VORTEX RAZOR HD Spotting Scope Failure

[SidecarFlip]

My bud's eyepiece went in the freezer. Guess what, it locked up. Not good.

I was considering a Razor but as of now, I'm looking hard at a Celestron Regal HD 20 -60 x 100 instead. BTW, street price on the Regal is about 650 bucks.

I own a Celestron astronomical scope and it's a nice clear unit for star gazing.... and Celestron has been around for a long time, longer than Vortex.

On the subject of 'made in China', A while ago I purchased a chain saw that was made 'under license' in China, Licensed by Makita and it's every bit as good as a Stihl so not everything from China is inferior. I think it all has to do with oversight during production.

Somehow, I don't believe carrying your eyepiece in your pocket to keep it warm is a good idea, especially when, if the eyepiece is removed, there is a large hole directly into the 'works' and the issue of getting dirt inside is very real.

Like I said, I have 3 Vortex scopes, 2 vipers and one Diamondback and they are all excellent units.

This has pretty much removed the Razor as a choice for my new spotter this year.

 

[geargrinder]

Tried mine this morning. 18 degrees this morning. Frozen solid.

Dang.

 

[MontanaMarine]

I bought a 65mm Razor a couple years ago. It has worked fine in all conditions to sub-zero.

 

[LeddSlinger]

I don't remember where I've seen it but IIRC,

Razor=made in Japan including the glass.

Vipers=made in Japan including the glass (at least when it 1st came out). Some are now made/assembled somewhere in the south east Asia (China or Philippines).


Diamondbacks =made in Philippines, not sure of the glass.

The Razor binos were made in japan. Now I think some of the Razor binos are made in the Phillipines.

Razor spotting scopes are made in china.

While the Razor binoculars have really good optics, I owned the 16-48 Razor spotter and found the optics lacking. Said "Made in China" right on it.

I now own a Meopta S2 HD 20-70x82mm spotting scope (made in Czech Republic) and couldn't be happier as it is some of the best glass I have ever looked through. You won't find better glass than the Meopta S2 HD.

 

[FEENIX]

The Razor binos were made in japan. Now I think some of the Razor binos are made in the Phillipines.

Razor spotting scopes are made in china.

While the Razor binoculars have really good optics, I owned the 16-48 Razor spotter and found the optics lacking. Said "Made in China" right on it.

Thanks for the clarification/update.

 

[Timber338]

I looked all over my Razor HD spotter and cannot find a single marking that indicates where it's made... Either way I'll be sending my eyepiece back to Vortex, it freezes solid around 20 degF.

 

[LeddSlinger]

I looked all over my Razor HD spotter and cannot find a single marking that indicates where it's made... Either way I'll be sending my eyepiece back to Vortex, it freezes solid around 20 degF.

Don't worry. You can rest assured it's made in China.

 

[SidecarFlip]

We are one for two. One of the Razors locked up (eyepiece in the freezer) the other one is fine. Interestingly, the one that's fine is an older one so I suspect a change in manufacturing location (factory / location) has something to do with the issue.

Looks to me like newer isn't better in this case.....

 

[Timber338]

Yes, it does seem that the newer manufactured models are freezing up. I bought my Razor in October.

 

[LeddSlinger]

We are one for two. One of the Razors locked up (eyepiece in the freezer) the other one is fine. Interestingly, the one that's fine is an older one so I suspect a change in manufacturing location (factory / location) has something to do with the issue.

Looks to me like newer isn't better in this case.....

Newer is almost never better these days. Companies are always hacking products and making them cheaper then selling them at the same price for a larger profit margin.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Newer is almost never better these days. Companies are always hacking products and making them cheaper then selling them at the same price for a larger profit margin.

......

Seems to be the business model today (though this is backfiring on Vortex). Look at the auto makers outsourcing to Mexico (and China) for components and sub assemblies with no cost reduction to the end user...price increases actually. My next car will be a Kia, at least I know where it's made........ Korea.


It appears to me that the move to a Chinese builder was the WRONG move, I certainly didn't see a price decrease with the Chinese move, it actually went up., now, they have an ongoing issue with the eyepiece. Salvation is, even if they cannot supply a functional eyepiece, the apeture (1.25") allows the use of many different eyepieces from other builders.

Will be interesting how Vortex handles this issue....

 

[LeddSlinger]

It is true that you can use Swarovski eyepieces on the Vortex Razor spotting scopes. I was going to try it to see if it helped improve the optics of my 16-48 Razor, but didn't want to risk the investment on a new $600-$700 eyepiece not knowing if there would be an improvement. So I sold it and bought the Meopta S2 which to my eyes, is better glass than Swarovski HD spotting scopes.

The Razor spotting scope glass isn't even in the same league as the Meopta S2 so there's really no comparison.

 

[coyotezapper]

FYSA, for what it is worth. Got this from a local FB post and just sharing. Hopefully, you do not have the same issue or have it resolved ...

[ame]https://youtu.be/zv_Wvo9bV_I?t=1[/ame][ame="https://youtu.be/zv_Wvo9bV_I?t=1"][/ame]https://youtu.be/zv_Wvo9bV_I?t=1[/QUOTE[ame="https://youtu.be/zv_Wvo9bV_I?t=1"][ame="https://youtu.be/zv_Wvo9bV_I?t=1[/QUOTE"][/ame][/QUOTE[/URL]]

Is this where everyone will now jump on board and start calling Vortex junk just like they do when every other optic breaks???

**** happens, not one company has a perfect track record. Vortex will address this and problem will be solved.

Nothing wrong with Japanese glass. Most everyone uses it but what counts is the specs they give when ordering the glass.

 

[LeddSlinger]

Vortex isn't junk by any means. They are definitely worth what you pay. And their customer service is second to none so nobody with this issue has anything to worry about.

My Razor 16-48 was from the very first year that model was introduced and I did not experience and of these issues in cold weather. Worked fine in sub zero temps. Not sure what happened differently in the eyepiece construction of the latest production lots?

The problem with Chinese made optics is the quality control and testing is laxed. These are supposed to be serious hunting optics geared towards Northern plains and mountain hunters that constantly experience extremely cold temperatures. All manufacturers I know of that build serious optics freeze test their products. You think Vortex wouldn't have let that QC point slip through the cracks.

But they will fix it no doubt so all can rest easy.