During my 2011 elk hunt in Colorado I happened upon a couple of hunters from Ohio. While we visited and exchange strategies someone noticed an elk on a ridge about a mile away. Of course we all unhinged our bino’s to get a closer look. As I was giving that elk the once over, my new found friend was providing a detailed description of the bull. “Nice 4x5, good mass and nice whale tails.” he began telling me. Now I could tell the elk was a bull and suspected it was a nice bull but really, could he see all that? My new friend allowed me to peek through his Swarovski binoculars and slap-me-naked, I could count the points and see the mass and whale tails. What a difference good glass makes. At that moment, I knew this would be my year to upgrade my trusted Nikon’s. Just to be clear, I was happy with my Nikon’s, but that experience made it evident, their long range performance had gaps that I wanted to fill. As I told my wife, “I need an upgrade”.
While driving home from the 2011 elk hunt I pre-determined my upgrade was going to be either a Leupold Mojave (around $400) or a Nikon Monarch (around $300). Vortex was not on my radar.
After hunting season I began researching binoculars. I knew two things about binoculars. First, I knew that good glass cost more than not so good glass. Second, I knew I could not afford to spend a mortgage payment to get new binoculars; I could not bust my hunting budget.
Spending quality time on the internet (Google is your friend) and you will find more information about binos than the average mind can absorb. To be sure, entering into a discussion about which brand or model binocular is best would be akin to entering a debate about which truck is the best, Chevy, Dodge or Ford. During my research, there was one brand that kept coming to the forefront, Vortex.
Vortex has been providing quality hunting optics for eight or so years and seem to have taken market share from a marketplace dominated by names like Leupold, Zeiss, Leica, Nikon, Swarovski, Bushnell and others. This review is not intended to influence your optics suppler of choice, rather to provide you with my experience from looking at dozens of brands and models. At the end of the day, the Vortex HD Viper 10x42 out performed dozens of binoculars I studied and look through.
My initial research lead me to Vortex Diamondback’s ($230), their mid-range offering. When I compared the Diamondbacks to the Mojave and Monarch I was astonished at the verdict. In my view, no pun intended, the Diamondbacks produced better performance than the Monarch’s, for less money. To my untrained eye, the Diamondbacks performed as well as the Mojave’s for almost half the price. Vortex had gripped my attention, these guys deserved a closer look, again no pun intended.
If the Diamondbacks were this good, could the Viper HD be in the same class as the Swarovski or Zeiss? Back to Google and spending time in front of the optics counter at BassPro, Cabela’s and my local gun shops comparing looking glasses. It took little time to surmise that, for all practical purposes the Viper HD was not only in the same class as the top end binoculars, the Viper HD was close to the head of the class. When looking through the Swarovski SLC 42 10x42’s ($2,140) compared to the Viper HD in 10x42 I admitted the Swarovski was somewhat clearer and provided somewhat better lowlight performance. But for the $1,500 difference, I could easily sacrifice the marginal improvement in overall performance. When compared to the Zeiss Conquest ABK ($1,000), I could discern no appreciable difference, except the $400 difference. It was easy for me; Vortex Viper HD became the clear choice.
Of course these observations are from my experience; your observations may differ. Vortex provides an unlimited, unconditional (fully transferable) lifetime warranty. Word on the street is they offer stiller customer service. I have read stories about guys that have dropped their Vortex’s off a cliff and Vortex replaced them no charge, no questions asked. I have had no issues with mine and given the quality construction, I don’t expect to.
I recently found myself standing on a ridge at 10,860 feet in the West Elks Wilderness Area north of Gunnison, CO glassing for elk with my new Viper HD’s. Sure enough over two miles away I spotted a small herd of elk. I am confident if I had been using my old Nikon’s I would never had been able to determine the small herd consisted of a nice 5x5, a satellite bull and 4 cows. Having good glass around your neck will open the door to more successful hunts.
While driving home from the 2011 elk hunt I pre-determined my upgrade was going to be either a Leupold Mojave (around $400) or a Nikon Monarch (around $300). Vortex was not on my radar.
After hunting season I began researching binoculars. I knew two things about binoculars. First, I knew that good glass cost more than not so good glass. Second, I knew I could not afford to spend a mortgage payment to get new binoculars; I could not bust my hunting budget.
Spending quality time on the internet (Google is your friend) and you will find more information about binos than the average mind can absorb. To be sure, entering into a discussion about which brand or model binocular is best would be akin to entering a debate about which truck is the best, Chevy, Dodge or Ford. During my research, there was one brand that kept coming to the forefront, Vortex.
Vortex has been providing quality hunting optics for eight or so years and seem to have taken market share from a marketplace dominated by names like Leupold, Zeiss, Leica, Nikon, Swarovski, Bushnell and others. This review is not intended to influence your optics suppler of choice, rather to provide you with my experience from looking at dozens of brands and models. At the end of the day, the Vortex HD Viper 10x42 out performed dozens of binoculars I studied and look through.
My initial research lead me to Vortex Diamondback’s ($230), their mid-range offering. When I compared the Diamondbacks to the Mojave and Monarch I was astonished at the verdict. In my view, no pun intended, the Diamondbacks produced better performance than the Monarch’s, for less money. To my untrained eye, the Diamondbacks performed as well as the Mojave’s for almost half the price. Vortex had gripped my attention, these guys deserved a closer look, again no pun intended.
If the Diamondbacks were this good, could the Viper HD be in the same class as the Swarovski or Zeiss? Back to Google and spending time in front of the optics counter at BassPro, Cabela’s and my local gun shops comparing looking glasses. It took little time to surmise that, for all practical purposes the Viper HD was not only in the same class as the top end binoculars, the Viper HD was close to the head of the class. When looking through the Swarovski SLC 42 10x42’s ($2,140) compared to the Viper HD in 10x42 I admitted the Swarovski was somewhat clearer and provided somewhat better lowlight performance. But for the $1,500 difference, I could easily sacrifice the marginal improvement in overall performance. When compared to the Zeiss Conquest ABK ($1,000), I could discern no appreciable difference, except the $400 difference. It was easy for me; Vortex Viper HD became the clear choice.
Of course these observations are from my experience; your observations may differ. Vortex provides an unlimited, unconditional (fully transferable) lifetime warranty. Word on the street is they offer stiller customer service. I have read stories about guys that have dropped their Vortex’s off a cliff and Vortex replaced them no charge, no questions asked. I have had no issues with mine and given the quality construction, I don’t expect to.
I recently found myself standing on a ridge at 10,860 feet in the West Elks Wilderness Area north of Gunnison, CO glassing for elk with my new Viper HD’s. Sure enough over two miles away I spotted a small herd of elk. I am confident if I had been using my old Nikon’s I would never had been able to determine the small herd consisted of a nice 5x5, a satellite bull and 4 cows. Having good glass around your neck will open the door to more successful hunts.
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