New Vortex Razor HD 13-39x56 Spotters

[ChrisAU]

Thoughts? Of course I just bought an ATC this week lol. I'm not regretting that, but this definitely would have been a consideration. Street prices prob $750-$850. (Pic stolen from the Outdoor Life article). Outdoorsmans had sent links but apparently they were a wee bit early and they are down now.

The Best Compact Spotting Scopes of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

We tested the best compact spotting scopes, which all weigh under 2 pounds and have excellent glass for their size.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[WeiserBucks]

Outdoor life is probably worst publication available to sportsmen and I take zero stock in anything they publish. I'm sure this little spotter is just like everything else Vortex makes, excellent warranty!

 

[ChrisAU]

Outdoor life is probably worst publication available to sportsmen and I take zero stock in anything they publish. I'm sure this little spotter is just like everything else Vortex makes, excellent warranty!

Oh they had some bad things to say about it, mechanically. Just the only pics I could find online ha.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Swaro. Buy once, cry once!

 

[nobody]

I'll be interested to look at one when they're out. I just love that the market is heading this direction with spotters. 99% of the time most guys have zero need for an 85mm objective optic, and a smaller one just has a higher likelihood of ending up in my pack. Hopefully everybody else starts to follow suit accordingly and our options just continue to expand.

 

[Dos Perros]

How in the world does one write a compact spotter article and not include the Kowa?

 

[WeiserBucks]

How in the world does one write a compact spotter article and not include the Kowa?

Like I said earlier, Outdoor Life is a joke.

 

[Gutshotem]

 

[Jack321]

What's wrong with OL? Just another source for info IMO.

Interesting they say the resolution & low light transmission from the Vortex was at the Swaros level. For a $2500 Swaro vs. $1000 Vortex, that's quite a statement.

 

[UpTop]

The Vortex hate runs high here! It’s good to see more companies adding these to their lineup.

 

[4th_point]

I'm not a big Vortex fan, but think it's great that Vortex released a new compact scope.

And glad that Outdoor Life evaluated it, as there isn't much info out there on it. I'd prefer more in-depth reviews, but have to say that the articles seem to have improved over the past several years. I think Andrew McKean deserves some credit for that. Along with his coverage of hunting and conservation issues.

 

[Hurley88]

Just picked one up, more out of curiosity than anything else. I’ll put it next to a Kowa 88, Kowa 77, Maven CS.1, & Gen 1 Razor 50. Low light and daylight. See where it falls, & share my thoughts if you guys are interested. I’d pit it against a few more but these are what I have on hand and hunting season has already started for me so my time will be limited.

…that bit about resolution being on par with the Swaro did crack me up though. I’ve evaluated a ton of spotters, I‘m not brand loyal at all. But that one cracked me up.

 

[Diced]

Just picked one up, more out of curiosity than anything else. I’ll put it next to a Kowa 88, Kowa 77, Maven CS.1, & Gen 1 Razor 50. Low light and daylight. See where it falls, & share my thoughts if you guys are interested. I’d pit it against a few more but these are what I have on hand and hunting season has already started for me so my time will be limited.

…that bit about resolution being on par with the Swaro did crack me up though. I’ve evaluated a ton of spotters, I‘m not brand loyal at all. But that one cracked me up.

I'd be interested to know what you think of it in comparison to the ones you listed.

 

[Diced]

I'd also be interested to know how much better the swaro atc is. My guess would be a lot, but honestly I've heard a few people kind of feeling let down by the atc/stc.

 

[Valumpessa]

...still waiting on a comparison against the Kowa 55....

 

[Hurley88]

Spotter just came in tonight and I only had but 15min with it so I wrote down the FOV numbers (I do this with every scope as a first step).

Didn’t have a lot of time so I grabbed the Maven CS.1 for a quick comparison. The Maven is the angled version so the two were almost the exact same length. Maven was 1/4” longer. The Maven weighed 10.2oz more on my scale.

So here are the FOV numbers. I do this by looking at a building behind my house, it has a trim piece along the edge with sections of corrugated metal that each have 10 raised ridges so it’s easy to count them. I put the corner of that roof line right at the furthest edge of the FOV and write down how many sections I could see. I used to try and guesstimate the magnification in-between markings on the eyepiece so that all scopes would be tested at the same magnification, but that has proven to be somewhat flawed; for instance I’ve seen on some scopes that going from 20x to 25x required a slight turn of the zoom ring but then moving to 30x required noticeably more movement of the zoom ring. So I just go by the actual markings now. Anyway, here’s what I have so far:

• Vortex Razor 11-33x50, 191-96ft
  • 11x: 15.4
  • 16x: 11.8
  • 22x: 9.9
  • 27x: 8.8
  • 33x: 8.1
• Vortex Razor 13-39x56, 168-89ft
  • 13x: 13.2
  • 19x: 11.2
  • 25x: 9.6
  • 32x: 8.4
  • 39x: 7.8
• Maven CS.1 15-45x65, 174-81ft
  • 15x: 12.0
  • 21x: 11.1
  • 27x: 10.1
  • 33x: 9.1
  • 39x: 8.2
  • 45x: 6.7

 

[Hurley88]

When I get more time with it over the next week or so I’ll update. So far though, and this is hardly definitive because I was looking out from inside my house (so through a window), the Maven being a 65mm was brighter and resolved better and it was easier to pull the image from the eyepiece. By that I mean I didn’t strain to see as I did with the Razor. Just my initial thoughts, this was done at 39x with both of them. I’m failing light.

Like I said, hardly definitive. But it’s a start.

 

[Hurley88]

On the road to our hunt area today my buddy and I stopped for about a half hour to glass with the Gen 1 Razor 50, Maven CS.1, and the new Gen 2 Razor 56.

We both agreed that the Gen 1 Razor 50 resolved better, was easier to focus, and caused less eye strain. It also resolved better than the Maven CS.1, and we were hard-pressed to pick a winner as the Maven went to 45x and the Razor 50 stopped at 33x which tilts the favor one way or another depending on the situation.

My buddy was more adamant than I was about the two Razor spotters, saying that the Gen 1 was noticeably better in resolution, slightly but obviously better in CA, and better in edge-to-edge clarity than the Gen 2 Razor. We agreed equally about the eye fatigue, felt like your eyeball was being sucked out of your head within about ten minutes (that came out a bit more harsh than I meant it to; it was more something discomfiting than painful).

Sorry I couldn’t spend more time with it, we’re hiking in about six hrs from now so I’m off to bed! Hope that little test helps someone.

 

[Hurley88]

Dale, if you’re interested I’ll let you know about the Swaro ATC. One just hit my doorstep yesterday. Of course, now that I’m already gone.

 

[4th_point]

I tried the straight model today, outdoors for 20 - 30 minutes.

Noticed the Assembled in U.S.A. marking, mentioned earlier. The ARCA foot fit the VA-5 that I have without fiddling, which is set for a SIRUI plate (RRS style plate takes a quite a bit of adjustment due to the difference in geometry).

Overall, it was better than I expected. The image seemed decent with nothing major jumping out during casual observation. ER was good too, for my eyeglasses.

This sample did not come to sharp focus at 39x though, and resolution was not great compared to a 60mm I had on hand. I expected this, but was hoping for better especially since it is assembled in the US.

I might try another one, or compare to a couple ED50 that I have with 13-40x.

My thoughts from a very brief viewing session are quoted above, from the other thread.

The new Vortex Razor HD 13-39x56mm, The Mini Razor

Awesome to hear. I ordered one last week and am excited to put it through the paces. I'll chime in my thoughts after some testing

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