I sell both at a retail store. The older Vortex was probably made in Japan but it makes NO difference whether it's Chinese or Japanese. The glass is sourced from a Pacific Rim glass maker, (not Vortex). The Swaro glass is sourced from Schott. Both sources have excellent glass and less expensive glass. You can buy three thousand dollar Nikon EDG bino's that are excellent.
I personally would go with the Vortex. Their warrantee surpasses Swaro's. HD glass is just plainly better. We sell far more angled spotters than straights. The ratio is about 5 to 1.
Far easier to digiscope with the angled. a shorter tripod is steadier. Using from a car window mount, you can use the collar to rotate/turn the eyepiece towards your face. Same thing for looking down a canyon.
Good luck my friend
Funny you mention Nikon. I recently purchased two sets of the new Nikon Monarch "HG" ("High Grade") 10x 42 binoculars for me and my son. ED glass with field flattener lens system, 17mm eye relief (feels like more tho), ultra wide 462ft FOV at 1,000 yards, locking diopter, integtated objective covers, and only 24 oz. weight. They are made in house at the Nikon plant in Japan and have amazing glass for the money. In my opinion, they are hands down the best binocular you can buy in the $1K-$2K price range.
I used to think the Meopta Meostar HD binos were the best in the mid price range, and they were for a long time, but when Nikon introduced the HG in 2017 they stole the mid price crown from Meopta. I compared the Nikon HG to Leica Trinovid HD, Zeiss Conquest HD, Vortex Razor, Meopta Meostar HD, and many top tier binos. I dont think you can beat the Nikon HG glass until you step up to Swarovski SV or the new Leica Noctivid. Even then I was struggling to find any differences. But then you throw in the new Nikon No-Fault lifetime warranty and it puts the new HG binos over the top.
Supposedly the New Nikon Monarch spotting scope (Also introduced in 2017, price: $1600) is getting the same type of reviews. Reviews are saying the glass can't be beat until you step up to top tier Swarovski HD or Meopta Meostar S2 HD spotters and the like. But I haven't looked through the new Monarch spotter yet.
These Japanese boys ain't messin' around anymore. The European Big 3 better watch out because some of the Japanese manufacturers are right on their heels these days. And they are producing excellent glass at a fraction of the cost.
