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So I finally ordered a pair of Vortex Sidewinders from Optics Planet after the good reviews here on the board. They were sitting on my doorstep about an hour ago when I came home.
I opened the box. Hmmm. A rigid neoprene case with some extra storage. Nice! Decent neck strap, microfiber lens cloth, and a strap for the case. Nice! Decent instructions...good...good. Appear to be solidly built. Nice rubberized coating; just the right amount of "stickiness". They look good too! Good, deliberate movements on the focus adjustment, eye cups, diopter adjustment and etc. The eye cups are especially nice, very nice in fact. I really like their design. The rain covers on the objectives are very good, but the covers for the eyepieces....meh, they're ok. But at least they can be attached to the bino straps so you won't loose them. Now to look through them. Excellent eye relief! These should be nice to hunt with, especially with my glasses. Images are clear, not a lot of washout at the edges. Not as clear as my IOR Valdada's, but completely equivalent to Nikon Monarchs...maybe even better. My Valdada's were over $370 and easily on par with Zeiss and Leica's, and built like a tank, but they weigh a lot. (Yes IOR Valdada are some great glass! If you get a chance, take a look through some)Great for the truck and for scouting, but not treestands. Yes, yes...I like these. Wait a minute, what is that...that...that thing? There is something on the left lens. No, not on the eyepiece. No...not on the objective. Blow on the lenses...no, it doesn't move. Use the cleaning cloth gently. Nope still there. "Tap, tap, tap" ever so lightly on the side of the barrel. Dang it. Still there.
Back they go. Either a defect in the glass or debris inside the barrel on the inside of the glass that won't move. If I had to guess, it looks like a piece of carbon in the glass. But I will get a replacement. Good, but not excellent, binos if you compare them to the Ivy League glass. But for the money... with such a great warranty, excellent . Especially for the hunter that doesn't want to worry about ruining a $1000 dollar set on your average deer/turkey hunt. Good enough for me not to want a refund, but rather a replacement set.:thumbs_up
I opened the box. Hmmm. A rigid neoprene case with some extra storage. Nice! Decent neck strap, microfiber lens cloth, and a strap for the case. Nice! Decent instructions...good...good. Appear to be solidly built. Nice rubberized coating; just the right amount of "stickiness". They look good too! Good, deliberate movements on the focus adjustment, eye cups, diopter adjustment and etc. The eye cups are especially nice, very nice in fact. I really like their design. The rain covers on the objectives are very good, but the covers for the eyepieces....meh, they're ok. But at least they can be attached to the bino straps so you won't loose them. Now to look through them. Excellent eye relief! These should be nice to hunt with, especially with my glasses. Images are clear, not a lot of washout at the edges. Not as clear as my IOR Valdada's, but completely equivalent to Nikon Monarchs...maybe even better. My Valdada's were over $370 and easily on par with Zeiss and Leica's, and built like a tank, but they weigh a lot. (Yes IOR Valdada are some great glass! If you get a chance, take a look through some)Great for the truck and for scouting, but not treestands. Yes, yes...I like these. Wait a minute, what is that...that...that thing? There is something on the left lens. No, not on the eyepiece. No...not on the objective. Blow on the lenses...no, it doesn't move. Use the cleaning cloth gently. Nope still there. "Tap, tap, tap" ever so lightly on the side of the barrel. Dang it. Still there.
Back they go. Either a defect in the glass or debris inside the barrel on the inside of the glass that won't move. If I had to guess, it looks like a piece of carbon in the glass. But I will get a replacement. Good, but not excellent, binos if you compare them to the Ivy League glass. But for the money... with such a great warranty, excellent . Especially for the hunter that doesn't want to worry about ruining a $1000 dollar set on your average deer/turkey hunt. Good enough for me not to want a refund, but rather a replacement set.:thumbs_up
