vortex monocular?!

[forrestdweller]

in a recent thread in the firecraft section i mentioned my frustration with my current situation. what keeps me stuck in this place is some paperwork (as its easier to sort close to town and with internet access vs. living out in the countryside without those things in easy range). well, that paperwork is almost sorted so i hope to move on soon... as a side effect of that paperwork i'm able to access a small amount of spare money, so i'm tinkering with the idea of getting a small monocular as i'm currently dont have any working optics (=the "steiner" pocket binoculars i carried for many years on my walkabout have "gone blind" as a result of the tropical climate but i hope to get them restored one day as they were a gift of my favourite grandmother may years ago -- reason i'm after a monocular vs. binoculars is compactness as well); main tasks would be taking a closer look at some wildlife and to check out if the people ahead (on the beach) are harmless or potential danger (unfortunately drug runners have lately become an issue in the area where i walk the dog -- please dont expect our local corrupt police to deal with it...)

i'm living in a tropical climate and currently close to the coast, so i need something capable of handling the humidity and also the varying light conditions (=bright light on the beach, rather dark in the jungle); i'm also wearing glasses so it has to work with them... .

a recent thread brought vortex monoculars to my attention as they #3 seem to be o.k. with glasses, #2 their website says "lifetime warranty" and # 1 there seems to be a dealer in Costa Rica (which would make purchase much easier as any online buy involves a lot of red tape making it a pain in my rear) -- i'm specifically interested in their "solo" models with eight times magnification as they seem to be "checking my boxes" and the 8x25 model should be within my budget (the 8x36 might be better but might be out of my range as shipping and import to here increase the price)

o.k.,long story short: has anyone experience with this brand?! (i'm open for other options, too as long as i can find them here and don't have to buy online (from overseas))

thanks!

 

[Athos]

I have a lot of experience with Vortex kit. I own a variety of Vortex kit from £150 red dot sights up to their top end Razor rifle scopes (I chose Vortex over Nightforce, S&B, Kahles etc). I’ve been buying their gear for about 10 years now.

It is decent, solid equipment at a reasonable price. There are better brands out there optically, but Vortex offer good value for money. The warranty is a huge factor too, I think it’s the best in the industry. I have no experience with their monoculars, but I doubt you will be disappointed. You’ll also find that Vortex stuff generally holds its value well on the second hand market as the warranty is transferable. So even if you bought a second hand monocular that was broken, they’d replace it.

Hope that helps

 

[forrestdweller]

thanks, good to know that! especially that they dont just make a promise but really have a good service (in regards to their warranty). and that they have a dealer within the country is an important factor to me considering that shipping it overseas in case of a problem would cost me an arm and a leg in shipping and import (back to me)...

 

[Chekmate]

Evening! @forrestdweller

I've have the 10 x 25 Vortex monocular. It's the perfect size for my shirt pocket. The glass is very clean and I find the image sharp. I've been using the Vortex monocular in central Canada for a year now and have had no problems. We don't have the heat and humidity you do. The Vortex monocular does work well in the cold. I've used it down to the minus 30's and it preformed well.

Keep Your Tinder Dry
Chekmate

 

[forrestdweller]

update: as their costa rican website wasn't working (and the email came back as "address not found" i contacted the service address of their main website - - i got a reply from the costa rican dealer that they currently have issues with the website and that he has a 8x36 in stock (unless i understand something wrong eight times magnification works better for low light ) and -positive surprise- the price isn't ridiculously high (=shipping and import to here usually costs a fortune) so i'm planning to take it.

it probably doesn't get down to -30°C here, BUT the highest mountain is over 3800m high and i'm sure it's going to be chilly up there (not this year but it's on my bucket list)

 

[forrestdweller]

picked up my monocular at the post office today : unfortunately it's raining so i've only been unboxing and having a quick look at some distant trees, tomorrow UNFORTUNATELY the weekend starts which means a proper testing has most likely to wait until weekend is over (yay! (==weekend means currently extra stress for me :-( so i'm happy when its over)) but initial tests leave me happy so far it's a bit bulkier than expected so i'll have to figure out how to carry it (as my manly man bag is full...) -- if it doesn't interfere with warranty i'll take the belt clip off to save weight and reduce volume a bit. that it came witha cleaning cloth in it's own ziploc bag is a nice little touch imho

 

[swyn]

picked up my monocular at the post office today : unfortunately it's raining so i've only been unboxing and having a quick look at some distant trees, tomorrow UNFORTUNATELY the weekend starts which means a proper testing has most likely to wait until weekend is over (yay! (==weekend means currently extra stress for me :-( so i'm happy when its over)) but initial tests leave me happy so far it's a bit bulkier than expected so i'll have to figure out how to carry it (as my manly man bag is full...) -- if it doesn't interfere with warranty i'll take the belt clip off to save weight and reduce volume a bit. that it came witha cleaning cloth in it's own ziploc bag is a nice little touch imho

Watching with interest.
S

 

[Mesquite]

Likewise

 

[forrestdweller]

quick update: i've been playing "peeping tom" at our neighbours since friday evening and i'm clearly able to see what they're doing ( before someone gets wrong ideas: i'm talking about the local troop of howling monkeys ) -- i'm getting clear images during the day and at dawn , i'm also able to read what's written on some large bags behind the nursery 200m away, managed to get to the beach this afternoon (yay!) and scan the area ahead in bright sunshine -- again a clear image. testing in rainforest in low light will follow as soon as i get an opportunity but i'm confident that it will perform well there, too. so far i'm happy with the monocular, but i'll have to see how it holds up long-term in the killer humidity of the tropical climate...

the pouch it came in will need an upgrade when i can lay my hands on some material (== as it will be a DIY project): workmanship is o.k., but only front, bottom, back and top are padded material, the sides are some kind of elasticated material which doesn't offer any protection in case of a hard landing -- there's also too much area on the top where sand or dust could get into the pouch (as i'll carry it inside a bagback or shoulder bag and not on my belt a ziploc bag will solve this issue for now)

overall i'm happy with my purchase and think i spent my money well

 

[bearbait]

Many thanks for your update. I shall keep following the thread as I've been pondering a monocular, to save pack weight, for some time now...

 

[forrestdweller]

i managed to get away from the nonsense of my work place for some hours, so yesterday i got an opportunity to go for a short stroll in the rain on my friend's jungle property. during a break in the rain i took my (well-wrapped) monocular out of the bag to count the creepy-crawlies in the fur of a two-toed sloth* about 40m away: not exactly a full-scale test but i got a clear image

* a bit off-topic but as i see tourists often get rather close to sloths to take pics -- they have usually a whole zoo of little critters living on them and/ or algae as well(the sloths, not the tourists ). and if you make the mistake of getting close enough for a hug (they can move surprisingly fast) they won't let go as their claws look on tendons and not on muscles... so it's better to keep some distance