back in the box and get your refund.

The rubber diopter/focus adjustments are glued on. After a few rotations the rubber starts to buckle, and they come loose. Think you're gonna just glue them back? think again. The adjustment under them is slotted. You will have a near impossible time gluing the rubber on without gluing the whole works together. You will need to disassemble them to get this glued back on.

( are we really discussing that a 1000.00 pair of glasses to be used by hunters in the field have a glued together assembly? )

I had several conversations with Bushnell support about this. They were in 100% agreement this was rubbish and should never have been designed much less put on the market with this absolutely poor level of manufacturing.

I had three different pairs, only one lasted without this type of failure or problem. However it had the glue oozing out from under the rubber and hardened on the edge. it was so sloppy I cannot imagine this being sold at 1000 bucks!

The laser on the first pair was out of alignment. Would not range properly. It was replaced on warranty by bushnell after 7 days of possession and use by me. They replaced it with a used set! An older serial number ( 300ish) that was scuffed and scratched and had miserable optics. The optics were not even close to the quality of the first set.

One set bad laser, another bad glass, both sets bad rubber diopter adjustments! These went back after I really ripped on CS over sending me a crap pair of old used demo glasses to replace my brand new set! The third set also had the rubber diaper adjustment come loose, but worse was the display was sideways in the tube. What the heck do they not even look at this stuff in QC? How could CS knowing the problems I had send these out with a cockeyed display? Not only was that bad but the optics in these were also yellowish in bright clear daylight.

Back they went to the dealer for a refund. 30 days of absolutely horrible laser/optic and QC performance and pathetic CS from Bushnell. Never again for me. I'll suffer without rather then choose poorly again. Or better yet, buy great optics, and a small Leupold range finder. Choosing those Bushnell 1 mile was a horrible experience.......... 1000 bucks for all that frustration. No more bushnell products for me!

Another well known and well respected fella I know ( posts here frequently) had these same problems with his multiple pairs as well. I may be corrected on this but the result was his opinion was just like mine.

So how much experience do you have with the Fusion?

Jordan Smith,

Very good point, sir. I wonder how many who are posting about these have actually used them besides my friend JJ Hack?

I really was hoping to hear from members who had actual in the field experience with them.

Comments and opinions which start with "my pair" or "my set acted and performed like _____________ until they ____________
At which time Bushnell offered me _________________ on my set.

Name calling the units names like a schidt sandwich are not helpful without being backed up with a real world experience. Opinions about the binoc/lrf unit being sold by Bushnell without some hands on experience are of little value to me.

My BIL had not one, but TWO (Fusion 1 Mile). I obviously fondled and used them on my ranch to form a first hand opinion. I stand by my earlier statement that they're indeed a sheit sandwich.

Yellow tinted glass, and laser wasn't accurate (compared against both my Leica HD-B and Zeiss PRF). Build QC was sheit.

My BIL took the first one back to Cabela's (where purchased) and got the second one. Same issues with the second Bushnell. In addition, interesting enough, the glue Jim speaks of was evident in my BIL's second unit. Not only was there "oozed glue", but the diopter didn't work.


He learned his lesson and is now sporting a Zeiss 8x26 PRF

Rationalize and spin it anyway you like Mark to justify and fool yourself. In the end, you're still munching on a sheit sandwich.

Well, Mark, JJHACK has plenty of experience with them. FOsteology does. Huntsonora does. Google will show you PLENTY of other experiences. I've used them. I tried them out and found the glass subpar with a nasty blue green tint and chromatic aberration to guarantee a headache if actually used as a bino for more than a couple minutes at a time. The rangefinder was no great shakes either. I passed on buying them because they weren't worth the month. Compound that with Bushnell's reputation and my experience with other Bushnell products, and it was an easy call.

None of this matters to you. You've convinced yourself that these are great and you've found a single person that has a similar product (Jordan's 1600 are not the same as your One Mile versions). You're simply now trying to justify keeping an inferior product for the third time.

Why do you even bother asking advice when your mind is already made up? You started crying broke/sick/poor as soon as it became clear that the Bushnells suck. You could sell those on EBay, part with at least one extra rifle (it seems like you have a Remington pump that is new to you and not your cup of tea) and out those funds toward a very good set of binos and a good rangefinder. That combination works for thousands of people every year, and would for you as well. Or, you could part with another extra firearm or two and get the Geovids.

Instead, you're collecting inferior stuff and justifying the collection as better in aggregate than alpha stuff in lesser amounts.

You don't want advice and you don't want help. You want support in justifying your decisions and positions. State that to begin with and cut out all the chase for you and everyone else involved.

You've used the Fusion 1 Miles? Do tell.....

Tells me exactly how much experience you have with either the 1600's or the 1 Miles, as the rangefinder in both trumps anything Leica, Zeiss, or Swarovski has to offer.

LOL

What's so funny? I've has these beside the Swaro Laser Guide and Leica CRF 1600. They were all within 1 yard at 1762 yards. The Bushy certainly doesn't take back seat. Speaking of the RF part only...

The guy that had them in camp last year was having trouble with them ranging deer out in the sage. I'm not saying they aren't accurate when you can get them to work. The guy that had them was sponsored by Bushnell and he wasn't impressed either

Have you looked through the new Leica rangefinding binos? It's almost instantaneous when you hit the button. Nothing about the Bushnell is in the same class as the Leica but nobody really expects them to be.

Bullschit. The Bushnells range a long way out, and give accurate measurements, but they are not nearly as fast to range or as forgiving as the Swaros.

Also, the glass on the 1 miles had better be a huge step up from the 1600s, as the 1600 glass is incredibly ordinary. As in, I would put them in the same quality range as blister pack Tascos.

A pretty darned good rangefinder wrapped in a real ordinary optics package.

If a guy is seriously looking for a goot set of binos and an LRF without spending high end money, a Bushnell ARC handheld rangefinder and a set of Cabelas Euro HDs, or something along those lines is how I would go.

I did tell. I tried them out (see above) and found them lacking. They were for sale; I demo'd them, and I passed.

Oh? When demo'ing those, they failed to range as quickly as the Leicas or the Swaros. They did a great job on reflective hard targets (buildings, signs, etc.), but did not register as well against brown furry objects (in that case cattle at roughly 1200). They didn't stack up well.

Bingo!

It appears that none of this discussion was warranted in the first place:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...s/9192935/Anyone_here_using_the_Bushnell

Sigh.....no surprise that Safariman didn't listen.

I used separate binos and RF for years before going to the Fusion. I'd never go back to 2 separate units. And the first set of bins I ever used were Swaro SLC's. Maybe I got an exceptional pair of Fusion 1600's, but I have absolutely no complaints, other than the slightly green tint makes the glass a bit dimmer than comparable glass, though the resolution makes up for it.

It isn't unreasonable to think that one of these days there will be a goo RF / binocular at a good under $1000 price it may be Vortex Nikon or someone else but it isn't Bushnell yet.

I have a friend who shoots Swarovski or Leupold scopes and he is sure they will have an affordable combo in the next couple of years so is sticking with his old Monarch binos.

His regular hunting partner couldn't wait and bought the EL range model last year.

Right now it seems big 3 or poor quality substitutes you can't blame safari man for hoping that his set might be the first reliable cheap set.

Geezus! So, what's your hands-on experience with the Fusion 1 Miles, or for that matter, any combo bino/LRF?

The next level of improvement in optics will not be the glass or the currently used prism systems.

They will be electronically image stabilized like cameras. There is no place left to go with the alpha glass. The current construction and glass is at the apex of development.

I think it has been now for the last ten years. The improvements in coatings are all that is possible. However the image stabilized rangefinder market is going to be the next big advance.

Imagine 20-30 power handheld zoom image stabilized with a 2500 yard rangefinder.

As long as it's made by a company with good QC and good CS (a killer warranty would be nice, too), SIGN ME UP!