vortex razor

[Jacobson2112]

what's better gen 1 razor or gen 2

 

[HuntNTag]

I’ve had both in the 65mm.

I thought the old gen 1 razor had decent glass and I liked the fine focus on there but it sometimes was a pain to get the focus quickly.

Second gen razor was a bit harder to turn the focus without getting it to shake or change slight position. Thought the glass was comparable to the 1st gen but the body style was different.

Ended up selling both and have been using my Athlon ares 65mm which has performed better at a better price point as well.


Vortex went from Japanese make in the gen 1 razors to Chinese in many of the newer products which made some quality go down and I’m sure helped them with some profit in their pockets.

 

[Aries64]

what's better gen 1 razor or gen 2

Uh, your question is pretty vague. Are you talking about rifle scopes or spotting scopes, and low or higher-end? In any case, it isn't surprising that the Gen 2 optical clarity is better than Gen 1 (as it should be). There's a noticible difference between the Gen 1 Razor rifle and spotting scopes, but the Gen 2 products still aren't up to the level of Zeiss, Swarovski, Schmidt Bender, or Premier. But to be fair, Vortex pricing is a hell of a lot less than any of the above-mentioned companies' products.

Early-on, Vortex's claim to fame was their price-to-performance ratio. This still holds true. Vortex's higher-end offerings offer excellent performance and bullet-proof warranties at substantially less cost than it's European competition. I wouldn't kick a Gen 2 out-of-bed but I still prefer PMII scopes', and Zeiss, Swarovski, and Optolyth spotters over Gen 2 Razor riflescopes and spotters.

However, no matter the experiences of myself and others, the most important thing here is what YOU can afford and/or are willing to pay. Some of the best research you can do is to talk to people at the range who have some of the scopes in question, and politely ask if you can look through their scope(s). Unless they look busy and/or are packing-up, most people are happy to answer questions and let you look through their optics. This is especially useful if it's overcast, getting dark, or raining because even the crappiest optics perform OK in bright conditions.

If shooters at your range don't have the optics you're interested in for comparison, the only thing to do is call around and see if any stores in your area carry what you're interested-in. Just keep-in-mind that everything looks good in a store. If there aren't any stores that carry the scope(s) you're interested-in, I'm afraid you're out-of-luck.


Keith

 

[Geewhiz]

I have had a gen 1 spotter in 65 and now have a gen 2 in 85. I cant tell any difference in glass (aside from light transmission in which there was a huge difference), but I can tell you I really liked having a coarse focus and a fine focus on the gen 1. Sure it was slightly more bulky and not near as sleek or sexy as the gen 2, but I have a hard time with the gen 2 scope getting it to focus to a perfectly crisp image while #1 not having a fine focus and #2 having to grab and twist the entire body of the scope. It is near impossible to find perfect focus while the scope is moving while twisting the focus wheel.

The gen 1 allowed me to get close with the coarse and then feather the fine focus with my pinky while the scope stayed still to get it to a perfectly crisp image.

Pretty much what east2westhunts said