Vortex Razor UHD 10×50

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Our friends at Vortex have just released another option to their top tier Razor UHD line of binoculars. These brand new to market 10x50 offer the same high quality Ultra High Definition glass as the hugely popular Razor UHD 10x42. With nearly 30% more light gathering ability and only a 4.1 oz weight gain, these are a excellent option for picking out animals in low light situations.

Here are the specs on these:

• Magnification 10x
• Objective Lens Diameter 50 mm
• Eye Relief 18 mm
• Linear Field of View 341 feet @ 1,000 yds
• Angular Field of View 6.5 degrees
• Close Focus 6.6 feet
• Interpupillary Distance 56-76 mm
• Height 7.6 inches
• Width 5.9 inches
• Weight 36.5 oz
• Included in the Box
• Binocular Harness and Case
• Accessory/Ammo Pouch
• Comfort Neck Strap
• Objective Lens Covers
• Ocular Lens Covers
• Lens cloth

Some of the Rokslide writers have had the opportunity to get their hands on and get them in the field and will be giving their thoughts on this thread. @Howard Mee just finished his head-to-head Vortex Razor UHD vs Swarovski SLC review and is out chasing pronghorn today. @Jared Bloomgren and myself will also be giving our input. If you have any questions, let us know.

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[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

I will go ahead and start this off with some preliminary thoughts. The optical quality of this glass is really good. To my eye it's better than the Razors before UHD glass. The color quality seems more natural than some of it's competitors that to me look as if certain colors stand out brighter. Edge to edge clarity is good, with only the very outer edge losing some focus. These do not have the rolling ball effect that some field flattener lenses do, which is great for me because I get immediately motion sick with the rolling ball effect. Low light gathering is exceptional. I am able to pick out squirrels and deer and turkeys in darktimber with very low light right up until the last couple of minutes of daylight. They are a little heavy but that's to be expected with the larger objective. Ergonomics are on par with similar sized binos. The bino pack that comes with them was a little disappointing as they don't quite fit right, like it was built for the 10x42. All in all I've been extremely happy with them and at the price point along with Vortex no hassle warranty, I would say most people would consider these a good buy.

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[robby denning]

Thanks William

I've been running them since early July and was very impressed. UHDs are made in Japan and it shows




I ran then as neck binos on multiple scouting trips and I was surprised at how good they were. Heavy! (37ozs) but that was about the only drawback.




Where they really shined was on the tripod (they are factory 1/4-20 equipped). It made me think that if a person only wanted to run one optic, they could do that with these.

Depending on the price that a guy can pick these up at (retail is $2150, I bet the online stores will have them under $2k), these will make buyers hesitate to jump into alpha glass

@Howard Mee did a head-to-head with the Swaro' SLCs. @Justin Crossley is editing that piece right now and will have it up shortly. Good read and illustrates a few of my points.

If anyone buys these, post on here what you paid and where, and what you think after some use.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Dang, these look like sweet binos! Seems like everyone who has tried them was really impressed.

Howard's review below does a great job of comparing them to the trusty Swarovski SLC that a lot of people know and love.

Vortex Razor UHD vs Swarovski SLC

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

That's a pretty great breakdown Howard. I also compared them to the SLCs and found them to be very similar. To my eye the the Razor UHD in 10x50 is slightly superior in low light conditions than the SLC 10x42, but that is to be expected with the larger objective. I also couldn't detect any chromatic aberration with either. The weight difference is the biggest negative for me. I find them much harder to hold still free hand for longer periods of time, but on a tripod that extra weight seemed to help stabilize them if there was any wind.

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[archp625]

They look so much bigger than the 10x42 SLC. I know you said 1.93” but they look taller to me. Great write up and review.

 

[Jared Bloomgren]

Although I do like these binos I am still partial to the 12x50’s! But when I’m the treestand or blind this is a better option. They really do excel in the light gathering capability as compared to the 10x42 UHD as mentioned above. Vortex could really step up their game when it comes to the bino harness that is for sure. Less than impressed as this harness just doesn’t do it for me but is a great option nonetheless for those folks that haven’t used other bino harnesses.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Seems like a really interesting optic.

Thanks for the review Howard!

One optics nerd note: Howard mentioned the FOV is expected to be wider with the 50mm objective, but that isn’t really true. The FOV is predominantly determined by the eyepiece design. Many smaller objective binoculars have wider FOVs than their larger objective siblings. In fact, the 10x42 UHD has a 5 foot advantage over the 10x50 UHD.

Really enjoyed the review. The size comparison pics are eye-opening!

 

[robby denning]

Seems like a really interesting optic.

Thanks for the review Howard!

One optics nerd note: Howard mentioned the FOV is expected to be wider with the 50mm objective, but that isn’t really true. The FOV is predominantly determined by the eyepiece design. Many smaller objective binoculars have wider FOVs than their larger objective siblings. In fact, the 10x42 UHD has a 5 foot advantage over the 10x50 UHD.

Really enjoyed the review. The size comparison pics are eye-opening!

Thanks for clarifying that Matt. That was my assumption too.

 

[KHNC]

Dang, these look like sweet binos! Seems like everyone who has tried them was really impressed.

Howard's review below does a great job of comparing them to the trusty Swarovski SLC that a lot of people know and love.

Vortex Razor UHD vs Swarovski SLC

Has there been a side by side using 10x42 with SLC's and UHD's ? Seems like it wouldnt be a fair comparison with 10x50.

 

[Howard Mee]

Thanks for all the input. A couple follow ups.

[mention]Jared Bloomgren [/mention] is correct (of course). The bino harness is “Yuge”. It works, but isn’t great. Vortex has improved the material they use for the side pockets on their bino-harness. It’s also more quiet than their last version. I don’t like a harness that rides on my belly or my sternum and there isn’t enough adjustment to get it up onto my chest.

As mentioned and as shown in the review, they are bigger. Personally, I don’t mind. IMO they’re not heavy. I didn’t have trouble free hand glassing. Nevertheless, they are bigger and probably best on a tripod.

The smoke finally cleared out enough to get some field photos

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[Howard Mee]

Here’s a photo of the bino harness. I had to blow out the exposure on the photo so you can see it.

I do like the pocket for the rangefinder, but it also makes it protrude off the chest ever further.


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[LONE HUNTER]

I have the 10x42 UHD. So far I think they are very clear, about as clear or better than my 8x32 meostars. Also I would say they are better in low light than the meostars. Only drawback is they are pretty big, but honestly for a bino that functions as well as this that you can literally run over with your truck and get replaced I mean it's not a bad deal. I do wish swaro hadn't discontinued the SLC though........ for the price they were amazing.

 

[LoveBigRacks]

Look forward to getting a chance to look through the UHDs. Their shape is odd to me, maybe just unfamiliar, but performance is key.

 

[Nschobinger]

I have not been able to look through the 10x50s yet but love the 12x50s! These look like an awesome piece of glass!

 

[Howard Mee]

I used the 10x50’s last week for 3 1/2 days looking for sheep. I found 3 rams the first day that were about 2 miles away. Glassed a 1/2 dozen goats. They were the perfect fit for me on that hunt. They weren’t so big that I dreaded carrying them 4 hours into the country and up and down the drainage every day. They were big enough and clear enough to cover that Big Country. Like Goldilocks and the three bears, they were “Juuuuuust Right”.


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[Jmiller_outside]

Just picked up a pair of these 10x50 UHD's after comparing them to the HD version, looking forward to getting some miles on them over the next few months.

Really appreciate the feedback on here and the testing done so far, its extremely helpful when a guy is serious about researching something that cost more than his first car. I can't say what the $$$ was on these since Vortex is a customer of mine here in WI and one of the perks of that is not having to pay market value.

 

[Howard Mee]

Packed mine all season. Still love them.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the bino case at first. Big and bulky. But the cover is water proof and that kept my glass cleaner than usual.


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[Jmiller_outside]

Packed mine all season. Still love them.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the bino case at first. Big and bulky. But the cover is water proof and that kept my glass cleaner than usual.


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Not a fan of their bino harness either...Leaning towards a Medium Marsupial "No Mag" or the new Stone Glacier looks interesting as well.

 

[nobody]

Glad to see this pop up. First got exposed to the UHD's when we got dad his 12x50's earlier this year, back in January. We compared them to lots of other Alpha Glass and we all enjoyed the view through the UHD's over pretty much everything else we looked at. The color fidelity was better and truer, brightness was superior to the competition. I was impressed enough that I picked up the 10x50's 5 minutes after Vortex released them to the public, literally 5 minutes! They are low light kings, and I gained about a half hour of glassable light in the morning when I got them. They balance awesome on a Slik SVH-501 fluid head, and they're easy on the eyes. And contrary to popular belief, they're not too big to hand hold and not too heavy or big on the chest, even for backcountry stuff. Totally blown away by these binos!

And for those wondering about an aftermarket harness, I tried the Marsupial and the Kuiu Pro. The Marsupial Medium fit then snug but it worked, but I didn't love it. I then rolled the dice on the Kuiu Pro harness, and I swear its like the XL it was cut specifically to fit the UHD's. I don't use any of the foam "risers" in it, and they fit perfectly! I sold the Marsupial to a friend for his Maven B2's, which are slightly physically smaller than the UHD's and fit great, and kept the Kuiu Pro and won't ever switch!