Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Quality binos without breaking the bank?

The 7/12x32mm Leupolds on the right are so handy and able to tell "what is it"?

in my best ghetto voice, "What it is?".......

The OP will hopefully be able to discern advice from those that use quality optics and actually hunt vs bullschit from those that do neither.

In case he needs help, Dumbass Don (Savage_99) and Wrongman fall into, Hell they may define, the latter category.

Savage_99,

Thanks for the heads up. I have some on the way.

birds of a feather....

I found some Leupold Pinnacle 8x42 at the LGS for $229 the other day. My soon to be 11 year old now has some new binos to use...couldn't pass them up and have a feeling I will be using them some myself

And I'm an optics snob

If the original poster hasn't bought a pair yet then my suggestion would be the Theron Optics Questa 8x42s. Same basic design as the Leupold McKinleys but with more refinement to the design.

I did a review of them and posted it here and on several other optics forums last year. $425 and the most impressive view you will find in the under $500 price range.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...on+Questa/Search/true/Theron_Questa_8x42

Thomas
As promised I have done a bit of research... I deleted most of the quoted post, but there is very, very little of your assessment I agree with, but want to concentrate on this paragraph.

I really did not like the comment suggesting anyone was being dishonest recommending Razors.

Compounding that with confabulations about APO lenses and prisms shows your underpinnings as an optics pimp might be more than a bit shakey.

The headaches produced by cheap glass are not uncommon at all and I have sent in more than a few bins for recollimation. That is a function of the prisms and NOT the objective lens. Any bin can have the prisms knocked out of collimation with enough force. The return and repair rate on Razors does not show any increase over other high end bins.

I asked the folks at Vortex, called several optics sellers and asked if they had seen any service issues with Razors and all said they had not heard of the issue.

I've read enough of Frank's posts over the years and tried many of the same binos he's recommended to know that if Franks says it's going to rain, I'm packing a raincoat.

Agree with you SKane....FrankD is a very knowledgeable guy.

Truth.

You guys are giving me a big head.

:-)

Its not the prisms being knocked out of alignment, its poor glass quality that causes headaches. The issue is that most cheap glass loses clarity and definition at the edges, (do a simple edge to edge test, even on your razors) Your brain focuses on the center of the picture, but is still trying to process the picture to the edges. The speed at which the eye strain and headaches come on is a direct reflection to the quality of the glass and design. For the average joe hunter, it does't matter in most cases because a long period of glassing maybe 30 minutes, for me its a huge deal because my average day of mule deer hunting, I'm on the glass 4-6 hours.

Rereading my post I see where I was a little unclear. I intimated prisms out of alignment were always the issue that causes eye strain and that only cheap glass has the issue. Good glass as the starting point leaves damage such as knocking the prisms out of collimation as the headache source.

I have been running alpha glass for almost 40 years... The Razors are in the same league. There is no color fringing and they are the same edge-to-edge.

Do you and Ringman hang out often, you guys seem to have the same optics reviewing skills.

They are not in the same league as the Meoptas, Swaros, High end Zeiss, or High end leica..

Every pair I've played with has at least 20% of the view on the edges distorted, plus the glass view has a slightly green tint, and the CA control is not there either.

Art-

You do not have to explain to customers who have spent more than $1100 on average why they are getting head aches. If you are as close to the Vortex Company as you say then you honestly know the price point of manufacture that Vortex has. Vortex is the biggest brand in Optics. Zeiss, Nikon, Leica and Swaro are changing how they do business because of Vortex. Yes, the Razors are decent binos but they use SPIFFs to sales associates to honestly push optics sales. More than any other company. I ask you this, go into any larger store that sells Vortex and you will find a very eager salesperson trying to put Razors into your hands. They get a SPIFF of 75$ for every pair that they sell. They only get 15$ for Diamond backs. Most are only earning about 10$ per hour so they do have an incentive to sell Vortex.

You have said the the Vortex Razor HD is better optically than the Zeiss HD Conquests that are made in Germany. Try using the 30 m dollar test looking at the signature of the undersecretary of the treasury with each binocular. I know that different people have different likes in binoculars but the Zeiss produces a sharper image for $100 less at MSRP. The Meopta and the Leica Trinovid also articulate a better image for the same or less retail price.

Vortex manufactures much of their line in China to reduce production expenses. This includes their Razor HD Spotters. Maybe they feel that Chinese workers can assemble a alpha level product? Zeiss has tried this and it hasn't gone well. I personally believe that Vortex also counts on customers not using them hard enough to cause failure in the field. Failures happen with all brands of binoculars. We had two Swaro Spotters give up the ghost this past season.

I have also used binoculars hunting. I have not been a hunting guide. I have shot many Alaskan game animals in my 40+ years of living in remote areas of Alaska. You might not know who Tom Butler or Frank Billum or Nelson Greist or Pat Madros is but I have learned many things from them and I have hunted a variety of game. I feel blessed that I have had the opportunities that I have had. I was hunting sheep in what became hard park before Carter. I am not some petulant child seeking name brand recognition. I don't stake my reputation on my relatives performance. I use my equipment hard.

Vortex Razors are good binoculars. But they are not Alpha Binoculars. I do deal with irate customers who bring in Vortex Binoculars that are not in alignment. It happens more with the Diamond backs that we sell but it also happens with the Razors. Viper HD binoculars in my experience have a better track record than the Razors.

You can go your way. I will go mine. The bottom line is I have a very different view of Vortex Optics than you.

Congratulations, you made it all the way to azzhole. Tough choice here; listen to an internet bloviator with an agenda, believe all the formal reviews being done, or trust my own eyes....

Oh wait, two of the options match...

You and Ringman are the same..

I can think of no qualified optics reviewer (and I've read a lot of them) not on a stipend or prostaff that has ever said the razor bins or spotters are as good as the alpha glass. They all say close at best..


Hidden agenda? I'm all ears. I spend 40 - 50 days a year hunting, guiding, or scouting. I get to evaluate a lot of glass in all conditions between my clients, co workers, and taking lots of different glass on field trips. The internet is full of dipschitt prostaffers and pimple faced counter jockeys that get 75% off their asian glass. They have no field experience, or even hunting experience to back up their opinions.

https://youtu.be/mEB7WbTTlu4

I have absolutely no agenda except to try to provide folks with my views on binoculars. I don't understand the "options" part. I am sure all of the Vortex nation folks will jump in to tell us how the Razors perform better Swaro EL, Leica Noctivids, Nikon Edges, or Zeiss Victory SPs.