VortexRazor HD Spotting Scope

Ordered 2 scopes, deciding which one to take to Yellowstone:* $550 - Vanguard Endeavor HD 82A angled with 20-60X, and* $1195 - Vortex 20-60x85 Razor HD spotting scope.Both are 60x, 85 mm scopes. Ended up keeping the more expensive Vortex, and returning the Vanguard. 2 issues on Vanguard:* Could not (3 of us tried) get the case on the Vanguard. Could get it over the lower body but could not get the upper section to zip up over the angled part of the scope, even with the eyepiece removed (it would not fit over the scope). Either the case was badly designed, or I was sent a case for a straight scope when what I ordered was an angled scope. This order was fulfilled by Amazon, but the case came in the box with the scope, so it was odd that it did not fit. Did not have time to resolve because I was leaving for a Yellowstone trip and needed to pick only one scope to bring.* Digiscoping - Had wanted to do digiscoping with these with my iphone. On Amazon, found iphone 6 Vortex digiscoping set-up by Phoneskope and got that within 2 days via Amazon Prime. Could not find digiscoping option for Vanguard on Amazon. Later on, realized on the Phoneskope web-site itself, there are all sorts of options (including for Vortex and Vanguard) and various phone models, but only a very few of these Phoneskopes are listed on Amazon, so you don't realize they exist. You would not find the others without going to Phoneskope site. Could not get the Phoneskope model for the Vanguard in time before my trip. These are not interchangeable - depends on the lens size (could not fit the Vortex Phone Scope case on the Vanguard).If I had had more time, both to work out why the Vanguard case wouldn't fit (replacement case?) and to work out an order delivery of a Phone Scope matched to the Vanguard, I may very well have preferred the Vanguard due to price ($550 Vanguard vs. $1195 Vortex). As it was, I was unable to get the set-up in time to compare the 2, and returned the Vanguard and kept the Vortex. With respect to the scopes themselves, I therefore did not try these outside, but only in my apartment, across a 40 ft distance. For that distance, they were visually the same, but that distance is of course not the main use & I did not do longer distance comparison. I preferred the lens cap of Vanguard over Vortex (Vanguard has a snap lens - easier & quicker to place than working the stiff Vortex rubber cover over the 85 mm lens). I preferred the Vortex case over Vanguard (Vortex was padded & actually fit), and I preferred the Vortex coarse/fine adjustment knobs over Vanguard (Vanguard was slightly stiffer to move). However, these scopes were overall very similar (feature-wise), though quite different price-wise.Highly recommend the Phone Scope attachment - had a crowd of people every place I set up the scope in Yellowstone, with many comments both on the set-up (use of iphone) and the quality of the picture (and it was much easier to share views with the phone attached, since it was like looking at a mini-TV screen rather than having everyone duck down to the eye piece). Got some great pics.

This is the perfect scope for our lake house. It works well, and is well made. Easy to spot birds on the water.

Great starter scope! Less than this is money in the trash. Light enough to haul while birding but has the power to zoom in. I suggest a medium weight tripod if your hiking and birding- the weights and bulk add up!

This won't be a technical review and its not intended for the professional but here goes. I ordered this scope along with a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod and the Manfrotto 393 Gimbal head. I'm very happy with the combination. I intend to use the set up primarily for birding and digiscoping. I've been researching the scope for about a year and am thrilled I went with it. In my limited experience with it everything good I read about it is true. I can't imagine anyone who researched this scope properly being disapointed with it. I also recommend the tripod and gimbal combination. The tripod was an easy call but it took a bit more on my part to decide between the Gimbal and a Pan/Tilt head. Again, I'm happy with the Manfrotto 393. It set up the way it should have and the balance with the scope on it is wonderful. The combo might be a bit heavy if you're running a marathon but I find it quite comforting. There can be some shake, mostly at greater magnification and if my hands are on it (I'm almost 60 so I shake a little, too) but its a sturdy set up and if I take my hands off it settles down quite nicely. It's a powerful scope and with the exception of certain applications I think any shake can be lived with or overcome.Amazon shipped the tripod and head. On time, packed well, all as promised.A special word about OpticsPlanet. They got the scope to me BEFORE it was promised. In fact it arrived before anything else that I ordered at the same time. I screwed up and ordered a separate case for the scope, didn't realize one came with it. I had the pleasure of speaking with Gary in customer support. He walked me through the return process even though it was right there in front of me on the web page. The return went without a hitch. The credit hit my card in record time and I can't be happier. Would be a pleasure to deal with OpticsPlanet again.Again, great service and great product. Thank you.