Warranty

[MikeJ1970]

Just wondering how much consideration you all give to a manufacturers warranty when making a decision on which optic to buy? Normally I don't even look at a warranty, but I don't think I have ever seen another product that offers lifetime no questions asked warranties that are transferable like some of the optics manufacturers offer. So when I look at a the warranties for Meopta and Kowa, and they don't seem to be as good as Leupold, it makes choosing them a little harder. Curious on everyone else's take on this.

Mike J

 

[gr8fuldoug]

You should also look at brand reputation and which brands folks hardly ever need to use the warranty. Meopta and Kowa have lifetime warranties, they just don't have the "run it over with your car and we'll cover it" warranties. For that matter neither do any of the alpha brands. Bottom line is that the higher quality optics brands cannot afford to give a no condition warranty as their products cost too much to make. They'll cover any reasonable warranty claim but accidental abuse and damage they just cannot cover.
Buy quality not warranty, just my $.02

 

[Geewhiz]

I know alot of people slam vortex but so far I have been pleased with the products and service for what I paid. Had my tripod tip over, spotter hit a rock just right on the body and scope broke right in half. Sent it in and they replaced it no questions asked. Dropped a different spotter on asphalt and bent the sun shade so it would not slide back over the body. Same story. Had a ranger 1000 rf that i had for years crap out on me. Sent it in and they sent me a brand new 1800.

 

[MikeJ1970]

You should also look at brand reputation and which brands folks hardly ever need to use the warranty. Meopta and Kowa have lifetime warranties, they just don't have the "run it over with your car and we'll cover it" warranties. For that matter neither do any of the alpha brands. Bottom line is that the higher quality optics brands cannot afford to give a no condition warranty as their products cost too much to make. They'll cover any reasonable warranty claim but accidental abuse and damage they just cannot cover.
Buy quality not warranty, just my $.02

I hear what you are saying and it makes sense. I try to take care of my stuff, but stupid things happen so those no questions asked warranties do make you stop to consider them.

I was looking at the Kowa BD II and I thought it said it had a 10 year warranty. Did I misread that?

I tried calling you today, but whoever answered said you weren’t available. He answered all of my questions but I am still curious about your thoughts between the Kowa BD II and the Meopta Optika? Both are in my top three along with the BX-4. 10x42 for Wyoming archery mule deer.

Mike J

 

[gr8fuldoug]

I'm here for another half hour if you'd like to give a call, 516-217-1000

 

[cytherian]

It depends upon the price point. If I'm investing in binoculars over $400, I'm going to want a lifetime warranty. A 10 year warranty? That's not very good, if you're talking over $400. Binoculars can easily last decades (even a lifetime) if well cared for. But things can go wrong. There is always the consideration of materials failure. It can be something as simple as a coating going from "velvet" to "sticky"... or a plastic internal shim ending up warping due to heat exposure, causing a problem with focus, or a dioptic detent system failing, resulting in loose turning.

My cheap old pair of Simmons binos had a stupid design choice--satin rubberized coating on various connector parts. It's a porro prism design, but one of those shallow downward sloping types that almost make it look like a roof prism design. Anyway, those pieces turned into a sticky mess. I just used some medical alcohol swabs. About 3 passes, followed up with a good standard countertop cleaner, and those parts turned into a semi-gloss plastic finish. No tackiness at all. The remaining rubber armor is still perfect. Totally saved the binos. My mother had a cheap pair whereby one of the internal lenses slipped out of place somehow. I didn't see any sign of dropping, no visible damage at all. But it could be just a non-abrasive "thud" might've challenged an internal bracket, giving way and allowing a lens to slip out of place. Well, once that happens... You could try to open it up and fix it, but for the price point not worth sending back to the maker. They're done.

But I'll bet anything you'll find many testimonies from people saying their 30 year old binoculars have never needed servicing and are working almost like new. Generally with high quality, it's almost a given. Still, some brands go above and beyond with their warranties. I saw one person's testimony with Athlon Optics. Their Cronus G2 UHD was dropped out of a moving vehicle. Yeah, it was a kid that did it. The father was upset, but took a chance. Athlon honored the warranty and instead of fixing them, they got a new pair in return. Granted the warranty doesn't cover "abuse beyond normal use," but sometimes these companies would rather turn the good favor in potential marketing. After all, here I am relaying this--that's free advertising.

 

[realunlucky]

Still, some brands go above and beyond with their warranties. I saw one person's testimony with Athlon Optics. Their Cronus G2 UHD was dropped out of a moving vehicle. Yeah, it was a kid that did it. The father was upset, but took a chance. Athlon honored the warranty and instead of fixing them, they got a new pair in return.

If my kids throws my Swarovski out the window I won't expect them to fix them for free but they can and will repair whatever is broken for a reasonable fee.

I just had Meopta repair some binoculars they made and branded for Cabelas. While they didn't have to work on them (because they are rebranded) they did so and I was happy with their service. They replaced both optical barrels so essentially only the hinge and lens were original.

Point is a quality product is serviceable and a cheaper product is just replaced. Some of these new optics companies make a decent product and might have an amazing warranty but haven't withstood the test of time. Lifetime warranty is only as good as the company honoring it.

 

[49ereric]

I’m hard on stuff so lifetime warranty is a must.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Lifetime warranty is nice. That said if the company is using that warranty as a selling point. That's kinda a red flag for me. Would rather buy something that they aren't planning on having to repair

 

[Macintosh]

The lifetime warranty stuff I have used is not top-tier quality, and in my experience isnt that reliable. For the casual shooting I do that "pretty good" quality with an excellent warranty is valuable to me though. This is mostly my day-to-day range and casual match gear, and I dont stress about it or take it too seriously so if when I need to take advantage of that warrantee it isn't going to toss 6 years worth of saving preference points, a year of scouting and a multi-thousand $ trip out the window, and it still gets me a lot of bang for the buck. For hunting, I work too hard and put too much into it to take my chances given the number of times I've had to warranty my other gear--in those cases where it's a make-or-break piece of gear I've gone out of my way and paid more for products that are, as best as I can determine, as durable and reliable as possible. If I was really into competing at matches I would treat my match gear the same way. In many cases I share gear between these, in other cases I dont.