Vortex Viper HD vs Razor HD 10x42

[Delaylover]

Is it worth the upgrade to the Razor HD? Or should I just save up for the UHD?

Thanks!

 

[golfbum]

Good luck on your thread, vortex as a whole will get torn apart on here. A lot of vortex hate.

With that said, I have loved all the razors I have owned which have been several pairs! I currently own els and noctovids and while they are better the difference is not jaw dropping to me. I will be selling either my els or noctovids and will probably pick up another pair of razors for the truck. Maybe my eyes suck or I have had great samples but they are a great optic that will do everything a hunter needs plus some.

 

[Fred]

Don't look thru them and you'll never know the difference. LOL But, "A luxury once enjoyed, becomes a necessity" is very true.

I have theVortex Razor 10x42 UHD and they are great. I looked thru a friends Lecia Geovid last week side by side with my Razors and wish I had not done that...

 

[Delaylover]

Good luck on your thread, vortex as a whole will get torn apart on here. A lot of vortex hate.

With that said, I have loved all the razors I have owned which have been several pairs! I currently own els and noctovids and while they are better the difference is not jaw dropping to me. I will be selling either my els or noctovids and will probably pick up another pair of razors for the truck. Maybe my eyes suck or I have had great samples but they are a great optic that will do everything a hunter needs plus some.

I can get a pair for of the Razors right now for $700, which seems like that is the lowest I'll find. I can't really afford above that right now.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I can get a pair for of the Razors right now for $700, which seems like that is the lowest I'll find. I can't really afford above that right now.

Jump on them. I dont think you will have any regrets.

 

[Fred]

I can get a pair for of the Razors right now for $700, which seems like that is the lowest I'll find. I can't really afford above that right now.

Those will be fine and the money will do well on other things

 

[travisurkul]

Check out the Leupold BX-4s

 

[nphunter]

The Razors are great glass for that price. Honestly they are great glass period, the biggest advantage of going to something the the EL is a much better depth of field. For just hand hold scanning the razors are great.
They are leaps and bounds above the vipers, there is more of a difference going from viper to razor than there would be going from a razor to swaro.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Have you researched

Leupold BX-4 Pro Guides or BX-5 Santiam's

Kowa Genesis's

Zeiss Conquest HD's

Sig Sauer Zulu's

Steiner HX Series

Meopta Meostar's and MeoPro Air's

There's many great options available in the under $1,000.00 price category. As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

 

[Delaylover]

Have you researched

Leupold BX-4 Pro Guides or BX-5 Santiam's

Kowa Genesis's

Zeiss Conquest HD's

Sig Sauer Zulu's

Steiner HX Series

Meopta Meostar's and MeoPro Air's

There's many great options available in the under $1,000.00 price category. As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments

I’ve looked at a couple of those but I am really tough on my gear. Vortex warranty gives me peace of mind that I don’t think other brands would give me.

 

[Xlr8n]

If you found them for $700, the Razors are tough to beat. Keep in mind several brands and retailers will have some Black Friday deals soon. Tract usually has a good holiday discount and their Tract bino's are on par with Razors, if not a touch better. Their warranty is solid as well.

 

[Geewhiz]

I have a pair of viper hd 10x42s and use them all the time. Admittedly they arent the best but they work well and I really dont see a need to spend the money for a better pair. No Im not a noob, I live in elk country and scout year round and kill elk. Vipers will work well, unless you just have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket.

 

[Reed104R]

If you found them for $700, the Razors are tough to beat. Keep in mind several brands and retailers will have some Black Friday deals soon. Tract usually has a good holiday discount and their Tract bino's are on par with Razors, if not a touch better. Their warranty is solid as well.

Good point about Black Friday deals coming up. The Vortex Razors are an incredible value, given both the image quality and warranty. The UHD's will rival anything on the market, including binos costing over 2K. (My opinion, of course)

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I’ve looked at a couple of those but I am really tough on my gear. Vortex warranty gives me peace of mind that I don’t think other brands would give me.

FWIW, Steiner, Burris, Athlon, Meopta, GPO and Hawke all offer the same all encompassing warranty

 

[nobody]

$700 is a great buy on those Razor's. People like to crap all over Vortex, sometimes for good reason and sometimes not. The vast majority of my optics loadout is Vortex stuff (except my riflescopes), and I've never felt at any type of disadvantage.

The Razor is better than the Viper, but not mind-blowingly better. The Razor UHD's are better than the HD's, but they're not mind-blowingly better. See the correlation? Yes, the Viper's aren't as good as the Razor HD's, but they don't totally suck. My buddy ran the Viper's until last year and never had an issue finding deer or elk. Low light they suffered compared to his current Zeiss or my 10x50 Razor UHD's, but they were worth the deal he picked them up on (I think he paid $350 for them new several years ago on a black friday deal?).

Glass is like anything else, there's lots of personal preference involved in the decision. I prefer my 10x50 UHD's over the Swaro or Zeiss offerings, including the NL Pure. Hate their color rendition. I'll happily use my UHD's for the foreseeable future.

Leica's, however, are calling my name... one day... one day...

EDIT TO ADD: I will say, I ran Viper tier glass before getting my UHD's and was perfectly happy. Then I got my UHD's and gained about 35 minutes of glassing in the early morning. 35 minutes where I was glassing and seeing deer and my partner with Viper's (before he got his Zeiss) was squinting and trying to make out anything but a fuzzy shadow until the lighting got better. That's where good glass shines, poor light. Not just low light, but poor light (gray days, bad weather, etc.). It's up to you to determine how much low/poor light glassing you'll be doing. The more low/poor light glassing you're doing, the better glass you'll want.

 

[Reed104R]

I have HD's and UHD's. Not much difference but the UHD is a little better optically. The AK prisms handle CA and glare better. You can get UHD's for around 1K if you can find refurbished models. They are typically indistinguishable from new.

 

[nagibson1]

A few guys have compared the Vortex UHD's wit the Leica Geovids. This is where my head is at.
Can they or some others with experience push that comparison? I live near Vortex, and have a few friends that can get me the family discount of 50%- though some sales are better than that. I also would like to have a real good binocular as my eyes get older, but I only want to buy once. This is for a chest harness, main glassing bino.
I have run Vipers for about 5 years. They are fine for deer hunting in the Wisconsin woods, and better than the Nikon Monarchs I had before them. They are light too.
I was able to borrow 10x40 UHD's this last hunt, and I put my vipers away. The difference was real noticeable. So was the weight difference- but I couldn't tell much when they were in the harness and 80%+ of my glassing is off a tripod.
The refurbished UHD's are $900 at Sierra right now.
However the budget Geovids with the rangefinder are only about $950 very lightly used. And 1500-1600 for the nicer model.
Are the budget Geovids an ergonomic problem?
Glass Quality? Advice? I could buy any of these. I also only hunt out west once a year at best. But I'm always sitting next to a guy with 30 years experience and EL's. It's hard on the ego.