Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Why the big hardon for Vortex ?

I hate to keep white-knighting Vortex, but I have to assume you're only experience with them involves their Chinese/lower level scopes. Resale on the majority of the Philippines and Japanese manufactured scopes is very good...I know this because I have sold more than a few. As far as phasing out models, every manufacture does this....and prices go down. Its the very reason a Vari-X III is cheaper than a VX3, a Monarch UCC is cheaper than a Monarch 5 (even though I prefer the older UCC scopes), so on and so forth.

I have zero experience with their binoculars, but I would certainly be upset that the replacement was a Chinese product. As far as the Razor scopes, you are probably the only person I have ever read about who considered their quality subpar. Was it one of their HD hunting scopes or tactical model?

[quote=16bore

No boner, if you’re wondering. [/quote]


Thank you for clarifying, I couldn’t have slept tonight wondering about that.

On that note, Swarovski, Zeiss, and Nightforce all give me a boner, don’t even mention S&B or Kahles... Tangent Theda, forget about it!!!!

I updated the original post...it was a 1-4. The scope wasn't that bad...but for the money I could have done much better had i paid full retail. The binos were no dice...way over priced and they didn't hold up. I sold the replacements on eBay IIRC. I see enough of their stuff on the line though to know its not my jam.

Now you sound like a Know nothing guy working an optics counter trying to sell me something i'm not lookng for. You expressed yourself you don't have to sell me.

I can see where a 1-4x would be underwhelming, especially at Razor prices. In fact, I *personally* can't appreciate the benefits of the extra price on a low powered scope where its really difficult to see the benefits optically. 10+ power scopes? Absolutely.

There are also (or at least there used to be) spiff/free product programs from Burris, Nikon, Pentax and Swarovski. Swaro even did an African hunt as a prize one year.

Uncle Rico...
When are you going to stop pulling numbers out of your ass and trying to pass them off as meaningful? Let's say you were close to half-right (you are not close) that would mean over $30,000,000 in sales. What is Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, Docktor, Nikon, or any other company doing in annual builds outside China? Outside Asia? In the US?

Go ahead, make another guess. I am sure it will be closer than your last guess.

No, making the entire scopes on site in WI. Only the reticles come from outside the US...

Most people want the best binoculars that they can afford and a pair of Chinese made Diamondbacks 10X42 EDs with a free chest harness and glasspack bino case that has been checked by the qc staff in Wisconsin offers a pretty good solution. They would work for most people and are backed up by a super good warranty. However, there are better products. Zeiss presently has the best incentive program. However, Swaro and Leica also have good programs. Leupold and Nikon have programs that are harder to work with but they have good products. I can tell you that a lady named Doreen Fobes in Wisconsin makes the sales people happy wherever they be. There is a bigger problem that is confronting consumers and sales people. Online distribution centers offer higher quality products like Leica Noctavids or Zeiss Harpia Spotting scopes and they never get sent out to the hamlets. We only have a steady supply of vortex and we don't have the ELs, SFs or the HTs that consumers might buy if they had the opportunity to see them. So I don't have the STS 65 that I might be able to sell because we are prompted to bring the customer to the ordering kiosk and order from the online distribution center- the store gets credit but the salesman does not. So while Vortex floods the market with product companies like Zeiss are on the brink of tottering into bankruptcy. Heresy you say but think about how hard they are marketing and how they have streamlined their products, they are struggling. Watch for Sig. They are making better and better products. I can tell that eventually they have the lane to challenge vortex. Swaro has a different lane. I don't think that they worry about anybody.

This, plus marketing, sponsoring matches/prize tables, oh and a 50% Mil/Le discount cant hurt either.
Makes for a lot of fanboys.

I bought, used, and was very pleased with several Vortex scopes for years. I felt the original Viper scopes brought better value to the market at that time, than others costing up to 50% more.

I'm admittedly a "set & forget" scope user, and the scopes worked well for that. They'd actually "set" when I moved the knobs, and then they'd stay there as the years went by. That's 90% of what I ask of a scope, and there's one particularly popular scope brand that can seldom even do that much for me.

As of late, however, Vortex seems to be chasing a different user, one wanting more complex reticles, higher-end glass, and knobs, dials, turrets, etc. Apparently these users don't care if a scope is 24 oz, either. Any Vortex scopes that are trim, light, and uncomplicated, are either in their lowest level product lines, or simply not offered. Accordingly, I'm looking elsewhere these days.

I've not spent any appreciable time with their binocs, but I'd imagine they can spec & source a bionic that will do what 95%+ of hunters/birders want them to do, and at a competitive price. Then again, so can hundreds of other companies. It's astounding how much binocular $300 will buy these days. It's also astounding how much I'd have to spend to travel to areas where glassing with a $300 binocular really starts to fall behind the view from a $1,000 binocular, at least for my eyes.

Value is value. I wanna get the most performance for what I pay. Lots of companies are in that sweet spot. The next consideration is whether the company will be around to take care of the buyer. Vortex probably will. The original Chinese-Alpha bino makers? Not so much.

Apparently the US market is still seeking more choices in optics. Athlon, Maven, Brunton, Vanguard, yadda yadda yadda have entered lately. Bushnell, Burris, Tasco, etc. are still around. It'll be interesting to see who's still standing in another 5 to 10 years.

FC

LOL...


Either you don't know much about NightForce, or I don't know much about Nikon...

I'm not sure what the other mfgs warranty is these days, but the 'we dont care what happened, we'll fix or replace it" warranty from Vortex, is what got me to buy one.

That was several years ago. And, yes I fell and broke the scope, completely my fault. I called Vortex, explained what happened, and they said send it in. 5 days later I get an e-mail saying the scope cant be repaired and 5 days after the e-mail, a new scope arrives, during hunting season.

I only got the one Vortex scope, but I'm satisfied with it.

Well I know my ATACR 4-16x42 is 30oz and a Razor HD Gen II 3-18x50 weighs 46oz. I’ll admit for an extra $1000 you can get the AMG at about 29oz, but at that price range I’d be looking at a Tangent Theta. I’ll take a Nikon monarch over any of vortex “set and forget” models.

I don't own any Vortex optics,but why the hell does it matter?

Vortex' biggest fanboy arrives. Time to face reality SD, you're as clueless on this subject as most others.

I have a few Vortex products. They have been good or better for the price points that I purchased them at. Can't exactly compare a $200 scope or binos to a $2000 one and expect it to be better. Although the warranty on the $200 one is just as good if not better. I think for most people the products they sell are right in the wheelhouse of price and features. FWIW: I just picked up some nice used Razor HD 8x42's. Will see how they stack up - and that resale value thing worked well for me.

Two or three weeks ago, there was a flurry of information and praise for the Athlon Midas 10x42 binocular. It was/is a direct heads up competitor for the Vortex Diamond back in 10x42. I have a Diamondback, like it a lot, and have used it for a couple of years. But I figured that if the Athlon Midas is sharper and clearer, why not try one. So I did. Wasted money. The Athlon is decent. But it falls short of the Diamondback, not only to my eyes, but to those of my wife. She spends quite a bit of time with me on the range, watching bullet strikes from my Sharps, and says that the Vortex Diamondback is the better binocular, giving better clarity. I felt the same way as soon as I looked through them side by side. It's good that we have choices, but Vortex remains a top choice for the money in my book.

I hear a lot of breast beating by people who would appear to be optics snobs.

For the guy who fancies himself a long range spinner of turrets and whom can't live without bullet drop compensating reticles and world class glass I guess Vortex isn't cool enough. For the average Joe who just wants a pretty decent scope on his deer rifle Vortex is ok along with a slew of others, Asian made or not, that fall into the same price category. But, what would the optics forum on the Campfire be without a host of self-actualized optics experts? I'll go with a top-of-the-line Zeiss one day, if someone pony's up the jingle for me to buy it.