deciding on optics
Equipment
Hey guys, So I barely post on here, but I'm trying to decide which route to take for my near future optics purchase. I'm considering vortex razor hd 12x50 or viper hd 12x50. I'm not looking for other brand suggestions as vortex, but I'm having a hard time deciding. My uncle who glasees a lot advised me to buy the best I can afford between the 2, but I have a buddy who thinks the difference isn't worth the price. He advised me to get the viper hd bios and a spotting scope for roughly the same price as the razor. I've tested both in low light looking for differences I sweet spot, clarity, distortion, etc at 1400 yards. I couldn't tell a difference until I looked at tree limbs and noticed the advantage of the razors. Is this worth twice the cost of the vipers or would I benefit more from having viper spotter and bino combo? Thanks in advance.
Since Vortex is not a brand that holds it's value like the Big 3 I would opt for the least expensive of the two.....good luck
To me it is. Only you can make that call. If $ is a big factor I'd go with the vipers.
If I lived in Utah I would want a spotter.I have no experience with Vortex. If you can get the expensive binos this year and a spotter next I would go the expensive route. If your going to have to do without the spotter for several years I'd go the cheaper route and get both.
To me it is a no brainer, if you can tell the clarity difference between the 2 (tree branch) then I would go with the razors. You will not regret it but if you go the cheaper route you may regret it.
I assume you want to do long range glassing as you are looking at the 12 power. HOWEVER, the 12's are heavier and shakier and do not give you much over a 10 power long range. Look at the 10x42 or 10 by 50 glass and then save up for a spotting scope with at least a 65 mm objective up front.
Razor is much lighter and has much closer IPD if that makes a difference to you. Not sure if the glass itself is any different though.
In my experience and opinion Vortex higher end binos like the Razor and Kaibab hold their value very well and are highly desirable on the used market. I guess I would totally disagree with Genesis and recommend the Razors.
X2 cambow has a great point that I forgot to mention.
Yeah. Money isn't the issue or I wouldn't have compared the two. I was really trying to figure out the justification of the additional cost. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the razors. I've lived out west for 14 years now without a spotter or really nice glass for that matter. I'm going with higher end bino's since I use them more than anything else. If I feel I need a spotter I'll just get one before next fall. Thanks for the help!
I would go with the Viper binos and the Razor spotter. I have used my 15x Viper binos for several years now, and they work very well. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the Viper spotter as I was with the Razor. I don't think most people would be able to tell a great deal of difference between the Viper and Razor binos, but the spotters are a different story, so I would save the money on the binos and go with the Razor spotter.
With that said, and having been a huge Vortex fan for several years, I now recommend that people buy Swarovski and buy once. I, over the course of five years or so, have upgraded my spotter four times, and I'm finally up to a Swarovski (just a plain-jane, non-HD, STM version). I loved Vortex optics for a couple of years until I actually owned a Swarovski. I still keep the 15x Vipers in my pack, but when it comes time to glass, I'm finding that the Swarovski is the one that gets used and not the Vortex. I have glassed up an awful lot of critters with Vortex optics over the years, but I saw the Swarovski light this year, and there's no turning back.
Happy hunting.
I can't hole 10X steady enough for my liking!!!
Bowmania
