Has or is anybody using vortex optics? I've been reading alot of great reviews and I used them once before but it was only a few days and I can't remember much of what I thought of them. I was looking at their Diamondback and Viper HD bino's and their viper pst riflescope and their nomad or viper spotting scopes?

LOTS of talk on here about them. Lot of good reviews. A search should yield you alot of threads! I picked up the 6.5-20 when Cameraland had them at 280.00. Great glass IMO

I'm a big fan of vortex optics.

Their upper end are excellent for the price...

I do wish they would come out with a compact spotter though

love mine

I have the Vulture 8.5x50 (I don't think they make this model anymore). I love them and everytime I have called Vortex they have been awesome to deal with. Any future optics I buy will be Vortex. Let me know if you have any more questions.

I have been using them for a while.

I started off with the Diamodback Binos, then outfitted some .22 with Diamondback scoped.
Then went with a PST and Viper Binos.
Then with a Razor Spotter.

Great stuff for the money by comparision.

What kind of questions did you have?

Just how they compare to optics is the high price rancge like zeiss, swarvorski, leica, nightforce, ect. they reviews are making some pretty bold claims and I typically don't spend 500+ on optics often main reason being warranties dont cover loss and when things get urgent I have often left certain optics in a spot and I then their often ruined of lost. That and I'm no so worried with them getting scratched, dinged and beaten around a little.But I think if the vortex is what they claim they would be hard to pass.

I just ordered my third vortex scope today. I would put their low end to midrange product line in the same class as leupold and Nikon. I dont remember seeing a "made in" stamp on mine but I suspect the lower echelons of asia just like nikon, weaver, bushnell etc. I broke away from Vortex because I got a deal on a weaver but it failed out of the box. I am sticking with what I know in vortex from here on out.

i have the vortex viper hd's, they arent as good as my swarovski el's, but they are 1/5 the price. The swaro's arent 5 times better than the viper.

First any thing with decent x in Zeiss, swaro start at 700-800, nf jumps up 1500.

I have swaro av and conquest. They are not 500 better then my viper...are they better yes.. I think its hard to beat the swaro av/z3 when talking under 1k.

As far as binos and spotting scope think you will be hard pressed to justify the price of swaro, zeiss or Leica next to the razor hd

I have a Vortex Viper 6.5x20x44. For the price I have nothing bad to say about them. For short ranges I cant tell a difference in the glass from a high end scope. At longer ranges is where I see a noticeable difference though. The crispness of the image at 300 yards is not near what a VX3 or Swaro is........but then again there is a big difference in price too.

If you compare Vortex to other scopes in the same price class they are a top pick for sure. I just dont get all the reviews saying they are on the same level as the higher end Leupolds or Ziess because I promise you I can see the difference. My guess is that people that are puting them in the same class really havent spent much (if any) time at all looking through high end glass.

So far I am impressed with Vortex for the price. Just keep your expectations within reason and I think you will be happy.

Thanks guys great reviews and I spend alot of time with a pair of swarvorski el's but the other half is with a pair of Bushnell's and I can definantly see how the difference is vital but I think If I can just find a healthy medium like vortex that would suit me best because my gear gets beat around but sometimes it get lost on the mountain so I dont think another $2495 pair of bino's is a very good idea.

I think if you are serious about finding game you will look hard at the Vortex 15x56 Kaibab and a good tripod along with their Razor 20-60x85 spotting scope. My brother has both of these and compared to my swarovski 15s and 80mm spotter the only difference we can see is at last light. I also have a pair of Viper 10x42 HD binos for my back up and truck binos and they are nice for the price.

I got the cable's euro bino . They are great the glass is meopta. I also have the viper pst ffp and love it. I have not used nf or swaro so I'm no help but I use it for 500-800 yard shooting.

Can't beat Vortex for the money. I work at Cabela's in the Hunting/Optics department, so I have to know all the details about all the brands. As far as bang for your buck goes, Vortex blows away the competition.

does that mean we can get the family discount... lol jk

I love my PST

I own 3 Viper scopes, 2 PSTs, the Nomad spotter, and am soon buying a Razor HD spotter. I'd buy binos, but i bought Swaros before I was turned on to Vortex. I'm a Vortex fan for sure. Cameraland is running 10% off now, no better time to try them. I'd be lying if I said their glass was on par with Swaro, but it's on their heels imo. The Nomad spotter is fine for light use, but it's front objective is too small for what I want out of it. I'll still carry it backpacking, but it's not really a compact either. I love my PSTs.

I have a Vortex PST 6-24x50. It gets a little dim when you dial up the magnification past 18x or so. It's not nearly as clear or bright as my Swarovski or Leica scopes at max power.

That said, it's well-built and cost 1/3 the price. Shop around online. I found a retailer offering a 15% coupon and free shipping when I bought mine 9 months ago.

I own a half dozen various Leupold scopes and 12-15 Zeiss Conquest scopes, all in different variable power ranges and I just bought my first Vortex Viper 4x12x40 PA for a 22-250 varmint rifle.
The clarity and glass in the Vortex look pretty darn good but my biggest complaint is the field of view. It is considerably more narrow.
It does not give you that immediate width of view that I have become accustomed with my other scopes. It will take a little time I guess to get used to.

I guess I'm going to start searching for a deal on some Vortex optics. Any suggestions on where to get a good deal on some either new or used

Get with Skylar. He is giving a discount and Free shipping to THF members.

I looked through a pair of Vortex once. I would honestly take the Pentax DCF ED's over the Vortex. I compared them both to Swaro SLC's and the Pentax was very close comp to the Swaro. I would not hesitate to save some $$$ and buy Vortex but since the Pentax are in the same price range, I would honestly buy the Pentax. Google search for reviews, there are a lot of Pentax reviews from bird watchers. Just my .02...

well it looks like ill be in the market this month to get some bino's the scope I ordered on ebay got sent to the wrong address and is gone forever lots of hard earned money down the drain

Did you provide them a wrong address or did the seller make a mistake? If the latter, ask them for a refund and if they refuse then file a claim with Ebay/Paypal for item not sent.

As for binos that don't cost a lot, either Nikon Monarch's if you are looking for a big objective (their 56mm binos are quite good and only around $300), or compact Minox binos.

I've had quite a few Vortec scopes and while they are quite good for the money, they aren't anywhere near top end like Zeiss or Swaro. With their prices going up I do feel you can find better deals (Weaver, Bushnell Elite, Minox etc.)