Vortex Razor HD 13-39x56 or Kowa TSN-55a 17-40x55

[jtg88]

I'm in the market for a compact spotter to throw in my pack for instances when I need more power than the binos can provide. I've read all I can find about these two and by most accounts, the Kowa is the better spotter. My question to you guys that have hands on experience with both, is the Kowa worth 3x the money ($800 vs $2200)? Am I going to pick up more animals or be able to identify them at significantly more distance with the Kowa versus Razor? Let me know what you think.

I've never looked through a Kowa, but had a friend's mini Razor set up next to my Leupold Gold Ring 12-40x60 this past week and the Razor beat the brakes off the Leupold, especially at higher magnification. I was very impressed considering the reputation that Vortex has. Maybe the Razor series really is that much better than their other product lines.

 

[hoooogan]

Found this to be a good comparison video

 

[Buglebrush]

I've been really impressed with the Mini Razor. Sized up a lot of Mule Deer with it this year. Saved me miles and miles of walking.

 

[Tahoe1305]

55a will be better. Mini razor is sweet for the price and weight though. I like mine.

Unless it’s the only spotter you plan to use/have, I think for 40% the cost the razor is solid.

If you’re rich or only want one spotter, you can’t go wrong with the Kowa or the Swaro mini.

 

[jtg88]

55a will be better. Mini razor is sweet for the price and weight though. I like mine.

Unless it’s the only spotter you plan to use/have, I think for 40% the cost the razor is solid.

If you’re rich or only want one spotter, you can’t go wrong with the Kowa or the Swaro mini.

Not rich, unfortunately. The mini razor is the direction I'm leaning. The Kowa 55 and Swaro ATC are superior to the Razor in every test and review I've read and watched, but not by large margins. I just can't see that the extra $1500 for Kowa/Swaro is really going to put a significantly higher number of animals in the truck.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Not rich, unfortunately. The mini razor is the direction I'm leaning. The Kowa 55 and Swaro ATC are superior to the Razor in every test and review I've read and watched, but not by large margins. I just can't see that the extra $1500 for Kowa/Swaro is really going to put a significantly higher number of animals in the truck.

You’ll enjoy it.

 

[180ls1]

Seems like a used 553/554 would be the ticket, no?

 

[Hnthrdr]

Yeah I see a bunch of the used kowa for 1000 ish

 

[jtg88]

Seems like a used 553/554 would be the ticket, no?

I've looked at these quite a bit too. They can be picked up for around $1000 in the classifieds. Better glass than the Razor for sure but also a much tighter FOV.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I've looked at these quite a bit too. They can be picked up for around $1000 in the classifieds. Better glass than the Razor for sure but also a much tighter FOV.

Tighter fov than razor? I do know the atc’s fov is amazing, way better than the razors, I didn’t hate the razors when I had one though. Sounds like you have your mind made up I think you should get a razor, but maybe wait 2 weeks if you can and capitalize on Black Friday

 

[jtg88]

Tighter fov than razor? I do know the atc’s fov is amazing, way better than the razors, I didn’t hate the razors when I had one though. Sounds like you have your mind made up I think you should get a razor, but maybe wait 2 weeks if you can and capitalize on Black Friday

No western hunts planned until next fall so I'm planning to wait for Black Friday sales and even a few more months to see what the 55A's go for in the classifieds once a few start to show up before I pull the trigger on either spotter.

 

[go_deep]

@jtg88 you and me are sitting on the exact same decision. If the 553 and 554 had a wider FOV, I'd just buy one of those, but to me it's to narrow. The razor has a fairly wide FOV for the size, but then the TSN-55 is even wider, so my mind goes to bigger it's better in big country, right?
But the price is definitely bigger for that extra FOV.

If someone has first hand experience looking through a TSN-55, could you give us your impression?