Spotting Scopes: Cabelas Euro HD vs Gen 1 Razor HD

[goathunter]

Is the Cableas Euro HD 82mm spotting scope worth $900 more than the Gen 1 Vortex Razor HD 85mm? I've looked through them both in the past but not side by side and it was a long time ago.

 

[WRO]

Is the Cableas Euro HD 82mm spotting scope worth $900 more than the Gen 1 Vortex Razor HD 85mm? I've looked through them both in the past but not side by side and it was a long time ago.

Yup, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

My buddy bought one, his brother has the Razor gen 1. After there last hunting trip the razor went on craigslist and he bought a Euro.

 

[goathunter]

Yup, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

My buddy bought one, his brother has the Razor gen 1. After there last hunting trip the razor went on craigslist and he bought a Euro.

Did the razor under perform - or was the euro just much better?

 

[WRO]

Did the razor under perform - or was the euro just much better?

The Euro is that much better.

If all you use is sub par glass, you won't think the Razor is bad, If you put it side by side with good German glass or Kowa Prominar, you'll find out quickly its lacking.

 

[elkguide]

Euro is worth it if you're going to use it from daybreak till an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset till dark.

 

[goathunter]

I have the euro binos. I just missed the spotter on sale so hopefully they have another sale sooner than later

 

[PathFinder]

It's really not even close. The Euro runs circles around the Razor. There's just no competing with fluorite crystal lenses, without using fluorite crystal lenses.

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[Billinsd]

It's really not even close. The Euro runs circles around the Razor. There's just no competing with fluorite crystal lenses, without using fluorite crystal lenses.

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How do you know they have fluorite lenses? I couldn't find that in the description? I found this "At the heart of this optic is a European-made, extra-low-dispersion glass that provides superior clarity across the visual spectrum." Thanks

 

[PathFinder]

How do you know they have fluorite lenses? I couldn't find that in the description? I found this "At the heart of this optic is a European-made, extra-low-dispersion glass that provides superior clarity across the visual spectrum."

All of the high end Meopta stuff has it. They source it from the same place all of the other European alpha glass manufacturers get it. Meopta has it in the description on their website.

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[Billinsd]

Thanks, that's really good to know. Bill

 

[fightthenoise]

Another fluorite option is Maven. Their spotter reportedly holds its own with the S2 as well.


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[PathFinder]

Another fluorite option is Maven. Their spotter reportedly holds its own with the S2 as well.


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What Maven glass is fluoride? I thought they used ED stuff similar to the Razor line. I'd love to give their products a try if they're using fluoride crystal glass.

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[WRO]

Another fluorite option is Maven. Their spotter reportedly holds its own with the S2 as well.


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Flourite glass really doesn't mean anything. The common industry term is HD, which is put on optics costing anywhere from 100-4000.00. The difference is the base product glass and how well it is finished.

 

[fightthenoise]

What Maven glass is fluoride? I thought they used ED stuff similar to the Razor line. I'd love to give their products a try if they're using fluoride crystal glass.

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They only make one spotter. In the specs table under Lens Type, it says fluorite glass.


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[Matt Cashell]

What Maven glass is fluoride? I thought they used ED stuff similar to the Razor line. I'd love to give their products a try if they're using fluoride crystal glass.

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None of these spotters use fluorite crystal lenses. All of them use some version of optical glass that contains fluorides (or lanthanum or other rare-earth elements). Various manufacturers use different marketing terms: HD, ED, XD, etc. They all refer to essentially the same thing though: glass elements with low dispersion qualities.

The only sport optics with genuine fluorite crystal elements are Kowa’s 88 and 55 Prominar spotters.

 

[PathFinder]

None of these spotters use fluorite crystal lenses. All of them use some version of optical glass that contains fluorides (or lanthanum or other rare-earth elements). Various manufacturers use different marketing terms: HD, ED, XD, etc. They all refer to essentially the same thing though: glass elements with low dispersion qualities.

The only sport optics with genuine fluorite crystal elements are Kowa’s 88 and 55 Prominar spotters.

I assume then that they contain varying degrees of fluoride crystal, and the ones with more tend to be optically superior? From what I understand pure fluorite crystal is fairly hard to work with, and maybe expensive to produce? I thought lenses were either fluorite or not. It would be interesting to have a comparison chart showing the composition of different manufacturers' lenses to go along with performance comparisons like you've done. There's so much hype and personal opinion about optics, it's nice to be able to get rid of the BS and reduce it down to real science.

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[Matt Cashell]

Optical superiority comes from the overall optical design, and the implementation of it. The glass type is only a part of that.

Comparing performance is much more useful and interesting to me.

Manufacturers like to highlight their technology through their ads and marketing lingo, but they are unlikely to tell you exactly what raw glass they are using.

The truth is most of the optical glass is very similar among the choices, but it is the design and implementation that makes the performance difference.

 

[JeffRaines]

I'm surprised at how little-known(comparatively) these optics are.

You can often find the spotters in the bargain cave for 1500 or so... thats where I got mine. I also picked up one of the instinct rifle scopes which is another meopta item that is absolutely stunning.

 

[aron]

I had an older version Cabelas Euro 75mm spotter that just broke on me this past summer. I replaced it with a Gen 2 Razor 85mm. I used the Razor once and returned it due to disappointment. I felt the brand new 85mm razor was not much better than my old/dirty 75mm euro. I would gladly pay the additional for the new Cabelas Euro (rebranded Meopta Meostar S2 with a fixed eye piece). Cabelas branded optics go on sale frequently so just have some patience if you aren't in a hurry to buy.

 

[Billinsd]

I assume then that they contain varying degrees of fluoride crystal, and the ones with more tend to be optically superior? From what I understand pure fluorite crystal is fairly hard to work with, and maybe expensive to produce? I thought lenses were either fluorite or not. It would be interesting to have a comparison chart showing the composition of different manufacturers' lenses to go along with performance comparisons like you've done. There's so much hype and personal opinion about optics, it's nice to be able to get rid of the BS and reduce it down to real science.

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Amen brother!! From my very limited research some lenses have fluorite lenses and others have fluorite coating. Fluorite lenses are the best. Fluorite is expense to grow, work with and has been around for a long time. Fluorite coated lenses sound good, how good, I don't know. On top of that you have coatings and other factors that affect optic qualitly. It sounds like there are some really good optics, close to fluorite lenses. I took an optics physics class back in college, so if I was considering buying a new scope I'd research the hell out of it and not believe anyone without valid technical,optical, specifications. Or way better yet, try them all out at low light conditions, side by side, which is the best thing you could do of course, which is extremely impractical, though.
You have to really do your research before buying anything if you want to get a good price for what level of optical quality you are willing to pay for. The companies purposely try to spin their product as the "best". Acronyms like HD, EM, blah, blah, blah, nah give me the lens material, coatings and optical specs.