Ultralight scope?

[Rich Coyle]

I wear glasses. They are ultralight ultra thin plastic. The surface is tougher than glass so it does not scratch.

Why can't scopes benefit from this technology? A two pound scope could weigh 20 ounces.

How would carbon fiber work for the tube?

 

[waveslayer]

Parallax

 

[Rich Coyle]

What?

 

[Ckleeves]

I don't think the plastic lenses have the glass quality that's needed when you start adding 20x magnification. I know CA can be a issue with poly lenses even in glasses so add magnification in a scope and it probably gets pretty bad.

Im not sure the weight savings would really be all that much. A search shows a difference of 4 grams per lens, (in glasses) let's say 10-12 lenses in a scope for example that's only a savings of 1.5 oz total. I'm not sure how accurate those weights are vs rifle scope lenses but just a baseline to consider.

As far as carbon fiber tubes I think it's too expensive, brittle and once again I'm not sure of the weight savings vs aluminum. Some company tried it a few years ago. It either didn't work or didn't catch on.

 

[Ckleeves]

Kruger optical is the company I finally found it. They made a 3-18x50 sfp that weighed 26.5 oz with a CF tube. A vx6 3-18x50 weights 20.4 so it's really hard to speculate what the CF tube weights since there are lots of 3-18's that are also heavier then 26.5.

I'm sure the manufactures have looked into every option possible to try and best each other and come out with something revolutionary and it must not be feasible from a cost or design standpoint right now.

 

[Rich Coyle]

Kruger optical is the company I finally found it. They made a 3-18x50 sfp that weighed 26.5 oz with a CF tube. A vx6 3-18x50 weights 20.4 so it's really hard to speculate what the CF tube weights since there are lots of 3-18's that are also heavier then 26.5.

I'm sure the manufactures have looked into every option possible to try and best each other and come out with something revolutionary and it must not be feasible from a cost or design standpoint right now.

Some one already tried it. Of course.

And here I thought I was onto something new. When I was younger and smarter I figured if I thought of something it was already on the market. All I had to do was find it.

 

[WildRose]

I wear glasses. They are ultralight ultra thin plastic. The surface is tougher than glass so it does not scratch.

Why can't scopes benefit from this technology? A two pound scope could weigh 20 ounces.

How would carbon fiber work for the tube?

Scopes have to stay mounted to heavy recoiling rifles.

Get the tubes to thin and they warp out of speck very quickly which will affect your parallax adjustment.

Also, if you drop your eye glasses they probably won't be attacked to a 7-12lbs rifle bouncing off the rocks so they don't need to be as well armored to survive.

 

[WildRose]

How would carbon fiber work for the tube?

I know of a few manufacturers who have tried CF with some limited success. The biggest issue is the incredible cost of CF compared to Aluminum or Steel.

I also have concerns about the epoxies used not standing the test of time like aluminum and steel.

CF is an amazing product but we really haven't had it all that long being used extensively in all manufacturing areas so long term stability really isn't yet known.

 

[Troutslayer2]

i don't understand why titanium hasn't made it's way into ultralight scopes. Seems like it would work.

 

[Recon$$]

Cost and I'm sure other factors.

 

[sobrbiker]

I'd hate to see a CF tube after the couple of the spills my US Optics scopes have endured.

I'd do better on the mountain with a pound off of my waistline than a pound off my scope….

 

[WildRose]

i don't understand why titanium hasn't made it's way into ultralight scopes. Seems like it would work.

Probably because it is extremely expensive and difficult to machine and while very heat resistant is not as strong as you would think.,

 

[CrankyYankee]

Eurooptic has had a Titanium S&B scope in their Demo section on sale for a while.

 

[JBrotzler]

How do they manufacture the body of scopes?