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

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

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

 

[BKhunter]

I had my eye on the 27-60X85 Razor HD until this came out and now not sure which one to go with. Anyone have any recommendations on what they would choose?

 

[Tahoe1305]

I had my eye on the 27-60X85 Razor HD until this came out and now not sure which one to go with. Anyone have any recommendations on what they would choose?

They are too different. And almost opposites. I don’t think the mini will compare.

If you want light and limited capability ( in my book this is below the counting ring threshold which 99% of our hunts are) a smaller scope (regardless of brand) will likely do the trick.

If you need max detail, max light, max zoom, then any of the <65mm glass isn’t for you.

 

[MuleyFever]

I had my eye on the 27-60X85 Razor HD until this came out and now not sure which one to go with. Anyone have any recommendations on what they would choose?

Thats like saying you had your eye on a F350 dually but then the new Ford ranger came out. Totally different tools.

 

[MBake]

Good reciew Travis. I am looking for a compact spotter.

 

[4090Sharps]

My mini Razor arrives tomorrow, but unless it shows up early I don't expect to do any sort of meaningful evaluation until Saturday. There's a mountainside 3 miles from my front door, and I regularly watch deer and javelina with my BTX in the mornings and evenings.

It will very much be an apples and oranges comparison, and not even the intended application for the Razor, but I'm curious to find out how the monocular 39x on the Razor compares to the binocular 30x on the BTX from my front door glassing spot.

UPS was late delivering my scope, and 2nd Day air turned into ground speed... But, I finally got it this afternoon. Lingering thunderclouds in the area provided an extended period of low light conditions to assess the scope, and the initial impression has left me very impressed. I've written up my thoughts below in case it helps anyone interested in this scope.

I should qualify my optics experience a bit though, because they're probably not typical of the gear junkies on this site... My eyesight has color deficiencies, and I have used a whole lot of bad glass in my lifetime. Most of my years as a hunter I used crappy Barska and similar binoculars/scopes. I started out unable to afford anything better, and then continued using them out of ignorance when I could afford to upgrade. Less than 10 years ago I bought some mid-grade Vortex binoculars, which were a huge upgrade, and only in the last 6 or 7 years did I truly upgrade--Swarovski for everything except a Leica rangefinder.

Using my BTX with a 65mm objective as the standard, I went back and forth between the Razor and the BTX for an hour to suss out any shortcomings and see if the Razor held an edge in any areas besides weight and range of magnification. I don't expect the Razor to outperform the BTX and it will be complementary in use, but it's the only other scope setup that I have to compare against. In particular, I wanted to see if the upper range of magnification provided any benefit against the fixed 30x of the BTX, but at this point, that has yet to be determined.

Initial Takeaways:

First: Image quality is surprisingly good. Glassing between 600 yards and 3 miles, views gave up an ever-so-slight but forgivable degree of detail and brightness/contrast to the BTX at the same magnification. That's to be expected considering the larger objective, additional eye in use, and the quality of viewing experience that Swarovski is known for.

Edge-to-edge clarity was lacking compared to the BTX, but not nearly as much as I expected from my experience using a pair of 15x56 Vortex Diamondback binoculars (my loaners). The image was usable from edge to edge at all magnifications, but did have some blurriness at the edge of the field of view. Slight, to the degree that I really had to look for it when sitting behind the scope. The difference was more apparent when moving between optics, but not enough to annoy me.

Second: I don't like the lock ring securing the eyepiece. Maybe this is standard construction, but the lock ring felt a bit cheap (I believe at least one review I read used the word "chintzy"). I much prefer the twist and button lock system that the BTX uses, but for the price, the locking ring isn't a huge concern. It will be interesting to see which/if other eyepieces are released by Vortex.

Third: I get eyestrain looking through one eye--the BTX has spoiled me. I don't think this is from the quality of glass on the Razor. I've grown accustomed to using both eyes, except for when using a rangefinder. If I were to spend a lot of time glassing to find game, but wanted to drop some weight from the BTX, I would switch back to a nice15x pair of binoculars.

I'll be pairing this scope with the inexpensive Aoka tripod on hunts where I'll primarily be still hunting or weight is a major concern. It will be complemented by a Swarovski CL Pocket 8x25 and Leica Rangemaster rangefinder. As an aside, I'm both glad and disappointed the EL Range 8x32 wasn't available a couple years back--it would have been the perfect replacement.

 

[4090Sharps]

UPS was late delivering my scope, and 2nd Day air turned into ground speed... But, I finally got it this afternoon. Lingering thunderclouds in the area provided an extended period of low light conditions to assess the scope, and the initial impression has left me very impressed. I've written up my thoughts below in case it helps anyone interested in this scope.

I should qualify my optics experience a bit though, because they're probably not typical of the gear junkies on this site... My eyesight has color deficiencies, and I have used a whole lot of bad glass in my lifetime. Most of my years as a hunter I used crappy Barska and similar binoculars/scopes. I started out unable to afford anything better, and then continued using them out of ignorance when I could afford to upgrade. Less than 10 years ago I bought some mid-grade Vortex binoculars, which were a huge upgrade, and only in the last 6 or 7 years did I truly upgrade--Swarovski for everything except a Leica rangefinder.

Using my BTX with a 65mm objective as the standard, I went back and forth between the Razor and the BTX for an hour to suss out any shortcomings and see if the Razor held an edge in any areas besides weight and range of magnification. I don't expect the Razor to outperform the BTX and it will be complementary in use, but it's the only other scope setup that I have to compare against. In particular, I wanted to see if the upper range of magnification provided any benefit against the fixed 30x of the BTX, but at this point, that has yet to be determined.

Initial Takeaways:

First: Image quality is surprisingly good. Glassing between 600 yards and 3 miles, views gave up an ever-so-slight but forgivable degree of detail and brightness/contrast to the BTX at the same magnification. That's to be expected considering the larger objective, additional eye in use, and the quality of viewing experience that Swarovski is known for.

Edge-to-edge clarity was lacking compared to the BTX, but not nearly as much as I expected from my experience using a pair of 15x56 Vortex Diamondback binoculars (my loaners). The image was usable from edge to edge at all magnifications, but did have some blurriness at the edge of the field of view. Slight, to the degree that I really had to look for it when sitting behind the scope. The difference was more apparent when moving between optics, but not enough to annoy me.

Second: I don't like the lock ring securing the eyepiece. Maybe this is standard construction, but the lock ring felt a bit cheap (I believe at least one review I read used the word "chintzy"). I much prefer the twist and button lock system that the BTX uses, but for the price, the locking ring isn't a huge concern. It will be interesting to see which/if other eyepieces are released by Vortex.

Third: I get eyestrain looking through one eye--the BTX has spoiled me. I don't think this is from the quality of glass on the Razor. I've grown accustomed to using both eyes, except for when using a rangefinder. If I were to spend a lot of time glassing to find game, but wanted to drop some weight from the BTX, I would switch back to a nice15x pair of binoculars.

I'll be pairing this scope with the inexpensive Aoka tripod on hunts where I'll primarily be still hunting or weight is a major concern. It will be complemented by a Swarovski CL Pocket 8x25 and Leica Rangemaster rangefinder. As an aside, I'm both glad and disappointed the EL Range 8x32 wasn't available a couple years back--it would have been the perfect replacement.

View attachment 600514

I brought the mini Razor outside for my morning glassing session, and was once again pleased with its performance. I didn't have any issue picking up deer on the mountains 3 miles away, and did find I could see a little more detail with the 39x power compared to the 30x of the BTX. Considering the smaller objective and form factor and optics from a "lesser" brand, that was a pleasant surprise. As most of us have experience at one point or another, greater magnification doesn't always equate with a better view of a target.

 

[4090Sharps]

Thanks for providing the great review @Travis Bertrand. I probably wouldn't have known about the mini Razor otherwise, and if I had, likely wouldn't have paid it any attention since I regard most outside gear reviews as nothing more than advertising.

 

[rjb0021]

I bought one last night, should be here Saturday. I was going back and forth between it and a Maven.

 

[alfmoonspace]

I compared the razor HD (straight) with a Swarovski ATC back to back. Here's what I got out of it. The razor HD is excellent. Center clarity and the sharpness is probably on par with the Swarovski but it lacks edge to edge clarity compared to the ATC. Secondly, the Swarovski is a tad brighter. The razor has little to zero chromatic aberration throughout the viewing lens. And that to me is outstanding for the price. The Swarovski has a bit more color pop but not much compared to the razor. I was able to pick out feathers from some birds about 800 yards away with the razor. Also, I would say that the Swarovski is better built.

 

[R_A_W]

I am hoping they are thinking of the future and offering other eye pieces including one with a reticle or wide angle!

I bet Vortex does offer a reticle... if they do and its MRAD, sign me up!

 

[CMP70306]

I bet Vortex does offer a reticle... if they do and its MRAD, sign me up!

They do on the 27-60 but even though it fits on the 65mm it doesn’t work with the subtensions correctly and I don’t know if it will fit on the new one.

 

[R_A_W]

They do on the 27-60 but even though it fits on the 65mm it doesn’t work with the subtensions correctly and I don’t know if it will fit on the new one.

Yeah, would be good to know if it fits. I doubt it works, but I might shoot them an email anyways.

Interesting that Vortex offers a reticle eye piece for the 60mm and a wide angle eye piece for the 65mm & 85mm Razor spotting scopes, but neither has the alternate option available.

 

[R_A_W]

They do on the 27-60 but even though it fits on the 65mm it doesn’t work with the subtensions correctly and I don’t know if it will fit on the new one.

per Vortex - that eyepiece doesn't fit & no public plans to offer a reticle eyepiece for the 13-39x56, but don't rule it out

Vortex has announced/released a ton of new products over the last 18-24 months, so they've got their hands full.

 

[CMP70306]

per Vortex - that eyepiece doesn't fit & no public plans to offer a reticle eyepiece for the 13-39x56, but don't rule it out

Vortex has announced/released a ton of new products over the last 18-24 months, so they've got their hands full.

Thank you for reaching out and getting the info, I might pick one of these up just to shave some weight compared to the 27-60 when I don’t need the extra magnification.

 

[Loo.wii]

WOW. I just picked one up at Scheels. They price matched expert voice for me and for +/- $800 out the door this is an amazing optic. I absolutely love it. The weight of this optic makes carrying it everywhere worth it.

Since this is my first and only "high end' spotter I have no reference, but upgrading from a diamondback HD 20-60 this optic is significantly better I was easily able to see the DICKS sporting goods that is about 12 miles from my house.

 

[Loo.wii]

Would Different eye pieces add more zoom ?

 

[Tahoe1305]

Handled one today for a bit. Impressed. Zoom smoother than expected and eyepiece appears fairly forgiving.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Like hearing the positive reviews! I was skeptical, went ahead and pulled the trigger. but now it will be a tough choice between this little guy and the 22-48x65 come 3rd rifle… might have to try them both and see which one works better. The little guys are always nicer on your back though…

 

[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.