VortexOptics Razor UHD Binoculars 18x56

I was in the market to replace my 16+ year old Audubon Birder's Bausch & Lomb 8x36 binos that I've been using all this time for birding. I wanted to get "the last pair of birding binos you'd ever need in your life" so decided to really go upscale. The cream fo the crop IMHO are the Swarovski ELs, 8.5x42 which commonly sell for >$2,500 which I couldn't justify the price, so started looking for good binos in the $1200-$1500 price range. Did a lot of research and finally decided on the Vortex Razor UHDs in 8x42.I've had experience with Vortex's riflescopes, which are definitely and deservedly at the high end of scopes, and this is why I focussed on Vortex Optics, however, I was looking at them from the perspective of a birder, *not* a hunter, as bino demands are different in each case.I was surprised to hear a longtime birder friend of mine on the other end of the country had picked up the Vortex Viper glasses years ago, and he gave them high praise... so then had to decide on the HD vs. the newer UHD binos. There's pros and cons for both, but decided to go with the UHDsAfter a week of using them, I do NOT regret paying up. First, I think the optics are on par with the Swarovski ELs. The "hype" I've read about these glasses turned out to not be hype. They really are that good!!!! Amazing low light detail. Sharp contrasts, no color aberration.. holy moly.. they WERE that GOOD!!!!They feel good in hand. Amazing long eye relief and did I mention crystal clear vision?However, I think these glasses are definitely designed with the hunter in mind, not the birder, but I don't think this is a deal breaker at this price point. Let me tell you the pros and cons from a birder's perspective.Pros:1. Optic quality on par with the much, much more expensive Swarovski ELs. These definitely compete with the other high end optic mfgs like Leicca and Zeiss. They weight a couple oz's more than the ELs, but it's not really noticeable. The optics make these *perfect* birding binoculars at this price range. Zeiss.. Swarovski? Vortex has sent a shot over your bow.!!!!2. Argo-purged, waterproof. Non-fogging, rubber armor. Everything a birder needs for a long day in the field.3. Comes with a chest harness for all day carry. It's well made and comfy, but jury is still out for me on this.4. "Slow" focus wheel, Makes it easy to make precise focus adjustments without overshooting.5. Long eye relief and "locking" diopter. Perfect for the eyeglass wearing me!6. 8x glasses have a 420' FOV at 1000 yards. That's pretty amazing and makes finding and zeroing in on bird motion a breeeze.7. Close focus!!! (<5 ft.)8. Vortex Warranty. It's about as good as it gets. Covers everything except "theft" and "loss". Vortex Optics also has an excellent customer service reputation.Cons:There's really few cons with these glasses. I'm only mentioning them here because it needs to be considered by the birder. A couple of their "pros" might actually be "cons" for the birder1. Weight. They're 32oz. These are a couple ounces heavier than the ELs, but they are heavy for all day neck strap wear and other high end glasses don't weigh this much. I don't think I'd take these on day hikes if birding wasn't my primary objective. I could even seen hunters being a bit put off by this if they're trekking all day. Consider this. However, the weight is partly because of the Abbe-Koenig prisms that are used. Long optical path, heavier, but the advantage is excellent low light performance and crystal clear optic paths. Also, comes with a carry chest harness, so a lot of the weight disadvantage is negated.2. "Slow" focus. One fo the strengths of the slow focus may make it a pain for going from one distance to the extreme other quickly. It takes >2 full turns to do this and if you're glassing near, then suddenly a fast-moving bird is soaring in the sky? You might miss it because of the amount of focus turns required. Quick, near-to-far and vice versa focusing is important to a birder and MUCH less so to a hunter. We'll see if this can be mitigated by how I use them in the field. The slow focus makes it easier to get crisp focus on minute distance changes without overshooting though.Hope this helps another birder on making a purchase decision. At $1500+ these are excellent.. *excellent* glasses for the money. Optics on par with "paradigm" glasses costing >$800 more.One comment for hunters (and I used to be one....). I think you should go with the 10X model. The light gathering power of these binos is awesome and the 10X mag will hit the sweet spot of magnification needed for that activity.

These are certainly among the best or the best binoculars in their price range, but what I want to talk about is the warranty service. I bought my Vortex Razor about 14 months ago and had them shipped to Anchorage, where I was visiting friends. Later, while traveling on the Amazon River, I noticed that the focus knob was becoming a bit stiff. A week or so after that, the focus knob was only working for the left ocular. To use the binoculars, I had to manually adjust the diopter every time I changed my observation distance. When we finished our trip on the Amazon, we went back to our boat, currently in Mexico. Because I seldom go to the states, and because mailing of packages between this part of Mexico and the States is notoriously unreliable, I thought for sure I was out of luck on the warranty service. Also, I had only a couple of weeks before we would move on to our next destination. So I called Vortex's warranty help line. To my amazement, a representative answered the phone on the first ring. I explained the situation, and the representative said he would have their international sales person contact me. Of course I was a bit skeptical. But two days later, on a Sunday (during a bad blizzard in the part of country that Vortex calls home) I received an email from the international sales representative. Without even talking to me, he agreed to FedEx a replacement pair of binoculars to me in Mexico, with the understanding that I would send the old (broken) pair back when I could. A week later, and I was back in business. I am still not quite sure of how I will get the old binoculars back to Vortex, but I will. This was without a doubt the best warranty service I have ever experienced! Ah--I should add that both the original representative and the international sales representative sent followup emails while the binoculars were in transit. Really, I just cannot say enough good things about the warranty service experience. If it had not happened to me I am not sure I would believe it!