Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Swarovski warranty

Good advice , thanks Beav

In case you missed it earlier...

Thank you 4th point,
I did visit his website....
And that is a possibility

Good luck, whichever way you go.

If you do speak to him, it might be worth asking about general construction of different brands for your next purchase.

When I was working for a commercial contractor, we had a fair amount of power handtools repaired. Very enlightening to talk to the dudes that see and repair everything. My friends and co-workers were usually diehard Makita or Dewalt fans. Hilti for certain things. Repairman dispelled a lot of myths and claims by brand loyalists. Maybe Cory can shed similar light onto the bino world?

Jason

It doesn't work on adults throwing temper tantrums.........

The odds are good you bought a pair of binos with both prisms already cracked. The view was probably degraded a bit and the binos being new to you it was hard to tell. I don't know if you knew the seller, or if the seller knew something was wrong or unwittingly sold them to you with the prisms cracked. I also don't know if the binos sat in a controlled environment for while before being sold or if the seller unloaded them as soon as he figured out something was wrong.

But with use, and exposure to temperature differentials the cracks in the prisms--or cracks in one of them--almost certainly propagated to what you have now. I don't know what you originally paid for the binos, but $260 for what will be a still an upgraded 30mm SLC will net you far more bino than most 30-32mm binos under $1000. Pay the $150 for new lens and coatings and it will make the bino even better.

You are getting a very good deal from Swaro for binos you bought used and were most likely already damaged--and Swaro is even willing to work with you. Kudos to Swaro.

Also, it's a really bad idea to go to a second party repair shop.

I hope you make the right decision.

So true.
Just because one manufacturer makes the best particular tool, doesn't mean all their tools are the best--Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, Hilti, Pansasonic, Porter Cable, Hitachi, etc, all have good tools and junk tools.

Just because one model line of optics have a very good specific model, doesn't mean all the other magnifications in that model line are the best. The 8x32 Ultravids are the best 8x32's to my eyes, but the 10x32 EL's are better than any other 10x32 I've looked through.

Aside from a manufacturing defect, how would prisms crack and the exterior of the bino show no sign of damage?

These are supposedly the very best binos, designed for serious hunting and outdoor use,

For the price charged they should be able to stand carried any fits bed in the field and extremes of temperature. If they can’t handle some time in the field and done cold or hot weather, then regardless of optical quality they are unfit for use as a hunting optic.

I've sent two different sets to Swarovski over the years. First was a pair of 10x40 SLC's that needed a little refreshing (2nd owner), was free of charge. 2nd pair was a pair of 8x30 SLC's that looked liked they'd been to hell and back that I picked up off of ebay for 250.00, figuring it would cost me a few hundred for repairs. Basically sent back a new set, free of charge (that was about 5-6 years ago).

There is a lot of stuff that can be dropped and broken without signs of damage--I have a Makita hammer drill that did just that.



If lens or prisms, or a myriad of other parts are already damaged--like a windshield--cracks can and most likely will propagate. That's simple common sense and experience.
,

Without a valid warranty it seriously lowers the value of something like a binocular, scope etc..... Swaro was suppose to be high value and quality....It seems they have decided to become a disposable junk company....

With the no external damage present policy they have adopted they no longer have to honor any warranty claim.... they can simply argue, you abused the product....

This is what people have/had come to expect from Swarovski.

Guessing it’s also part of the reason they have had to walk back the warranty.

Maybe so, but that policy is what made them a giant in the optics industry. And Leupold and more recently Vortex....

Swarovski warranty has never covered damage from accident. Cracked prisms don't crack from use--they crack from impact.

Again at Swaro's discretion any warranty can be deemed invalid.... prove them wrong!

True of any warranty by any company. But cracked prisms are a very good indication of an impact--which is not covered under Swaro's warranty or most other manufacturers warranty.

Agreed.

Tough time to be in the optics industry, great time to be an optics consumer.

Which is why I’m only going with optics that carry a No Fault warranty. I can’t see paying the top end prices for glass I feel the need to treat with kid gloves lest something go wrong and find myself needing to shell out substantial money.

Vortex would cover it with zero questions asked. You could drop a pair of Razors off a mountainside and they’d be covered. Your truck could catch fire with your binos inside and they’d cover them. Go watch their Instagram feed. They are constantly showing examples of glass that was damaged or virtually destroyed that they cover. And they’re happy to tell everyone they’ll cover virtually anything.

Doug,
Educated me a smidge with his explanation that tier 1 manufacturers of alpha glass typically don’t provide 100% repair or replacement of a product outside their specified no-fault warranty time frame.

Doug’s explanation made sense based on the higher expense to manufacture an alpha product...

With this information, it may lend to looking for a product and manufacturer who’s products are made to withstand above normal use or as some would call, abuse that an optic may be subjected to. Thinking Nightforce, here.

Fragility isn’t anything I’m interested in after reading this thread. Unfortunately, I likely have a stable full of fragile optics owning Leica, Zeiss and Kowa for glassware.

Question to GregW:
What’s your feelings on build strength of the MeoStar bins? Glass I know is excellent. I’m asking for your impressions on ruggedness of the internals and housing protection.

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