Hi, I'm looking to buy a pair of bins for bird watching and to take on safari. Don't really want to spend more than £150. I've seen the Vortex range and like the look of them and the prices seem good, I was wondering if anyone who owns Vortex bins could comment on them - I've read some bad reviews. I'm going in to try some out on Saturday but would love to know of some good brands to check out before I go to the shop.
Thanks
Bec
I've got two Vortex binoculars. One is a 6.5x32 Fury and the other is a 10x42 Viper. Vortex, IMHO, tends to produce excellent binoculars at each price point. The Fury is just recently back on the market due to problems in with the diopter/focus mechanism. I just got the Fury back a week or so ago, and it looks like the dioppter issue is fixed. Whether or not it is fixed, it remains for time to tell us the tale. I personally prefer a one-two cobmination of binoculars, the above pairing will suffice for just about any binocular use. I also use a Swift Eaglet 7x36 a lot as it is smaller than the Fury. Vortex has superlative customer service and if you have problems, they will honor their warranty just as they advertise it. Now this is all well and good, but that does you absolutely no good at all if your binocular ceases to function in the middle of your safari. For this, I would likely take the Viper. That has the apparent build of a proverbial tank, and has given me not one seconds worth of grief. The locking diopter stays where you put it, it is stiffly enough hinged that it takes concious effort on the part of the user to move the IPD. The focus wheel also tends to stay where you leave it unless you make the effort to move it. The focus has just the right amount of "sticktion" to it as well. Now the absolute same thing can be said for the Fury as well, but the question will remain for a while as to whether or not the diopter issue is fixed. Assuming the diopter issue is done with, I would be prone to use the 6.5 Fury as a one binocular sort of use instrument. If you feel that you would like more, the Fury is available in 8x. The 32mm Furys have outstanding FOV. Look them over and decide for yourself.
Becky,
Why take chances. Get a pair of backup bins. Eagle Optics has the Leupold Yosemite 6x30 and the Celeston Ultima DX 8x32 both for less than $100 American.
Steve C's advise on the primary bins still holds.