Hicks
Well-Known Member
I really know nothing about this company; their site is a bit vague but they seem to have some higher end products. What do you all think of their stuff? Where is it manufactured?
Opinoin of Vortex Optics
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Rick Richard
Well-Known Member
I got bit by their product once...never again.
Hand Skills
Well-Known Member
Vortex has manufacturers all over the place, it really depends on the product.
QC is pretty spotty on the lower end stuff (if it exists at all?) but the Razor lines are well done.
I was reluctant to get my feet wet, but I felt the warranty made it very low risk. Good warranty and customer support help the products hold their value.
I tried a rangefinder at first and wasn't very impressed with it. The Ranger 1000 I had struggled ranging objects beyond ~400yd and was of no optical benefit to the naked eye (even though it offered 7x zoom). I did a couple of fencing projects and cursed it through one hunting season. Sold it for a small loss and got a Leica 1600 which is leagues ahead, ranging objects past 1000yd and so good optically that when it's in my pocket I have no need for compact binoculars.
Found a good deal on a Razor LH 3-15x42 and quite like the scope - lightweight, good optics and mechanics. Passes the tall target both dialing and holding over. Holds zero from +40 to -40C. The turrets match the reticle. Colour rendering is not the best and it chromatic aberration is pretty severe when not dead centre in the eyebox. Resolution is very good though.
Thought about a 6-24x50 AMG (American Manufactured), but currently saving for a March 3-24x52.
QC is pretty spotty on the lower end stuff (if it exists at all?) but the Razor lines are well done.
I was reluctant to get my feet wet, but I felt the warranty made it very low risk. Good warranty and customer support help the products hold their value.
I tried a rangefinder at first and wasn't very impressed with it. The Ranger 1000 I had struggled ranging objects beyond ~400yd and was of no optical benefit to the naked eye (even though it offered 7x zoom). I did a couple of fencing projects and cursed it through one hunting season. Sold it for a small loss and got a Leica 1600 which is leagues ahead, ranging objects past 1000yd and so good optically that when it's in my pocket I have no need for compact binoculars.
Found a good deal on a Razor LH 3-15x42 and quite like the scope - lightweight, good optics and mechanics. Passes the tall target both dialing and holding over. Holds zero from +40 to -40C. The turrets match the reticle. Colour rendering is not the best and it chromatic aberration is pretty severe when not dead centre in the eyebox. Resolution is very good though.
Thought about a 6-24x50 AMG (American Manufactured), but currently saving for a March 3-24x52.
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WeiserBucks
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- Aug 16, 2016
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- 2,783
They have a great warranty, and you'll need it .
Elkeater
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- Dec 3, 2017
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Great warranty. Had a viper pst fail on an elk hunt. I've got a pair of viper 15x50 binos and a diamondback 20-60x80 spotter that I really like. I have 1-6x24 strike eagle on my AR-15. It hasn't had any issues despite some pretty good abuse. For the same price range as the vortex viper pst series I switched over to a Zeiss conquest V4 on my .300win mag.
D
Deleted member 103481
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I've had a few and they were decent scopes. Warranty is good, customer service is extremely good. Glass until the razor line is average. I found their low light lacking on my viper scope but quite good on viper binos. Razor glass is good and has good reliability feedback, as one would expect being made in USA(AMG) and made in Japan by LOW (other razors).
Vipers are phillipines, less than that is China.
Some of the early razor binos were made in Japan before moving them to China.
If you're looking for a placeholder scope in wait for a more expensive optic the warranty makes them a great choice as they hold value really well.
Vipers are phillipines, less than that is China.
Some of the early razor binos were made in Japan before moving them to China.
If you're looking for a placeholder scope in wait for a more expensive optic the warranty makes them a great choice as they hold value really well.
I've had a lot of the lower end models over the years....Literally every single one had to be sent back for some sort of issue....2 pst gen 1's (1 got fogged up inside after a long rainy hunt) the other got sent back for tracking issues.
1 HST had debris in the reticle right out of the box
HSLR got returned for a elevation turret being spun loose on a -5 below zero coyote hunt.
Crossfire ii sent back for the insides rattling around like gravel In a beer can after a box of shells through my '06.
Diamondback bino's sent back for double vision.
I'm down to my last and final vortex product. A gen 2 razor 4.5-27. No issues at all with this one, I really like it-however I don't have any faith in it like I do my NF scopes!
I believe the best warranty is the one you never have to use!
1 HST had debris in the reticle right out of the box
HSLR got returned for a elevation turret being spun loose on a -5 below zero coyote hunt.
Crossfire ii sent back for the insides rattling around like gravel In a beer can after a box of shells through my '06.
Diamondback bino's sent back for double vision.
I'm down to my last and final vortex product. A gen 2 razor 4.5-27. No issues at all with this one, I really like it-however I don't have any faith in it like I do my NF scopes!
I believe the best warranty is the one you never have to use!
WyoHunter1
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- Mar 21, 2015
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- 221
They are dependable with decent glass depending what line you buy. I would not consider anything less than a Viper. For the money they are good quality. Great warranty. Nice thing is you can find them on sale.
So depending how much you have to spend, will determine whether you can have a $600 Viper or a Leupold VX5HD or a Zeiss or ???.
For the money they are a good value but not the best you can buy which can be 5X more.
You can always buy one now and upgrade later.
So depending how much you have to spend, will determine whether you can have a $600 Viper or a Leupold VX5HD or a Zeiss or ???.
For the money they are a good value but not the best you can buy which can be 5X more.
You can always buy one now and upgrade later.
Every Vortex I've owned scopes and binos all have had issues. All sent back and sold. Except a razor hd lh worked great for the first couple years but now the side focus won't work going back to vortex and then down the road. Done with them. Zeiss conquest V4 and nightforce shv have replaced those viper pst's that failed
Ross1147
Well-Known Member
I have an HST and it was the first 30mm tube scope I bought. I mounted it on a TC prohunter in 308 back in 2016. I used it for one hunt and it went into the safe and haven't shot it since. I shot a doe right before dusk and decided to walk out to get my utv before going to get the doe. When I was walking out I had a buck walk out at about 70 yds. I threw the gun up and the scope was dark as midnight. Put the gun down, could clearly see the buck, shouldered the gun again and same thing, useless. The light gathering capabilities of the scope suck. I could have easily killed the buck with any of my other scopes. They offer a pretty good military discount and it's been hard not to buy one of their Razor scopes, but I'm a little worried so I steer clear.
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
At any of their price points, there are better scopes for the money. I've known a lot of people that have owned them (myself included), and just about as many that have sent them back.
Same here. Got rid of my last AMG few months back and only thing I got left is one gen 2 rzr 4.5-27 and it has been great, guess I got a good one. Never will mess with them again there are simply to many other options for that kinda coin.
FIGJAM
Well-Known Member
I have had several of them, mostly vipers, psts, hst, diamondback hps etc and never had an issue. Their customer service is top notch. I have sent stuff back that was damaged due to my own stupidy or just dumb luck (horse rolling down a hill with my gun strapped to it) and they replace it no questions asked. You really can't go wrong - i have seen lots of scopes fail in the field, even a nightforce...crap happens. Every single one of mine has been machanically sound and tracks perfectish (they aren't tangent theta, but neither is S&B or nightforce).
