Spotting scope question, need unbiased opinion

[LeddSlinger]

Back in 2000 I had a Lica spotting scope that was brighter then the new Swarovski I have now.(Swarovski has a better resale value) but gets dark when I crank it up to 60 Power compared to my old Lica. I would take the Zeiss Victory Bino over the Swarovski EL if Zeiss had them in 12x50. I was going to get the SLC in 15x56 but the EL 12x50 are a better rounded all purpose tool.(I think the best at that power). At 10 Power Zeiss Victory has like 95% light transmission and probably better then the Swarovski EL. If I could only get one top tier piece of glass between the Swarovski spotting or the EL 12x50 Bino- it would be the 12x50 Bino because it is lighter to pack and use.
In a couple weeks God willing I'll have the EL 12x50 to go with my Swarovski spotter.

Yeah I looked through the 12x50 EL SV's recently. What a view! I liked them a lot better than the 10x42. My only issue was weight and size. Beautiful binos, but just a little too big for packing in the high country. I like to stay as light as possible.

 

[SidecarFlip]

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

I'll disagree in part. One, Swarovski casts their own glass, Schott may grind and polish it but it's Swarovski glass and always has been.

Older Vortex's are made in the Phillipenes and state that on the body, I know, I had one of the early spotters, one of the ones that had eyepiece issues.

I believe that high end Vortex scopes, bino's and spotters use LOE glass but I could be mistaken.

I do know that Leupold uses whatever they can buy so glass in a Leupy is always a crapshoot. Might be assembled in America but the glass is, well, from whereever.

All one has to do to see the quality in any Swarovski optic is look in the objective lens end and observer the fantastic craftsmanship and attention to detail. Looking inside (as much as you can) you will understand quickly just what quality is.

Far as guarantee, I had an issue with a Vortex PST and returned it, Vortex just replaced the scope with a new one. When I send my Swarovski optics to Cranston, Rhode Island, I get the same optic back, cleaned, aligned and good to go and they pay the freight, both ways. I'm here to tell you that is a lifetime guarantee. I had an issue with my adjustable eyepiece on my 10-40's and they sent me a new one, again, no charge, no questions asked. Nice folks to deal with too.

I don't digiscope myself. I have an electronic telephoto camera I use for pictures, when I take them which, is rarely.

I also know that I can sell my Swarovski optics for almost what I paid for them if not more. Vortex, on the other hand don't hold that resale value.

The only downside to Sawro optics is the price. That and the fact that my wife decided that if I had Swaro optics, she would start collecting Swarovski crystal and it ain't cheap either.

I have optics from just about everyone from Burris to Vortex to Leupold to Night Force and in my 'eyes' view, Swaro is always better.

Your mileage may vary but I know what my mileage is.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Does anyone know where I can get a few llamas to pack my Swarovski spotting scope around?

You want a real tank spotter, try a Celestron Regal 120mm objective. It's a wicked spotter with an industry standard 1.25" 50X eyepiece and I can see clearly at 1.5 miles (barring thermal abberations) but it's heavy. I do so like it though. There is a barn 1.5 miles across the field and I can see a knot hole in the siding, no issue.

Too bad you need a lackey to carry it. Even on a CF tripod, it weighs over 10 pounds.

I use it on my private range to look at targets at 250 yards all the time. Price is right too. Less than 750 bucks with a tripod.

 

[LeddSlinger]

Well I have to eat my words on anything I said about the hearsay on good Swarovski customer service.

I just called Swarovski about fixing a sticky locking/release button on my ATX eyepiece and they said it would be 6-8 week turn around. Only way to get it done faster is to pay an extra $50 for expedited repair then it "MAY" get done in 2 weeks. Of course they wont waive that charge for me either even tho i just bought the **** thing this year. Won't authorize a swap or give me loaner either. The eyepiece works, but it's not right. Sucks I can't get it fixed in a timely manner when I'm in the middle of hunting season. I have over $6K invested in the whole setup with different objective modules, SOCs, and 1.7x magnification extender.

Also said I have to pay for shipping to them. Total ******** customer service and turnaround time. I won't be buying any more Swarovski products.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Must have revised their policies from last year than because my experience was just the opposite of yours. Could be though. Corporate philosophy is changing and not for the better either.

 

[LeddSlinger]

Yeah the ATX kit is the first Swarovski product I've owned. Their CS is nothing like what I've heard from long time Swaro owners. I bought it through my buddy who is a Swaro dealer and has used Swaro glass his whole life. He couldn't believe what I was telling him and outraged about the situation. He's gonna call them and raise hell if possible. So something has definitely changed in their CS philosophy. I always heard such great things about them in the past. Not like that anymore I guess.

They have no issues taking care of my eyepiece, just hate that it will take them nearly 2 months to get around to it. Really ****es me off that its obvious they can do it faster if I'm willing to pay an extra $50 on top of my own shipping and insurance costs.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

Must have revised their policies from last year than because my experience was just the opposite of yours. Could be though. Corporate philosophy is changing and not for the better either.

I sent in a Kahles through swaro service in the spring of this year. I had a great experience. they paid shipping and insurance back to me, and updated me through the whole process. No complaints at all.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

Yeah the ATX kit is the first Swarovski product I've owned. Their CS is nothing like what I've heard from long time Swaro owners. I bought it through my buddy who is a Swaro dealer and has used Swaro glass his whole life. He couldn't believe what I was telling him and outraged about the situation. He's gonna call them and raise hell if possible. So something has definitely changed in their CS philosophy. I always heard such great things about them in the past. Not like that anymore I guess.

They have no issues taking care of my eyepiece, just hate that it will take them nearly 2 months to get around to it. Really ****es me off that its obvious they can do it faster if I'm willing to pay an extra $50 on top of my own shipping and insurance costs.

It's always best to buy your gear earlier in the year if possible. then, if you have a problem you can get it taken care of long before hunting season begins. Always eliminate potential stress.

And honestly, if your "buddy" was the one who sold you a bad unit, why didn't he make it right? Is he selling used merchandise? Maybe he sold you some kind of demo that somebody had dropped or misused. Even if it was brand new out of the package, why wasn't he the one right from the start that took care of you the customer and either replaced the unit or at very least took care of the return and made sure there was no miscommunication with Swaro?

It is unreasonable to think that Swaro is going to mail you a "loaner" for a couple of weeks. Who would ever do that? What if they did and the "loanee" breaks it, misuses it, or tries to keep it after their repair comes back. If anybody is going to give you a loaner, it's your "buddy" at the shop you bought it from, who knows you and who sold you the damaged unit to begin with.

 

[LeddSlinger]

It's always best to buy your gear earlier in the year if possible. then, if you have a problem you can get it taken care of long before hunting season begins. Always eliminate potential stress.

And honestly, if your "buddy" was the one who sold you a bad unit, why didn't he make it right? Is he selling used merchandise? Maybe he sold you some kind of demo that somebody had dropped or misused. Even if it was brand new out of the package, why wasn't he the one right from the start that took care of you the customer and either replaced the unit or at very least took care of the return and made sure there was no miscommunication with Swaro?

It is unreasonable to think that Swaro is going to mail you a "loaner" for a couple of weeks. Who would ever do that? What if they did and the "loanee" breaks it, misuses it, or tries to keep it after their repair comes back. If anybody is going to give you a loaner, it's your "buddy" at the shop you bought it from, who knows you and who sold you the damaged unit to begin with.

First of all, you have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Do you honestly think I would have accepted the eyepiece if it didn't work properly to start with??? Do you think my friend would have knowingly sold me a used or faulty piece of gear??? So you can shut up right now about my buddy. You dont have a clue who he is. He's a great guy. He offered to give me his personal ATX eyepiece when I told him about the problem but I refused his offer because it's not his fault my eyepiece is having issues. I'm not the kind of a**hole friend that makes other people have to share in my misfortune. I would never put a friend out like that and he would never do that to me either. I guess maybe you treat your friends differently...

I bought the scope first of the year and problem just started recently. Worked perfect up til about a month ago. But it sure would be nice to plan repairs ahead of time. Maybe you can teach me how to predict the future with failures in my equipment so I'm never in a bind during hunting season again? That would be great...

And Swarovski customer service rep told me they can give out loaner optics for equipment that gets serviced in Austria. But since the ATX is serviced in the states, they don't do that. Which is also total BS. So again, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Sorry if I'm being blunt with you, but I'm obviously a little upset with Swarovski customer service and your comments that suggest I'm some sort of dumba** aren't helping anything.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

First of all, you have no idea what the hell you are talking about. Do you honestly think I would have accepted the eyepiece if it didn't work properly to start with??? Do you think my friend would have knowingly sold me a used or faulty piece of gear??? So you can shut up right now about my buddy. You dont have a clue who he is. He's a great guy. He offered to give me his personal ATX eyepiece when I told him about the problem but I refused his offer because it's not his fault my eyepiece is having issues. I'm not the kind of a**hole friend that makes other people have to share in my misfortune. I would never put a friend out like that and he would never do that to me either. I guess maybe you treat your friends differently...

I bought the scope first of the year and problem just started recently. Worked perfect up til about a month ago. But it sure would be nice to plan repairs ahead of time. Maybe you can teach me how to predict the future with failures in my equipment so I'm never in a bind during hunting season again? That would be great...

And Swarovski customer service rep told me they can give out loaner optics for equipment that gets serviced in Austria. But since the ATX is serviced in the states, they don't do that. Which is also total BS. So again, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Sorry if I'm being blunt with you, but I'm obviously a little upset with Swarovski customer service and your comments that suggest I'm some sort of dumba** aren't helping anything.

you sound like an off kilter hothead.
not surprised that you'd have problems with a stand-up company like Swarovski.

 

[LeddSlinger]

you sound like an off kilter hothead.
not surprised that you'd have problems with a stand-up company like Swarovski.

If what you had to say made any sense or had any useful information, I would have been more than happy to listen. Every bit of what you had to say was pure garbage. You were just taking a stab at me and my friend with only complete speculation and lack of any knowledge on the subject or people I am referring to. Done talking to you. Don't bother replying to me again because I'm placing you on my ignore list.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Gave my Swaro 5-25x52 to my smith to put on a newly re-barreled rifle. After mounting in a new set of Tallys the parallax adjustment bound up. Unable to remedy the situation, my smith returned the scope to Swarovski for review.
Swarovski replace the outer tube and charged me $250.

When I sent an email to Swarovski asking them to explain the rational behind the cost, they just failed to answer.

Guess how I feel about Swarovski's customer service and warrantee policy.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

If what you had to say made any sense or had any useful information, I would have been more than happy to listen. Every bit of what you had to say was pure garbage. You were just taking a stab at me and my friend with only complete speculation and lack of any knowledge on the subject or people I am referring to. Done talking to you. Don't bother replying to me again because I'm placing you on my ignore list.

yeah, you are perfectly stable. If that's how you talk to people on the phone, it's a wonder Swaro didnt hang up on you. I give them credit for being patient and honoring their warranty, even when talking to screeching knuckleheads.

 

[Alaska_Guy]

Guys, this has gotten way off topic.... Mods can we please close this thread. Nothing good is coming out of it anymore.