swarvoski vs vortex spotting scope

H

hunter83

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I want to get some opinions. Should I get the ATX 25-60x85 or the spotting scope from vortex Razor HD 20-60x85. Money is kind of a issue but is it work paying for the swarvo's but also I really like vortex's warranty. Please help with your opinions. Personally i am going towards vortex.
 
Sure, there is a difference in optical quality between the two, all be it very slight at most. Physical quality, not much. But here's the deal. I hunt with an 80mm Vortex Skyline non-HD, that I paid 300 bucks for about 8 years ago. I can guaran-damn-tee you there aint a $3000 difference, no way, no how!

Not once, not even close, have I ever been on the mountain and thought to myself "crap!, I would have killed that buck if I would've just had a Swarovski!". Or "Crap, I can't tell how big that buck is, dang I wish I had a swaro right now". Not one single time have I ever, ever felt limited by my optics, not once.

I'll add this. I took a nasty spill on my 4 wheeler two years ago. I mean I was hurting. I had my scope in my back pack and fortunately or unfortunately, it took the brunt of the crash. The eye piece broke off. I'm telling you, a Swaro wouldn't have fared any better after that crash.

I sent the two pieces of the scope in hoping it could be repaired...it couldn't. A week and a half later a brand new free replacement was on my door step! I guaran-damn-tee you again, that you wouldn't get that kind of customer service from Swarovski.

Just some food for thought. I'll catch heat for this post, I know, cause there's a lot of Swaro guys out there, but if I'd just spent $3500 on a scope I'd have to justify it to myself too.
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-03-14 AT 02:55PM (MST)[p]Get whatever you can afford and be happy with. I will tell you I compared both side by side in Sportsmans about a year ago. Both 20-60x80. On the 20 power they both looked the same. I was looking at a drawing in the back of the store they put up for this very thing. I could pick out all kinds of critters etc. Then at mid power the edge was a little towards the Swaro's but not enough to justfy the cost difference. Then I looked through the Vortex at 60 power. Wow I could make out several small animals that I couldn't see before. Very impressed. Then I looked through the Swaro's at 60 power and WOW. I could see several more small animals and detail that I couldn't see through the Vortex. That sold me on Swaro's. I couldn't afford the new ones so I picked up a used 20-60x80 STS the other day. I couldn't be happier. As far as warranty, I've read on this site how people have had great luck with the Swarovski warranty service. Some have a different story, so I guess it might depend on who you get to help you. Haven't heard any negative about the Vortex. So I dunno.
 
Please do not take offense to this. But anyone that says a vortex razor hd spotting scope and a Swarovski ATX have similar optical clarity are lying or don't have a clue. I have an ATX and my dad has the razor hd. We hunt a TON together. The vortex doesn't even get brought on trips anymore because my dad always wants to look through mine.

I'm not saying vortex doesn't make a good product for the price and yes they do have a good warranty. However vortex is no where close in optical clarity, and quality.

Buy the best you can afford. Good optics can change the entire game.
 
I have to disagree I have been hunting both critters & horns at the rifle range out dicking around shooting & been able to look thru Swaro 20 x 60 x 80 Nikon 25-75 x 82 & also Vortex 20 x 60 x 80 scopes & looking at various objects & animals thru the last 3 years there is NOT $1000 to $3000 in Optical clarity difference between these scope !! Any doctor or any optics professional will tell you the HUMAN eye can only see so far & so clear !! I feel the biggest difference is everyones eyes are different !!
 
Vortex is a good company with good optics and great warranty. Anyone who cannot afford Swaro, Leica, Zeiss etc., would make a good decision buying Vortex optics. As a matter of fact I have owned Vortex off and on over the years. But they are not in the same class as the Swarovski. Sure you can glass up probably almost anything with a Vortex as you can with a Swarovski but the picture is not the same. If you buy a $400.00 television your gonna see all the same stuff on it as you can on a $2,000.00 television and if you set them side by side you may not see much difference and definitely not $1,600.00 worth of a difference. But if you buy the $2,000.00 dollar television and watch it for a couple of years and then go over to your buddies house and watch his $400.00 dollar television you will see a heck of a difference. Only YOU can decide if the quality is worth the difference in price. Some would say yes and some would say no. But you won't miss the extra quality until you've had it and then look through less quality. Then it sticks out like a sore thumb. If your going to only hunt with your scope then you could definitely do well with Vortex, Leupold, Nikon etc. But if your going to take pictures and video through your scope then you can still get by with these lower priced scopes. But your video and pictures will be much better through higher end optics. When I got my first scope I was not interested in digiscoping but later I really got into it. I can now tell a difference between Swarovski HD and non HD.
So to make this long story short, if money is an issue then by all means get the Vortex and be happy with it because it is a nice scope and I will congradulate you on your purchase. If you want the best quality then go with Swaro or Zeiss or Leica.
By the way, Swarovski invented the lifetime warranty on optics. I rolled a scope down the mountain in my backpack several years ago and bent it up and the eyepiece was wobbling around on the scope. Swarovski fixed it for free. Ive heard very little negativity about swarovski honoring thier warranty. Same with Vortex. But there is always that one or two people who have had a bad experience and Ive heard that with Swaro and Vortex again. So warranty is not an issue. fatrooster
 
One more thing I would like to mention. Swarovski quality will still be there 100 years from now. Sometimes the quality on the cheaper optics goes away after several years. Keep that in mind. fatrooster.
 
I have a Vortex Viper 20-60X80 and I really like the spotting scope. I did not buy the spotting scope because it is the best on the market but it was all my pocket could afford. The warranty and the quality for how much it cost is good, but it does not compete with a Swaro, Leica or Zeiss. Since money is kind of a issue and Vortex has a great warranty I would not hesitate to buy a Vortex Razor demo from Camera Land that advertises on here for $1350.
 
I definitely recommend the vortex diamondback. I got it through a friend of mine that worked for Sportsmens Warehouse and that is what he said was the best bang for you buck. I have it on my ruger 30.06 and I have never had any fog problems when it starts getting cold.
 
The worst thing about vortex optics is their supporters..... Bottom line is they ARE NOT in the same ball field as swaro. That is a fact. Now if you wanna debate the cost discrepancy then that's fair. But PLEASE quite comparing vortex to swaro.


Traditional >>>------->
 
You nailed it . buy what you can afford but don't think you're getting nothing for your money.

Chinese made vs Austrian made. let me think.














Stay thirsty my friends
 
Yeah, just like those shiddy Chinese made I-phones huh? If Apple would just have them made in Erurope...

Where they're made has little to do with it. It's all design and function. In 99.99% of any real life hunting situation, Vortex is going to function just as well and for thousands of $ less.

Ask any of these animals if they care they were spotted and killed with Vortex.

525vortex_kills.jpg
 
Well, I think you probably have enough information to make an informative opinion despite ForkWest's ridiculous post. The reason he's never sat on the mountain and said he could have killed that buck if he just had a Swarovski is because he probably never even saw the buck.
First off, I will wholeheartedly agree with some of the posters that there's no way there's a $1000-3000 difference between these scopes. For the pricepoint, I think Vortex makes pretty damn good affordable optics. The problem with making comparisons in a store is that there's no way you can simulate actual real-life hunting situations. You can't try to glass a buck a mile away and size him up nor can you go outside in the wee hours of daylight and see how those scopes perform with almost no light. This is where the higher end optics outperform. Is that worth an extra $1000 bucks? Only you can decide that based on your style of hunting and desires. If you're a hunter who makes a couple trips a year and is happy finding and killing any decent buck and money is an issue, then I would have no reservations about the Vortex. If you're a guide whose livelihood depends on accurately sizing up animals for clients or you are a trophy hunter who spends many days a year in the field, then I'd probably spend the extra coin.
 
I agree with Mallard's. I have a Razor HD 20x60x85mm and I love it. I've never had a Swaro guy complain, or even comment on the quality difference. But Mallard was right. The ONLY way you'll find out a difference, is in poor lighting, trying to look into a shaded area at 60 power. Don't make any judgments on 20 power. They should all be crisp as can be. I took the advice from a guy that has been a guide for a long time. He said, "If it were me, in your shoe's.. I wouldn't spend the extra money for a Swaro unless you're going to use it day in and day out. I'd get the Razor, since you will only use it 3 months out of the year." So I bought the Razor HD. I have used the warranty once, thought I was going to get my scope back, and got a brand new one sent to me.
 
>The worst thing about vortex optics
>is their supporters..... Bottom line
>is they ARE NOT in
>the same ball field as
>swaro. That is a fact.
>Now if you wanna debate
>the cost discrepancy then that's
>fair. But PLEASE quite comparing
>vortex to swaro.
>
>
>Traditional >>>------->

Yep, Its like guys bragging that their tundra's will tow an 18K trailer just as well as a 1 ton diesel.

You start stretching out what you are looking at (2 miles+) and there is no comparison between the ATX and the Razor. Now if you were comparing the Kowa Promiar, it'd be a lot closer. The Razor isn't even the best at its price point. The meopta spotter is better at the 2K price point than the razor will ever be.

In my opinion, there isn't one price point where vortex is the best optically.

I'm sure the ballwashers heads are going to explode now.
 
Kia is as good as Mercedes too. ask anyone with a Kia.















Stay thirsty my friends
 
I have both. I have a Swarovski sts 20x60x80HD and I also have the Vortex Razor 20x60x85 HD. Both great optics. Love that the Vortex has a large and a fine focus dial. The only reason to really to buy the Swarovski is for the resale value. Have had a really good experience with Swarovski warranty program with a scope and a couple bad experiences with Swarovski warranty on binos. Never had any reason to send in Vortex, so I can't vouch for their warranty program or not. The consumer perception on the Swarovski helps it maintain very high resale value. If it boils down to counting dollars, for sure buy the Vortex and use some of the extra money on gas to spend more time in the field. More time in the field will do more good than a slightly better, much more expensive spotting scope.
 
WEll I will tell you...You take the Vortex scope against the swaro near dark and you will have your answer.....swaro leicas zeiss are 10 times the scope a vortex is
 
So hunter83, what scope did Santa bring you? I'll bet the Vortex. And I know you'll be happy with it's performance. What alot of these guys missed was in your original post about cost being a factor. For an economical and funcitonal scope, you'll be more than happy with the Razor, and it will do everything you need it to.
 
I have the razor. I was looking at a bear this summer, it was late and the light was fading. The bear was probably 1200 yards away. A guy rolled up and broke out his swaro. When I looked through his it seemed a little more crisp and bright. However, I love my vortex. Also, the other day I was shooting my bow and was ranging the target with my vortex rf. I dropped it on a rock. My first thought was damn it, my second thought was one of relief because I knew I had the no worries vortex warranty. By the way the rf did not break.
 
Vortex are great glass for the money. With that said I had a vortex spotting scope break in half on an elk hunt. There is a plastic piece that holds the two pieces of the scope together. It broke and the two pieces separated. A broken scope that is warrantied don't do a whole lot of good when you are in the middle of a hunt that that you waited a life time to draw or spent a small fortune on.

My swaroski and leica have never failed. And if you are looking for that edge when light condition are low you can't beat the euros.

If Vortex is what I could afford I would buy them and never look back, however comparing vortex to Leica or swaro is not a fair comparison.
 
Zeiss is better than all of them.

I have Vortex also. They are good in their price range and will get the job done. Low light is where you will see a difference.

Maven optics I hear are worth checking out too.
_____________________________________
"Life's tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid."

-John Wayne
 
I have never had any problems with my Swarovski binoculars other than losing lens covers and wearing out the eye pads. And yes, I had to pay for replacements. But they have never failed.

I recently purchased a pair of Vortex binoculars for my son On our first hunt I found that no amount of adjustment of either barrel could eliminate the blur. I have no idea whether they manufactured badly or were simply damaged in transport, but either way it should not have happened.
 

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