I own or have owned 3 scopes (crossfire2, viper pst g2, razor hd g2), plus 4 optics (diamondback HD binos, fury hd rf binos, and their higher end rangefinder, and a razor hd g2 85mm spotter).
I still own a set of their cheap binos, the fury’s, a viper pst g2 scope and the spotter. The binos, invluding the rf binos, have been used significantly and have never failed. The scope is on a .22lr and needs to be re-zeroed almost every use (ie fail). Otoh the razor HD scope was the first scope I had that DIDNT have a wandering zero…it was a longer-term loan and I had to return it after a year. Not really being a “long range hunter” I dont consider a rangefinder a critical piece of gear. My cheap binos are nothing special, but theyre cheap and easy to throw in the truck, checked baggage, etc without fear of breaking an expensive set. My spotter is “fine” but I only use it to see little holes on paper, its not fantastic optically but it does what I need, and it was a gift.
My opinion based on what I own and what I have seen in friends gear, is that I would never choose any vortex product for a “must function” application (ie life-safety or a hunt I saved points for years to draw where failure could shut down the hunt, etc). But for non-critical applications such as a range toy/plinking gun, I will continue to buy their stuff where it hits the value sweet-spot. Probably wont buy another scope though.
