Athlon Ares 65mm Full Review

[idahohikker]

Update:

I used my Ares about six days this year while hunting. It performed flawlessly. Clear glass that’s plenty for my needs.

I spotted elk at 3.5 miles away per google maps. I spotted bedded animals a couple miles away.

I could tell they were cows and could proceed with a stalk. I judged antlered critters at around 2 miles away.

The thing was a game spotting machine. My buddies who used it thought it was great. One said he wants to buy one. The other one just wants to use mine and go with me. He’d never used a spotting scope before, only binos, and he remarked that in the open country where we were we wouldn’t have spotted hardly anything without the spotter.

 

[Blacktail_Packer]

Thanks for the review and continued updates.

 

[crs_100]

I bought the ares based upon the reviews here and was not disappointed. Got to look through it side by side next to a Razor and while the razor was slightly sharper, the ares seemed brighter. In my opinion, this little Ares is a great scope and doesn’t break the bank. Thanks for the review.


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[TravisIN]

I just bought one based off this review. Anxious to get it.


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[cornfedkiller]

Used mine mule deer hunting in Montana a couple weeks ago and I was thoroughly impressed. I took some video with my cell phone of some bucks around 1000 yards away..I think I'll probably have to upload it to youtube and link it here.

The size of the thing is awesome too!

 

[Mike Islander]

Used mine on a WY antelope hunt. Easy to pick out nice bucks from thousands of yards away. Nice compact scope that checks all the boxes for my hunting.

 

[cornfedkiller]

This was at about 1000 yards. Be sure to change the video to HD if you can. The quality of the video is limited more by my almost 4 year old phone than the scope.

 

[lif]

I recently picked up an Athlon Ares 15-45x65mm angled spotting scope to put through the paces and see if I wanted to buy it. I planned to return the spotting scope and keep my current Vortex Viper 65mm spotting scope if I didn't like the Athlon better. The long and the short of it is that I'd choose the Athlon Ares by a wide margin. The Vortex Viper is a fine-to-good mid-range spotting scope to my eyes. The Athlon Ares is everything I want though: light, compact, great glass. My review took place in the Idaho hills near my house in bright sunlight and, most of all, low light conditions.

Size:
I’m a backpack hunter so size and weight is important to me. I’m not a guy who leaves the spotter in the truck but that doesn’t mean I’m not feeling the weight on mile 12 either. The Athlon Ares dimensions are 3.5"x9.5". I immediately thought this doesn't look like the size of a 65mm spotter--it looks like a 50mm spotter. The dimensions for popular 50mm scopes are 9-11 inches long. So, yes, the Athlon Ares spotting scope is the length of a compact spotting scope, an amazing feature for packability.

Dimensions for competitors of 65mm size I found were closer to 15 inches. I kept comparing the Athlon Ares and Vortex Viper and as you'll see in the picture it's pretty mind-blowing how much smaller the Athlon Ares is.

Weight:
The weight for the 65mm Athlon Ares is 43 ounces. That puts it near the top the class for 65mm spotting scopes and is approaching compact spotters. 30 ounces is celebrated by the 50mm spotting scope companies as being really light. That means there's less than a pound of weight difference between the Athlon Ares 65mm and the compact spotters. Even for an ounce-counting ultralight backpack hunter that is not much of a weight penalty for the benefits of a larger lens.

Pick up the Vortex Viper and there is an immediately noticeable difference in weight difference. Many 65mm spotting scopes are in the 60-65 ounce range. After reviewing the weight and size, my feeling was that the Vortex Viper would have to be a noticeable notch above the Ares in optical quality to justify its place in my hunting backpack.

Build quality:
Unlike some companies, I don’t have any expectation to use the warranty based on the build quality of the spotting scope. Without getting into the technical and scientific features of the build, which I’ll leave for another day, Athlon is built with sturdy aluminum frame with a hard plastic exterior. It doesn't feel cheap which is what I'm normally looking at. The Athlon eye piece particularly interesting in how large and robust it is.

The Vortex Viper, by contrast, has an eye piece that's smaller and likely less able to withstand impact. The Vortex Viper also had some play in the eye piece which didn't affect performance but was concerning. There are no such issues with the Athlon Ares. The Vortex Viper has served me without issue for years so proof has been in the pudding. I would expect it to be very likely that the Athlon Ares would be the same or better.

Optical quality:
Welcome to the main event: the optics challenge. The Athlon Ares met all my expectations in this area; in edge-to-edge clarity, I found the Ares to be very good. It had the pop through the lens that quality optics deliver and reminded me of some of the better glass I've looked through. It quickly crossed my mind that I can see why it gets some comparisons to the Vortex Razor spotting scope and others which are hundreds of dollars more expensive. The middle of the scope is very sharp and just at the very outer edges can you notice a hint of loss of clarity.

In comparing the Vortex Viper side-by-side with the Ares, I found them to be close in clarity and sharpness. Ultimately, the more I looked through the Ares the more I felt it had a more comfortable and natural view. I do feel the clarity is a slight notch above. When comparing the huge size difference between the spotting scopes, it was amazing to me that the view in the Athlon doesn't lose anything to scopes that are so much larger. Looking at the two side-by-side I subconsciously expected the larger scope to have a more powerful view.

With entry level scopes, a frequent issue is that the higher magnifications are not very useable because as you go to the upper magnification range the view becomes too dark and blurry. The Athlon Ares does not have this issue. Zoom on up to 45x magnification and you barely notice a smidge of clarity loss and the scope is naturally a little darker. I happily scoped out the country side from max magnification and wasn't feeling like I was looking through anything blurry or dark. Zooming back and forth between the lowest and highest magnifications you sometimes forget completely you're at 45x because the difference is so minimal. I found the Vortex Viper to be relatively similar in this aspect but not quite the same level again.

While there is of course a scope out there with better optics that costs more than two thousand dollars, the ability to better spot animals due to clarity is minimal at best. In my testing I found an eagle at approximately two miles away. The view was clear as day and I easily identified it as a bald eagle. Yes, that bull three miles away is definitely a shooter six point with either scope. The Athlon is very clear glass that will help you spot and judge animals.

Color fidelity:
I don’t consider myself an expert in determining color distortions in glass. In looking as closely as possible, I feel the color tone is very neutral and I did not notice any real color distortion while viewing objects with vibrant colors side-by-size between the spotting scope and the naked eye, including the sky, signs, structures, and construction signs.

Field of view:
The Athlon Ares has a field of view of 171 to 81 feet depending on the magnification. This beats the Vortex Razer by a wide margin. In the field I could notice a bit of extra field of view between the Athlon Ares and Vortex Viper side-by-side. I believe there is better field of view on scopes well out of the Athlon Ares’ price range but the Athlon Ares is pretty strong in this category.

Light gathering:
Crucial for glassing during those early and late animal movement areas, I found the light gathering to be quite strong for the Athlon Ares. The Vortex Viper performed similarly. I was able to glass without noticing significant loss of clarity of light gathering through right around 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. As I kept glassing I would start to get the effects of darkness but would be able to pick out much of the detail on distant hillsides as it became dark enough that I could see little with the naked eye around me and all cars had their headlights on. I really can’t imagine that a top end spotter would provide much additional benefit here.

Functionality:
I found the Athlon Ares to be well designed and more functional than the Vortex Viper. One item that stuck out was that the focus nob was easier to reach and easier to use. The magnification numbers were more easily visible. The caps on the lens went on and off quicker and stayed better. I was pretty impressed by how the Ares was designed as everything felt intentional.

Warranty:
Athlon has a no-fault lifetime warranty on their optics. It's nice peace of mind to have when traversing snow-covered steep slopes.

I am quite impressed after putting the Athlon Ares through field tests and close inspection. The view is clear. The scope is off the charts on packability and weight for a 65mm spotting scope. The Athlon Ares is a great choice for a mid-range spotting scope and it strikes well above its price category. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Great review and very much appreciated that you took time to post it. I’m trying to find a spotter with this exact performance, size, quality, and price point. Did you ever compare them to the razors? I know the price points are different but I would consider used razors if they are an upgrade. Thanks again.

 

[idahohikker]

Great review and very much appreciated that you took time to post it. I’m trying to find a spotter with this exact performance, size, quality, and price point. Did you ever compare them to the razors? I know the price points are different but I would consider used razors if they are an upgrade. Thanks again.

Nope on the Razor comp. There are a few reviews on the web that compare the two. Glass always ends up comparable. The Athlon size and build quality will be better.

 

[lif]

Nope on the Razor comp. There are a few reviews on the web that compare the two. Glass always ends up comparable. The Athlon size and build quality will be better.

Thanks again. Good info for serious hunters on a budget.

 

[idahohikker]

At some point it’s just like why not buy the Athlon which is a great mid range option and just move along with your life and hunting. It’s plenty good. If you aren’t compelled to have the latest and greatest, you can step back and realize that the Athlon will cover your glassing needs in 99.9% of cases. You’ll spot your bedded animals a couple miles away and standing elk at 3-5 miles away and you won’t be at any kind of real disadvantage.

 

[crs_100]

Nope on the Razor comp. There are a few reviews on the web that compare the two. Glass always ends up comparable. The Athlon size and build quality will be better.

I could only find one direct video comparison between the Razor and Ares- on YouTube. The rest seem to compare the Viper and Ares, which isn’t even close. I’ve compared the Razor and Ares and would have to give the very close “split decision” to the Razor. That said, for 1/3 of the price, it’s a no brainer in my mind and I bought the Ares.


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[idahohikker]

I could only find one direct video comparison between the Razor and Ares- on YouTube. The rest seem to compare the Viper and Ares, which isn’t even close. I’ve compared the Razor and Ares and would have to give the very close “split decision” to the Razor. That said, for 1/3 of the price, it’s a no brainer in my mind and I bought the Ares.


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I thought I saw more. The majority seemed to like the Athlon glass slightly better. Your experience makes sense to me though. The size issue alone is enough to buy the Ares, let alone the price.

I feel like the pub on the Athlon Ares is getting out here and elsewhere. Pretty cool there’s a mid range spotter of this quality.

 

[Blacktail_Packer]

Mines supposed to land Monday, weathers not awesome here but, that’ll be a good real life conditions test...

 

[IdahoHntr]

I did finally get the chance to compare my Athlon Ares head to head with my buddies Gen 1 Razor this fall. I spent a lot of time behind both scopes and honestly found them to be of very equal quality. The color tone is different between the two scopes, warmer tone in the Ares, cooler in the Razor, but the overall clarity of both I found to be very equal. I have gotten real comfortable with the Ares and so do prefer it over the Razor, but I attribute that more to preference rather than being a "better" scope per say.

The two main noticeable differences are the size and the wider eyepiece of the Ares. The Ares is always with me because of its size and I don't think the importance of that can be understated. Doesn't matter what scope you have, if it's in the truck when you're on the mountain, it ain't going to do you a bit of good.

The wider eyepiece took a little bit to get used to, but man I have really started to like it. I experience little to no eye strain looking through the spotting scope for long periods of time and I attribute that to the good glass and the wider eyepiece. It is just very comfortable to get behind.

I could give a more detailed review with more specific comparisons, but honestly they are so equal in every way optical quality wise that I think I would just be wasting my time. I think this post has clarified enough for those that are looking to compare the two. In the end it comes down more to size and price difference if I were choosing between the two. I'd buy whatever is cheaper.

 

[TravisIN]

Mines supposed to be here Thursday. Pretty excited


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[idahohikker]

I did finally get the chance to compare my Athlon Ares head to head with my buddies Gen 1 Razor this fall. I spent a lot of time behind both scopes and honestly found them to be of very equal quality. The color tone is different between the two scopes, warmer tone in the Ares, cooler in the Razor, but the overall clarity of both I found to be very equal. I have gotten real comfortable with the Ares and so do prefer it over the Razor, but I attribute that more to preference rather than being a "better" scope per say.

The two main noticeable differences are the size and the wider eyepiece of the Ares. The Ares is always with me because of its size and I don't think the importance of that can be understated. Doesn't matter what scope you have, if it's in the truck when you're on the mountain, it ain't going to do you a bit of good.

The wider eyepiece took a little bit to get used to, but man I have really started to like it. I experience little to no eye strain looking through the spotting scope for long periods of time and I attribute that to the good glass and the wider eyepiece. It is just very comfortable to get behind.

I could give a more detailed review with more specific comparisons, but honestly they are so equal in every way optical quality wise that I think I would just be wasting my time. I think this post has clarified enough for those that are looking to compare the two. In the end it comes down more to size and price difference if I were choosing between the two. I'd buy whatever is cheaper.

Thanks so much for sharing your review. Very helpful.

 

[lif]

Thanks to both you Idaho boys. Great info for me at the time. 99% sure I’m ordering a ares before Xmas. Happy holidays boys.

 

[TravisIN]

Thanks to both you Idaho boys. Great info for me at the time. 99% sure I’m ordering a ares before Xmas. Happy holidays boys.

There’s one in the classifieds for a good price, brand new too.


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[rob86jeep]

I bought the Ares based on all the reviews on Rokslide but don't really like it. I think it's just me not liking the idea of a spotting scope though (looking through one eye only). What really turned me off was I found what looked like a deer through my 10x Vipers and pulled out my 45x Athlon to get a better look. Problem was I couldn't tell any better from the spotter if it was a deer vs dark spot/sticks than from my binos. Might be for sale if anyone is interested but I still haven't decided if it's worth taking with me on another hunt to give it a second chance.