There are two Jons running Tract Optics, but there isn’t an “h” to be found. Jon Allen and Jon Lacorte spent careers in the optics and hunting industry and parlayed that experience into their own optics company in 2015. Their idea was to focus on the consumer and what that consumer really wanted and needed in the optics market.
Tract Optics markets directly to hunters and shooters, and that is where the products are intended to shine.
They offer a full line of sporting optics, including binoculars, riflescopes, and spotting scopes.
Tract has two spotting scope models available, each in an angled and straight variant. The big gun is the 27-55X85mm spotter, while the 22-45X65mm model is more portable.
This part of the spotting scope market has really taken off lately with stiff competition from the likes of Maven, Vortex, Leupold, the Zeiss Conquest spotters, and others. Competition is good for the consumer, and it is good to see Tract enter the fight.
Tract sent me the Toric UHD 22-45X65mm angled model for testing. The 65 mm body and zoom eyepiece are priced at the lower end of the mid-tier at $1294.
Tract Toric Features
Tract advertises using “Schott HT” high-transmission optical glass in the Toric UHD. “UHD” stands for Ultra-High-Definition, which is Tract’s marketing term for the entire optical system’s performance. Tract also mentions an “apochromatic” system with an “ED” element in the construction. It was clear that Tract was shooting for a bright, highly corrected optical performance with this scope.
The Toric 65mm is fully featured. It is fully rubber armored, including the focus ring, which feels smooth and damped. The Toric has an effective integrated sunshade. While the tripod foot isn’t cut for Arca-Swiss compatibility, the collar does rotate with firm detents every 45 degrees.
The included zoom eyepiece is removable and marked with magnifications for the 85mm (27x-55x) and 65mm (22x-45x) scope bodies. Similar to the Maven S.3, the eyepiece has a bayonet mount that is secured by a rotating collar with “locked” and “unlocked” padlock icons.
Tract sells not one but two fixed eyepieces with an MRAD subtended reticle, an 18x (22x on 85mm), and a 25x (30x on 85mm). Both eyepieces use the same “L-type” MRAD reticle with 20 mils on each axis. While I didn’t get to use these eyepieces, I appreciate the fact that the reticle is off-center to make using the center of the field easier for observation.
Build Quality
The Toric is a well-made optic that aligns with its price point. It has a solid feel with a great armor texture. The adjustment rings turn smoothly with appropriate resistance. The scope has a quality feel. The five-position twisting eyecup turns a little easier than I would like and feels a little flimsy, but it works ok.
The optical coatings look great, and the metal parts have a quality finish.
The scope is a long, slender design, especially when compared to its Maven S.3 competitor. The Toric UHD is significantly lighter than the Maven S.3. The Toric UHD’s 3 lbs. 4.5 ounces saves 6.6 ounces on the Maven S.3.
Optical Performance
I had a good comparison optic available for the Toric UHD in the Maven S.3A. These two optics have similar feature sets and compete in the same market tier, although the Toric UHD is about $500 less expensive.
Resolution Testing
In close-range resolution chart testing, the Toric UHD and Maven were pretty competitive. With both scopes set to 40x magnification, the Maven resolved one smaller element on the chart, while I had to turn the Toric up to 45x to resolve the same element.
At long distance I set up an 8″X11″ eye chart at just over 500 yards. Under partly cloudy conditions with occasional mirage, I resolved one line smaller on the chart with the Maven at 40x. Even with the Toric at 45x, I couldn’t quite make out the same line as the Maven at 40x under those conditions.
Tract isn’t shy about preaching the virtues of “Schott HT” glass, implying that low-light performance was a primary design goal of the scope. Low-light testing showed a tight race between the Toric UHD and Maven S.3A. I used the scopes side-by-side right up to darkness. Both scopes maintained much of their performance, fading similarly as the light got lower. However, the Maven preserved fine detail a little better right up to darkness, even if the overall illumination was similar.
Distortion
There was a time when spotting scopes showed lots of distortion. However, even the mid-tier scopes on the market now show very little, and the Toric UHD is no different. There is a small amount of pincushion distortion visible at the lowest magnification and a little more visible at the most magnified setting, but it is very similar to the Maven S.3 in this regard throughout the range.
Chromatic Aberration
The Tract Topic UHD falls a little behind the Maven S.3 in chromatic aberration control, showing a little bit of fringing even in the center of the field. I was able to digiscope some images that represent similar levels that I saw with my eyes when evaluating these scopes side-by-side. Note the sharpness differences weren’t as stark as they appear in these digiscoped photos, however:
Field of View and Eye Relief
The field of view specs for the Tract Toric UHD 22-45X65mm spotter are really quite wide. They were similar to the very wide 20-40x eyepiece of the Maven S.3 in the overlapping range, with the additional benefit of going up to 45x. The field of view at 1000 yards is 131 feet at 22x and 89 feet at 45x.
The listed eye relief is a sufficient 17-16mm. In practice I had no issues and this, combined with the wide field of view made for easy digiscoping with my iPhone 15 Pro. The “forgiveness” of the eye relief was also pretty good, although I found it a touch easier to get the full field of view through the Maven S.3A.
Field Performance
I used the Tract Toric UHD in the field glassing for bears and sheds. What I appreciated most about it was how the light and svelt scope went in and out of the pack so easily. The slender form is pack-friendly, while the weight savings is appreciated when getting further and further from the truck.
The optics are very good, even if not quite as well corrected as the Maven. I found sharp, bright images with good detail in the shadows. The scope is a workhorse optic, right in step with the Tract ethos of providing high performance at a good price.
Conclusion
The mid-tier of spotting scopes is a crowded place with good performance at reasonable prices. The Tract Toric UHD fits in well here, offering solid optical performance at a lower price point than most of its mid-tier competition. While there are some optical compromises, the scope is still very competitive at its lower price and offers handy accessories like two options for reticle eyepieces for long range competition. In fact, the hunter can get the Tract Toric UHD 65mm scope with the 22x-45x zoom AND the 25x MRAD eyepiece for less than the comparison Maven S.3 with only the 20x-40x Zoom eyepiece. While there are no perfect spotting scopes in this market segment, some hunters will find the Tract Toric UHD 22-45X65mm the perfect mix of high-performance optics, price, features, and size for their needs.
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