Cabelas Krotos Spotting scope

[tblank]

Sent an email to Athlon asking if the Krotos was manufactured by them ... They said there was no relationship between their company and any of the Cabela's branded optics.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

Looks like the 15-45 is sold out online. I just picked one up in store for the $342. Great for that price.

 

[Firehawk]

Sent an email to Athlon asking if the Krotos was manufactured by them ... They said there was no relationship between their company and any of the Cabela's branded optics.

This I find hard to believe as I have been told exactly the opposite of that by someone connected with Anthlon and others whom I respect. That said, I have heard good things about Athlon and I am extremely impressed with my Cabelas Krotos version. Based on the low prices of these scopes at Cabelas, I would venture to bet that the relationship is over and Cabelas is getting rid of their stock to fit a different scope in the same price range etc.

FH

 

[xugz0212]

How does your Krotos perform? I got the 20-60 big brother today since the angled 15-45 was sold out already. It's really a big one so i have to justify if it worth the extra weights and money compared to the smaller one.

 

[jray5740]

The Krotos is definately an Athlon. When I bought mine, they had accidentally packaged it with an Athlon owners manual haha and as I stated before, the Krotos beats the vortex top of the line hands down. Not sure if it beats the top contenders like swaro, Leica etc...and I don’t care. At the level these tops players do their thing at, they are all the best of the best. With that said I think the Krotos will still fall in the likes of them and their glass

 

[Stwrt9]

I'm not sure where all the comparisons to the Athlon came from but looking at this years lineup (2018) of Vortex Spotters and their design and how they look it sure does look like the Krotos is made by them. Specifically the 2018 Viper HD 15-45x65.

 

[tblank]

Bosma Spotting Scopes 203507 - Bosma Optics - Riflescopes, Binoculars, Spotting Scopes, Dot Sights

Maybe Vortex, Athlon, and whoever makes the Krotos for Cabelas are all using this Bosma scope and sticking their respective logo on the side?

 

[xugz0212]

Bosma Spotting Scopes 203507 - Bosma Optics - Riflescopes, Binoculars, Spotting Scopes, Dot Sights

Maybe Vortex, Athlon, and whoever makes the Krotos for Cabelas are all using this Bosma scope and sticking their respective logo on the side?

You are damn right!


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[Stwrt9]

Could very well be a Bosma. But i doubt we will ever really know the truth. Most of the time these items are all made at the same manufacturing facility and just branded accordingly with minor differences. so who knows. Bottom line is the Krotos Spotter is a great value and thats all i really care about.

 

[Firehawk]

How does your Krotos perform? I got the 20-60 big brother today since the angled 15-45 was sold out already. It's really a big one so i have to justify if it worth the extra weights and money compared to the smaller one.

I am really impressed with it. I have the 65mm Straight and my buddy has the 65mm angled. FWIW, we both sold our Gen 1 Vortex Razors and kept the Cabelas. I spent about 3 weeks evaluating in good and poor light conditions. I felt that the Krotos was sharper, by a noticable amount actually. It did a great job of resolving details, although I did prefer the focus mechanism on the Razor, but the barrel design on the Krotos is easy to use and resolves really well. The Razor was slightly brighter in near dark conditions, but the resolution, sharpness and color rendition on the Krotos handily beat the Razor in my opinion. And I liked the Razor too. I really wanted to like it more, but I just couldn't. The Cabelas was better, and I didn't get mine for the prices people are buying them for right now. That is a crazy good deal.

I went 65mm due to the fact that I pack mine into the backcountry and wanted the smaller, lighter package. I haven't looked at the larger one at all.

FH

 

[jray5740]

I'm not sure where all the comparisons to the Athlon came from but looking at this years lineup (2018) of Vortex Spotters and their design and how they look it sure does look like the Krotos is made by them. Specifically the 2018 Viper HD 15-45x65.

They do look the same, however the Krotos has been available by cabelas for nearly two years, give or take. The Vortex is brand new and barely available. In addition, the glass of a Krotos will make a Viper look like you are tryin to spot through a tinted glass window

 

[tblank]

So is this as good as it gets for spotting scopes under $700?

 

[jray5740]

So is this as good as it gets for spotting scopes under $700?

In my opinion, absolutely. This is as good as it gets for much more than the stated $700. For example I have a vortex razor spotter as well as two other high enders. My Krotos and two high end boys are extremely similar glass....the razor comes no where close to the same glass so inherently the viper is even further off.

 

[tblank]

Both magnification options are in stock now ... Should I go with the 15-45 or 20-60?

 

[Stwrt9]

Both magnification options are in stock now ... Should I go with the 15-45 or 20-60?

just depends on what your uses are. if you are packing it into the backcountry i would go with the 15-45 if not go with 20-60.

 

[jray5740]

just depends on what your uses are. if you are packing it into the backcountry i would go with the 15-45 if not go with 20-60.

FWIW- I pack my 20-60 and tripod into back country. A little more weight is well worth the extra effort once I start using the optics. The 15-45 will serve you just as well, and it’s a bit lighter. Personally I like the large optics when spending hours behind it so I’m willing to carry the extra bit of weight

 

[Jimbob]

Thanks for sharing, I've been watching for a spotter for awhile and wanted 20-60 but just couldn't pass up the deal on the 15-45. I'll be backpacking for sheep and goats so hopefully it works well.


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[jray5740]

Thanks for sharing, I've been watching for a spotter for awhile and wanted 20-60 but just couldn't pass up the deal on the 15-45. I'll be backpacking for sheep and goats so hopefully it works well.


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Sheep and goats.....two words to make me very jealous! Been waiting on my sheep/goat opportunity in many states for many years. Have a feeling I’ll be waiting many more so the elk of Colorado will have to do for now haha

 

[RussGS]

I sold my 50mm Razor to buy the 65mm Krotos. The sale was too good to pass up. I will try to line up a comparison between a gen 1 razor.

 

[Jimbob]

Sheep and goats.....two words to make me very jealous! Been waiting on my sheep/goat opportunity in many states for many years. Have a feeling I’ll be waiting many more so the elk of Colorado will have to do for now haha

A year ago I was living in Ontario with zero prospects of ever hunting sheep or goats. My wife and I decided to move our family west and now I live in the mountains with goats spotted from my front porch and OTC stone sheep hunting 6 hours away. Life can drastically change in a blink and I feeling extremely blessed. So naturally a man needs some decent optics out here and I am hoping the Kratos will be sufficient for someone on a budget.

My neighbour has a Swaro ATS 65 so I will compare the Kratos to that and see how far the gap is.