I've had a Vortex Fury 6.5x32 at Vortex for some weeks now waiting for them to deal with the diopter/focus wheel issues. I got a call from Vortex yesterday telling me that my new replacement pair was on the way. They had evidently gotten a small supply from the factory with whatever changes were required. Those survived the Vortex technical staff inspection, so Vortex has authorized at least a small production run. They are replacing the service backlog first so I think we'll see the Fury available at dealers shortly. IF and I repeat IF the changes work the Fury represents one of the really good optical buys for the dollar.
Steve,
As always I look forward to hearing your comments on this model once it arrives. I always enjoyed the optics of this bin. If they fixed that little mechanical issue then it most certainly will be an excellent buy.
I posted most of the following in a response to a question Tero posed about these in his binocular ramblings thread. Thought I'd re-post here as well.
The diopter ring of the original Fury was integral to the focus knob. To use it you pulled the focus knob toward you and then you could adjust the diopter. When that was done you pushed the dial back into place. Their problem, at least on the two I had, was that the dioper operation required some serious effort on the part of the user. I would venture to guess that kids and others with weakened hands/fingers would perhaps have found diopter adjustment beyond their physical capability. I think that the gist of the problem was, as has been suggested a QC problem. When the force necessary to adjust the diopter was applied, something was eventually bound to give. Since the focus was integral with the diopter, when it gave, both systems had the potential to fail. The mechanism is probably OK on the original Fury if you can adjust it easily. It is very easy for me to see why both the diopter and focus would have problems. The new ones have a seperate diopter on the outer end of the focus knob which is pulled out for diopter adjustment. Just like is typical of that common sort of adjustment. I liked the original setup better, but this one now seems just fine. Image quality still right up there. The diopter/focus is the only visible change. The center hinge is tight, won't move unless you make concerted effort to move it. The focus wheel moves pretty easily when you decide to make the effort to move it, but does not seem to be inclined to wander on its own.
For know, I'd say it looks like the fix may be sufficient. The basic optical qualities seem unchanged.