Vortex optics experience

[cafemike]

It's always a good idea to have as much information as possible.
You get what you pay for- most people would agree on that.
It's unrealistic to expect Chinese and Philippine sourced scopes and glass to punch way above their weight.
It's not fair to combine their highest level and their lowest level together. They are entirely different products.
Got to give kudos to vortex for guaranteeing their products regardless of the price point.
Their USA and Japanese products are extremely good.
Zeiss had problems with their made in China binos.
Vortex razor scopes and UHD binos are extremely good - imo, they can hold their own when compared to the best regardless of price (The law of diminishing returns kicks in really hard here).

 

[Eship]

So what lines of vortex specifically seem to be the most reliable? It could be good to set up a poll for this honestly

 

[cafemike]

So what lines of vortex specifically seem to be the most reliable? It could be good to set up a poll for this honestly

The Japanese and USA made Razor HD, AMG, and UHD stuff.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Vortex gets the POS / never buy again award from me after many quick scope failures.
I don't care how fast it's replaced WHEN it breaks.

Same. I don’t give a damn how good the warranty is if I have to use it a lot.

I prefer equipment where I never have to use the warranty.

 

[JGRaider]

Same. I don’t give a damn how good the warranty is if I have to use it a lot.

I prefer equipment where I never have to use the warranty.

When you find an optics company without a repair/warranty work department let us know.

 

[cafemike]

Same. I don’t give a damn how good the warranty is if I have to use it a lot.

I prefer equipment where I never have to use the warranty.

Totally agree- the best warranty is an unused one.
Is it too much to expect a Costco/Nordstrom level warranty experience from an alpha manufacturer "when it is needed"? There is a big difference between covering a manufacturing issue, normal wear / tear, abuse, vs an accident.

Most peeps don't realize that low tier / cheap glass won't hold zero under heavy recoil.

Zeiss, Leica. Swaro, NF, March have a warranty service / department.
How is their service, turn around, and communication? Have to admit - it is a good question.

Vortex makes all levels of gear (their top USA/Japanese is rock solid)- and their warranty is 1st class across all product lines.
SIG had to concede and match the Vortex warranty policy.
Gotta give Vortex kudos for raising the bar (From an unexpected source comes an unexpected surprise- they set the industry standard imo).
Had to warranty a couple optics (Trij FFP Credo and Holosun dot). Both were replaced 2 weeks from when they received it. Smooth process and good communication for both.

 

[Mike D Texas]

When you find an optics company without a repair/warranty work department let us know.

That’s not what I said. I said I prefer products where I haven’t had to use a warranty. I wasn’t speaking for everyone else.

But I personally have not had to use Nightforce warranty while using their products for over 20 years. Can’t say that for any other optics company. I used Vortex a lot.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Totally agree- the best warranty is an unused one.
Is it too much to expect a Costco/Nordstrom level warranty experience from an alpha manufacturer "when it is needed"? There is a big difference between covering a manufacturing issue, normal wear / tear, abuse, vs an accident.

Most peeps don't realize that low tier / cheap glass won't hold zero under heavy recoil.

Zeiss, Leica. Swaro, NF, March have a warranty service / department.
How is their service, turn around, and communication? Have to admit - it is a good question.

Vortex makes all levels of gear (their top USA/Japanese is rock solid)- and their warranty is 1st class across all product lines.
SIG had to concede and match the Vortex warranty policy.
Gotta give Vortex kudos for raising the bar (From an unexpected source comes an unexpected surprise- they set the industry standard imo).
Had to warranty a couple optics (Trij FFP Credo and Holosun dot). Both were replaced 2 weeks from when they received it. Smooth process and good communication for both.

I would agree that Vortex did possibly force other companies to improve their warranties.

But you have to think, how can Vortex stay in business and stand by a “no fault” warranty policy? Pure speculation on my part but their margins have to be astronomical enough to replace items that say burned up in a fire for example. Maybe the combination of high margin, high volume sales helps?

I don’t buy on warranty alone, but there are many that do as evidenced by multiple threads on multiple forums. It almost as if they expect the product they are buying to fail.

 

[cafemike]

That’s not what I said. I said I prefer products where I haven’t had to use a warranty. I wasn’t speaking for everyone else.

But I personally have not had to use Nightforce warranty while using their products for over 20 years. Can’t say that for any other optics company. I used Vortex a lot.

Have you looked at the Nightforce warranty?
Their SHV line doesn't have waterproof integrity and the electronics is covered for 3 years (WTF on the design and warranty on this).
"SHV™ models maintain waterproof integrity with their protective caps installed."
"....Exclusions to this warranty include intentional or accidental damage, abuse, misuse,"
"...covers mechanical defects in materials and workmanship in the optical and mechanical components"
Doesn't cover accidental damage or abuse.
Material or workmanship only.
For what it is worth, I've seen several YouTube vids that seemed legit about NF warranty process and it wasn't pretty.
I've avoided Nightforce LPVO's and scopes for their specific warranty (lack their of) and went with the Trij Credo FFP's instead of the NX - 1-8x and Vortex Razor HD (Japan) and UHD (Japan).
Btw, I am not anti-NF in anyway shape or form. But I see the devil in the details with buyingf $$$ glass from companies like this.

 

[JGRaider]

Leupold wrote the book on the lifetime, no fault warranty long before Vortex even existed. Then came Swaro which adopted Leupold's "game plan" regarding warranty, once again long before Vortex, then came a slew of rebranders (Athlon, Hawke, Bushnell, etc) that adopted the warranty policy as well. Vortex did come along and take the service aspect to a whole 'nother level though, and nowadays has no peer, and no equal for that matter. Those with VDS can say whatever they want, but no other optics company on the planet would have handled the Liberty Optics fiasco as well as Vortex did, who went to the extreme to take care of Vortex customers in spite of Liberty screwing them over. That alone tells you that Vortex is not solely chasing the almighty $$$ like everyone else does.

 

[svivian]

Leupold wrote the book on the lifetime, no fault warranty long before Vortex even existed. Then came Swaro which adopted Leupold's "game plan" regarding warranty, once again long before Vortex, then came a slew of rebranders (Athlon, Hawke, Bushnell, etc) that adopted the warranty policy as well. Vortex did come along and take the service aspect to a whole 'nother level though, and nowadays has no peer, and no equal for that matter. Those with VDS can say whatever they want, but no other optics company on the planet would have handled the Liberty Optics fiasco as well as Vortex did, who went to the extreme to take care of Vortex customers in spite of Liberty screwing them over. That alone tells you that Vortex is not solely chasing the almighty $$$ like everyone else does.

Swaro does not and has never offered a no fault warranty. If you break something you are paying for repairs.

 

[flyfisher117]

Why is it in the real world I run into VERY few people who have had a Vortex Fail. And when I do it’s usually the bottom tier rifle scope that was mounted on a 300 win.

Yet when I come to the internet everyone and their dog has had every piece of Vortex they own fail? They also usually won’t share what model or what it was mounted on.

 

[Nightfarce Ops]

Why is it in the real world I run into VERY few people who have had a Vortex Fail. And when I do it’s usually the bottom tier rifle scope that was mounted on a 300 win.

Yet when I come to the internet everyone and their dog has had every piece of Vortex they own fail? They also usually won’t share what model or what it was mounted on.

I don`t get it either, but yet there it is, another vortex bashing thread comes to life.

 

[bradb]

I was on a musk ox and grizz hunt, the guide said I had some Vortex diamond backs acd they broke so I will never have another Vortex. He said I love my Swarovski, I said where are they? He said should be back from repair next week..........

 

[Eship]

Why is it in the real world I run into VERY few people who have had a Vortex Fail. And when I do it’s usually the bottom tier rifle scope that was mounted on a 300 win.

Yet when I come to the internet everyone and their dog has had every piece of Vortex they own fail? They also usually won’t share what model or what it was mounted on.

Likely due to the way I phrased the thread title and my initial comment. Generally people who have had negative reviews will be more willing to express their situation, so there is a bit of a bias in the results. I’m trying to stay neutral although as I mentioned, I have never had a vortex optic myself, it was friends/coworkers who had failures that i personally witnessed, all of which were out of box failures and not due to being incorrectly mounted or being used for the wrong application.

What this thread has done is it has showed me that the lower end optics are definitely not reliable while the high end optics most likely are. Either way, you’ve got a good warranty, but you just need to really think about whether the optic choice will be able to handle your expected application.

 

[270quest]

I am not a Vortex Fan Boy or a Vortex hater - but I own a Pair of UHD 10X42s and my 16 year old son has a pair of Viper HD 10X42s. His binos are a fantastic value and bino for him and no issues at all so far (Only really get used 2-3 weeks a year)

My UHD binos are really good - would put them up against most out there and not feel like I was losing anything. No issues over 2 years of hard hunting so far.

 

[Buglebrush]

I own Razor UHD in 10x42 and 18x56. Abuse them hard with no issues. I have run a Viper HST for years now, and it tracks and holds zero perfectly. It has flown off the truck and bounced down the road and fell off a little cliff onto rocks with no issue other than ugly scratches. ( Kids hunting ). Big believer in unconditional lifetime warranties when my kids use my gear.

 

[Strider]

I have been pleasantly surprised with the vortex binos. The low end are hard to beat for the money. The mid tier I have handled were better than I expected. I have had two scopes. I no longer own them. One Razor LH was having issues with zero. Sent it in and was told it was broken so they sent me the Razor LHT. After a couple times of a possible zero shift I lost faith in it. The Diamondbacks that have been on buddies guns have seemed to be a good bang for the buck.

 

[TheHammer]

Few have vision past their own nose…
A lot of failure is due to human error and you will not receive any insight to accountability for it. Some of it, like your case is just the poorest quality cheapest crap offered to fill a void. When sending low tier options back you can get credit towards upper end items, instead of replacing what you sent in. One of my hst’s failed due to improper mounting in a long action, actually the scope still worked- the magnification dial didn’t turn, another from a mis aligned action and one from being over tightened from a pro shop (had the black speckles). No issues with my 3-15x50, 2 3-15x42 lhts, no issues with the 2 gen 2 psts, the gen 1 lpvo, or the couple hs 2.5-10s. I do think the 4-12x42 diamondback tactical has a horrible eye relief, poor glass, but it’s on a 450bm and has been pounded, dropped, ran through brush, shot out of a helicopter and banged around inside of that, still functional. But I have warrantied 3 vipers as mentioned for reasons why.
I’ve owned 3 of their range finders one of the early ranger 1800s it never skipped a beat, gave it to a buddy who didn’t have the funds for a new one. I have a viper 3000& razor 4000. Both work great, have been in rain, snow and below 0* weather without issues. (I prefer the 3000)
I have one of their venom red dots on a 5.25” barrel 9mm I shoot competition with. No issues.
-Spotting scopes, I had one of their diamond back spotting scopes go blurry after riding around in my truck for a couple years. No complaints on my razor spotting scopes, i really enjoy the compact versions.
-binos, i have some of the Japanese viper 12x50s no complaints, a pair of the uhd 10x42s and purchased a pair of the cheap 10x32s for my kids to use, they kinda work, but the expectation is low.
The headquarters are an hour 20 from me and they take care of the customer. I do think quality has gone down significantly and they have wayyy too many options, it’s a bit overwhelming if you are just getting into firearms.

 

[Arcticmanak]

Razor spotter, crossfire rifle scope, tripod, rangefinder, and vanquish, viper, and diamondback bins used by family members and have had zero issues or complaints.