Vortex Binos

[sshin1980]

I’m between a Vortex Razor HD and Razor UHD. At the store I could not see a difference.

What would you recommend and why?

 

[nobody]

UHD. Even the Crossfires look awesome in store. You’ll see a difference in low light especially.

I got my 10x50 UHD’s 2 seasons ago. I was using some Maven C1’s, similar to Vipers, up to that point. My hunting partner at the time was using vipers. I glassed for about 35 minutes in the morning, comfortably, before he could see anything. The UHD’s are phenomenal performers.

The HD’s aren’t a slouch necessarily, my younger brother uses the 10x50 HD’s. But I still get about 10-15 minutes more than him of glassing mornings and evenings before I’m straining to see, and by that time I’m way beyond hunting/shooting light.

If you can afford the UHD’s, buy them. That way you’re never left wondering what you’re missing out on. But if you don’t have the money for UHD’s and this post is you coming looking for validation on the HD’s, get off the computer and buy the HD’s and go kill some stuff!

 

[sshin1980]

That’s helpful. Thank you

 

[Swampcruiser]

I like the razor HD. The glass is really good and the 10x42 are much lighter. I had 10x42 UHD and they were too heavy, not worth the upgrade to my eyes. I mainly use for elk in timber anyway. If I were a big open country hunter I would look at similar priced glass to UHD in Maven or Meopta.

 

[jayhawk]

You just don’t get accurate readings in a store. Either ones are good glass, so get the best you can afford and don’t look back.

 

[nobody]

That’s helpful. Thank you

To add, if you can’t see the difference, the HD’s will serve you well. But there IS a difference between them, whether you can see it or not. The longer you spend behind them, the more you’ll see the difference. That doesn’t mean the HD’s won’t work though

 

[sshin1980]

Any thoughts on the Viper HD?

 

[nobody]

Any thoughts on the Viper HD?

See my first post above. You’re giving up glassing light. Fine otherwise. Far from top tier, but they’re fine.

 

[Beendare]

I owned a pair of the vipers for a while, and have had the chance to compare the many models of the Fourtex side-by-side with other binoculars.

The UHD’s are the real deal. Head and shoulders over the other Vortex models. BTW, you can sometimes find these discounted.

 

[mi650]

Go to a shop where they'll let you take them outside, preferably at last light and away from the city.

 

[Reed104R]

The HD and UHD's are both outstanding. I owned both and ended up selling the HD's.

 

[Diced]

I used 10x42 UHDs all last season and I was pretty impressed. The glass is honestly pretty incredible. The razor hd is a great bino too. We compared them side by side quite a bit last year and the main difference was low light performance. We were also able to spot game further out with the UHDs simply because of the slightly increased clarity.

Your binos are one of the most important tools you have out there so I'd go with the best you can afford.

 

[sshin1980]

Hopefully my local store allows me to take it outside.

 

[Jack321]

Swarovski SLC. (If your buying the UHDs new retail price).

The SLCs are basically same price as the UHDs but way better.

If your dead set on the UHDs, keep an eye on aaoptics.com for better prices on their refurbished binos. Good deals on them as they're basically brand new & full warranty.

Was out elk hunting in Montana & I had my 10x42 Swaros & my buddy had 10x50 UHDs...

I spotted two muleys, WAY up high on the cliffs that my buddy & guide didn't see. Once I pointed em out, he got on em. But it took a while for my buddy to find em. I told him and the guide they were a fawn & a doe.

My buddy asked to see my binos, so we switched to do a comparison. He goes, "Huh! Sure enough, a fawn and a doe. I couldn't tell with my binos." Sure enough, I looked thru his UHDs and couldn't tell. I could see them, but couldn't tell if they were bucks or does.

This was at 3pm, in September, so plenty of light.

The UHDs are great glass, but looked like "normal" glass out west. Them Swaros really were perfection & you'll never have to wonder if you got "enough glass."

(And for the record I have my Swaro & some Razor HDs as 'backups' that I let my dad use out west.)

 

[nobody]

Swarovski SLC. (If your buying the UHDs new retail price).

If your dead set on the UHDs, keep an eye on aaoptics.com for better prices on their refurbished binos. Good deals on them as they're basically brand new & full warranty.

The SLCs are basically same price as the UHDs but way better.

Was out elk hunting in Montana & I had my 10x42 Swaros & my buddy had 10x50 UHDs...

I spotted two muleys, WAY up high on the cliffs that my buddy & guide didn't see. Once I pointed em out, he got on em. But it took a while for my buddy to find em. I told him and the guide they were a fawn & a doe.

My buddy asked to see my binos, so we switched to do a comparison. He goes, "Huh! Sure enough, a fawn and a doe. I couldn't tell with my binos." Sure enough, I looked thru his UHDs and couldn't tell. I could see them, but couldn't tell if they were bucks or does.

This was at 3pm, in September, so plenty of light.

The UHDs are great glass, but looked like "normal" glass out west. Them Swaros really were perfection & you'll never have to wonder if you got "enough glass."

(And for the record I have my Swaro & some Razor HDs as 'backups' that I let my dad use out west.)

Just goes to show that everyone’s eyes see things different. I hate Swaro glass, it casts a green/blue hue over the entire view. I actively chose my UHD’s OVER SLC’s when I compared side by side. The UHD’s had better color fidelity than the swaros to my eyes, and identical edge to edge.

I guess that’s why there’s lots of options out there, everyone’s eyes are different. Just more of a reason OP needs to get them outside in low light and compare with them on a tripod, as only he can make the decision for himself.

 

[Jack321]

Just goes to show that everyone’s eyes see things different. I hate Swaro glass, it casts a green/blue hue over the entire view. I actively chose my UHD’s OVER SLC’s when I compared side by side. The UHD’s had better color fidelity than the swaros to my eyes, and identical edge to edge.

I guess that’s why there’s lots of options out there, everyone’s eyes are different. Just more of a reason OP needs to get them outside in low light and compare with them on a tripod, as only he can make the decision for himself.

Surprising for sure.

A few years back I was able to go to a cabela's & at 50 yds away they had ISO 12233 chart and USAF 1951 Resolution Test Charts and a platform to test binos & spotters. And that was amazing to see the clarity & colors of different optics.

I was in the same boat as the OP & looked at Swaros vs Vortex.

I was at a Sheels with my dad & brother and found some white iron beams in the rafters & used the black outlines to see the difference of sharpness & edge clarity. The NL Pures had JUST come out a week before, but they didn't have any in stock yet. So we compared the Razor HDs, UHDs and the Sawro (can't remember if it was the ELs or SLCs)

You wouldn't notice it unless your looking for it but it was certainly there.

That test plus the Sharpness cards can tell you A LOT when it come to optics.

Best of luck OP!

The good news is that these binos are all really great binos! You won't go wrong either way!

 

[JGRaider]

+1 to the SLC rec over the UHD. You'll also take a beating on resale with the UHD's.

 

[sshin1980]

Never considered Swarovski because of the steep price, and also heard great things about the vortex warranty. Will look into swaros as well. Thank you guys

 

[EasilyExcited]

If you buy vortex plan on using the warranty.
Had great luck with maven

 

[Jack321]

Never considered Swarovski because of the steep price, and also heard great things about the vortex warranty. Will look into swaros as well. Thank you guys

Well the UHDs and SLCs are about thr same price. Also, keep an eye out for used optics. You can save a ton and they're fantastic binos. Keep an eye on websites like EuroOptic, AAOptics, B&H Photo, Cameraland, Adorama, Craiglist, Facebook Marketplace, and even here on RokSlide for quality prices on used optics.

The quality optics in the $1,000-1500 range are pretty nice. In no order:

Swaro SLC
Maven
Kowa Genesis (basically a Sawaro SLC)
Zeiss Conquest
Vortex Razor UHDs
Meopa
Leica

All are excellent binos