What happened to Vortex?

[nobody]

Many brands do this including a very popular alpha brand….

Cough ***Swaro*** Cough


Man, 'rona...

Every optics company does this, primarily because most of the big box stores don't pay commission on sales. The only big box store that does pay straight up commission from their own pockets is Scheels. These companies have to encourage the mouth breathers behind gun counters at Bass Pro, Cabela's, and Sportsman's to actually work to sell their product, since their employers don't.

Basically, optics companies pay the commission direct to the employee selling their stuff, rather than the employer paying the employee. Not saying it's the best solution, but it's the solution in the hunting industry. Firearm companies do the same thing, some boot and camo companies do too, and so does at least one pack company that I'm aware of.

 

[svivian]

Cough ***Swaro*** Cough


Man, 'rona...

Every optics company does this, primarily because most of the big box stores don't pay commission on sales. The only big box store that does pay straight up commission from their own pockets is Scheels. These companies have to encourage the mouth breathers behind gun counters at Bass Pro, Cabela's, and Sportsman's to actually work to sell their product, since their employers don't.

Basically, optics companies pay the commission direct to the employee selling their stuff, rather than the employer paying the employee. Not saying it's the best solution, but it's the solution in the hunting industry. Firearm companies do the same thing, some boot and camo companies do too, and so does at least one pack company that I'm aware of.

Bingo On all of it. Even fishing companies….

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Go the other way (use search engine of your choice). Vortex fans have been claiming "just as good as Swarovski" for a very long time (pre-UHD days).

Very true.
I had/have Viper HDs.
I didn't want next level Vortex glass I wanted something I would NEVER feel the need to upgrade.
Went Swaro no regrets.
Side-by-side comparison: ZERO regrets.

Vortex is what it is. Decent optic for the price. When I started that fit the bill. Once I got my gear situation sorted out and realized how much I love glassing my Vortex optics no longer met my needs. I didn't love glassing for hours behind their nocs b/c my eyes would get strained even though the diopter was properly tuned. Never used their newer line so I can't comment. BUT....I never finish a long glassing session with my current nocs and thought, dam, that was not money well spent. It's a pleasure to glass for hours with my nocs. As others have mentioned the resell value of Vortex is not great. I can sell my alpha glass in a few years, not the plan, but could get close to all my money back .

As far as filling the niche when I first started they did the job just fine. Filling the niche for my kids, decent glass and wouldn't be p/o if they dropped them or got dirt all over the ocular/objective, perfection!

 

[Eastonsgrandpa]

I too rode the vortex train. Until I actually did comparisons, they seemed fine to me.

I still have a pair of Razor binos but they are truck glass now for when I see something driving near the foothills.

The NL Pure did me in. Have them in 12 and 8 and the ATX 95 got added in. Recently added the BTX eyepiece.

Selling their Vortex counterparts didn’t help all that much in the acquisition. I figure that this is my lifetime purchase so take the hit once. Plan to get one of the new micro spotters when they get good stock.

I will say though that the Razor 4000 rangefinder is one of the most accurate and consistent I’ve ever used. If only they could figure out that it doesn’t need to be the size of a cinder block.

 

[roosiebull]

A number of years ago it seemed liked Vortex was all the rage. That's all I heard about for 'mid range' glass. How come they aren't in the discussion anymore? Honestly, I'm not a glass nerd. Is there really that much difference between their Viper HD and some of the other mid to higher end glass?

Early on, in the era you are referring to, the durability (or lack of) was not known to the extent it is today.

What vortex was in the beginning was very reasonable priced optics with a fantastic warranty… before it was common knowledge that you would be using the warranty on a high percentage of their optics, and I assume many gained the attitude I have, it’s just not worth it, stuff doesn’t fail at convenient times, they fail when we really need them to function properly, and they have exactly zero “wow” products, they have varying levels of average for price, no standouts, no real flagship lines… they hover in the norm with below average reliability.

I know lots of people claim their vortex products are great and reliable, and I genuinely hope their luck doesn’t change. It hasn’t been a confidence inspiring optics in my experience.

I would love to see their razor scopes become reliable, they have a lot going for them, but it doesn’t matter if I can’t trust it

 

[Hnthrdr]

Early on, in the era you are referring to, the durability (or lack of) was not known to the extent it is today.

What vortex was in the beginning was very reasonable priced optics with a fantastic warranty… before it was common knowledge that you would be using the warranty on a high percentage of their optics, and I assume many gained the attitude I have, it’s just not worth it, stuff doesn’t fail at convenient times, they fail when we really need them to function properly, and they have exactly zero “wow” products, they have varying levels of average for price, no standouts, no real flagship lines… they hover in the norm with below average reliability.

I know lots of people claim their vortex products are great and reliable, and I genuinely hope their luck doesn’t change. It hasn’t been a confidence inspiring optics in my experience.

I would love to see their razor scopes become reliable, they have a lot going for them, but it doesn’t matter if I can’t trust it

Hit it on the head! I have some vortex stuff on rim fires and predator guns, won’t put any of it on my big game rifles

 

[Wideback]

This thread makes me feel good that i never jumped on the vortex bandwagon.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

All of the people that bought the cheap shitty chinese and phillipino lines finally used them enough that they crapped the bed lol.

Vortex's Razor lines are great, everything else not so much. Some of their lower end binos are good for the $$ but that's about it.

 

[centershot]

I'd say it has a lot to do with your level of optics snobbery. Vortex's cheap stuff is, well cheap. Much like everyone else's cheap stuff. Built to hit a price point and probably works for the occasional user that buys that level. From what I have seen (in binoculars) about the Viper level is where things get much better. Build quality and optics quality improves quite a bit with that level of optics and I feel that many would be/are quite satisfied. Razor is a step up in price and a small step up in image quality. What I have witnessed is that the image at the center of view is about the same, but the Razors are a little better at controlling flare. When you step from Razors to Swaros you get a little better depth of view and flare control - but that step costs you $1000+ over the Razors. There is a point that image quality (at least at the center of the view) is about perfect and the differences are so minor that it really takes direct comparison to see the difference. The euros big 3 tend to have slightly better everything. Contrast, depth of view and edge to edge quality. But you pay for it.

Kind of begs the question of what is good enough? Having owned Swaro, Leica, Zeiss, Vortex and a few others, for me good enough is the point where you need to put them on a tripod and look at an optics resolution chart to tell any difference. In the Swaro line that is SLC, in Leica - Trinovid, Zeiss - Conquest, Vortex Razor (Viper for $500)

No question that each of the big 3 have a top end bino that is incridible. The new Swaro NL's are amazing - as near perfect as has ever been made. But they are over $3000 in 10x42. I believe you could buy one of every Vortex model made for $3000.

Back to the OP, what happened to Vortex? I think they are filling a hole in the market. They have several models that cover a wide spectrum of price points. They seem to be doing a good job of that - so I would say nothing has happened to Vortex and they are doing a good job filling that void. They must be because I think they are the largest optics importer in the US.

 

[Reed104R]

Centershot summed it up well. You get what you pay for in this business.

 

[jpmulk]

Their customer service is tough to beat. You talk to a person, they are friendly, and they are prompt at getting you taken care of. Not my favorite glass, but CS and warranty do go a long way.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Their customer service is tough to beat. You talk to a person, they are friendly, and they are prompt at getting you taken care of. Not my favorite glass, but CS and warranty do go a long way.

You cannot argue that… in addition, I’m dealing with leupold CS currently and so far it has sucked compared to Vortex, like pulling teeth to get info on a 1100 dollar scope I sent plus they make you pay for shipping

 

[Reed104R]

I recently sent in a pair of binoculars for service. Vortex paid the shipping both ways and within 2 weeks, I had a new pair of binoculars.

 

[Pdzoller]

Sounds like a Vortex support group.

Had a Viper HS on my .300 win. Long story short, elevation turret malfunctioned and It cost me the only chance I’ve had at a mature 4 point blacktail. Shot twice, missed twice. Took it to check zero and it was six inches high at 100 yards with the clicks moving the crosshairs anywhere from two inches to not at all. Scope has never been dropped or mistreated. I’ll never use one again.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Sounds like a Vortex support group.

Had a Viper HS on my .300 win. Long story short, elevation turret malfunctioned and It cost me the only chance I’ve had at a mature 4 point blacktail. Shot twice, missed twice. Took it to check zero and it was six inches high at 100 yards with the clicks moving the crosshairs anywhere from two inches to not at all. Scope has never been dropped or mistreated. I’ll never use one again.

It's funny to me that you write the entire brand off because your shitty phillipino model failed. The Razors are made in the same place as SWFA, NF, and Trijicon LOL.

If all of their product lines were created equal under the brand then everyone would buy $100 crossfires and nobody would spend thousands on Razors.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

It's funny to me that you write the entire brand off because your shitty phillipino model failed. The Razors are made in the same place as SWFA, NF, and Trijicon LOL.

If all of their product lines were created equal under the brand then everyone would buy $100 crossfires and nobody would spend thousands on Razors.

And even the revered Razor line isn’t the same. The Razor LH and LHT are not the same as the Razor Gen 1/2/3 scopes.

I’ve (finally) have had issues on two of my Razor LHs. This is on top of plenty of failed Vortex scopes that have all been replaced; mixed success with their “awesome” warranty and customer service. But my 9+ year old Diamondback is still going strong.

But you’re right as not all lines and products are the same. It’d be nice if the Vortex pimps would acknowledge that simple fact.

 

[Pdzoller]

It's funny to me that you write the entire brand off because your shitty phillipino model failed. The Razors are made in the same place as SWFA, NF, and Trijicon LOL.

If all of their product lines were created equal under the brand then everyone would buy $100 crossfires and nobody would spend thousands on Razors.

Not really an excuse for a scope with a listed price of over $800. I know it’s not their most expensive but it’s definitely not their cheapest.

I payed a couple hundred more for a Zeiss and have never been happier.

I have a Leupold that I bought for way less for my 10/22 and the glass blows the viper away.

I have three shitty bushnell scopes on rifles that were given to me. All of which are over 30 years old and all of which still hold zero. I won’t buy Vortex again

 

[dirtytough]

I recently sent in a pair of binoculars for service. Vortex paid the shipping both ways and within 2 weeks, I had a new pair of binoculars.

This is awesome customer service.

How do they do it though? Sending out free optics and covering shipping both ways isn’t cheap.

 

[Macintosh]

I was told by an employee of my local chain sporting goods store that employees got "credit" for each Vortex product sold and eventually an employee, with enough credits, could obtain highly discounted or free Vortex products.

This was the reason Vortex products were pushed so much at that, and other stores in the chain.

ClearCreek

This should come as no surprise, it's 101 from virtually every company on earth that sells through retailers, and a great many that sell direct. If you think a lot of companies--in any industry, not just outdoors-- DONT do this you are fooling yourself. Some retailers dont allow it, but most that I work with encourage it. It's sales, they are selling something, there is a built-in incentive for high performers, i.e. people that sell more stuff. It's why people (including me) dont trust salespeople or media for advice regardless of how experienced they may be, and it's why people turn to peer product reviews and random strangers on internet forums for advice--because for the most part they dont have skin in the game.

 

[Rich M]

I have a USA made Viper 2-7x32 and it’s a great scope. Bought a Diamondback bdc for the simple bdc and like it for what it is. Thinking about getting another one. For some reason the zero doesnt shift on these like some guys say.

The newer vipers have decent glass but thin/light reticle. I dont dial so cant help you there.

I fell out of love w Leupold due to a vx3i not holding a zero like my vx2 does. Then they closed the pro shop. Not saying never again but will be a good sale to get me there again.