Vortex Optics Raptor Porro Prism Binoculars - Compact, Rubber Armor, Waterproof, Fogproof, Shockproof - Unlimited, Unconditional Warranty

What you need to know when buying BinocularsVortex Optics Raptor Porro Prism Binocularsare great for Daytime Viewing of birds etc,Buying binoculars like these tha have "Fully mutiple lens coatings" a must for an excellent view. Porro Binoculars have a brighter view for less money then roof binoculars. The are easy to carry around your neck and keep still while using.When looking for birds you need a small light pair of 8x binoculars with a wide ange of view, that has a sharp image and "full multiple coatings" with smooth focus wheel. Seeing a bird with your eyes and then trying to see that same bird by finding its image in binoculars with higher maginification is not easy to do.The key is having a wide field of view. I perfer objective lens to be 32mm. You may be able to walk around with a heavier pair but it certainly is not needed or fun. Seeing a slightly smaller bird then at the higher magnifications is not a problem as long as the view is sharp and clear. Bigger is not better.Night Time ViewingIf you are looking at stars 8-10 magnification is enough. You can't see a star farther away with any higher magnification that you can hold still in your hands. In actuallity they are little pins of light. You need a wide angle of view and sharp sky images. I found 50mm objective lens suck in the light . Seeing a bright night time sky with sharp pins of light is a wow response. 42mm can be okay. Porro Binoculers provide more light at the same cost a roof binoculars. Vortex Optics also carries this kind of binoculars.Limited lifetime warrentees are meaningless. Even if your binoculars look perfect and have never been dropped they can still refuse to fix your binoculars.I now only buy Busnell, Nikon, Celestron, and Vortex. However in the past I have bought other cheaper brands and were happy with them Binoculars are always on sale. Pay hundreds of dollars is not needed.For around 100-200 dollars you can get a very nice pair of binoculars. However I bought a 30 dollar fully coated Bushnell binoculars that have a very nice view them. They were not waterproof. Waterproofing is a very good idea.I see many very high magnification binoculars for sale. Perhaps on a beach, boating or for looking at a car's license plate.. I can see a need. I go no higher then at 12x which is perfect for moon viewing and I can hand hold these binoculars steady.

Great for hunting an bird watching

I have not extensively field tested this binocular yet, so I can't say yet how well it holds up or how waterproof it actually is but it fully meets my expectations for a small and rugged binocular. I chose this binocular because I have narrow pupils, and so most binoculars do not fit my eyes properly. I was concerned that some users claimed that it did not sit on their face properly, and they had to hold it unsupported from their eyes. I had no such problem: The eyecups were actually a little too far out for me when fully extended, but they have a little detent at the halfway mark that allows me to rest it against my eye sockets or nose bridge to keep it supported with a full view. They retract fully for eyeglass wearers. They have a great, wide-field view. The inner 75% of the field of view is sharp, and the outer edges has some barrel distortion and focal and chromatic aberrations, but you'll understandably have to pay a lot more for edge-to-edge sharpness, so this is expected for the price range. Overall, the binocular is heavy and very rugged feeling--it doesn't feel like it will bend out of collomation like a lot of cheap binoculars I have encountered. Only time will tell, however, so I hope I can add an update for these in the future.Please note that my binoculars arrived with bad optics on one side (the right side would not come to a sharp focus) I spoke to a customer service representative at Vortex, and they sent me a free return label for FedEx, and they had my binos back in their shop within 3 days. They concluded that the pair I had received was faulty, and they sent me back a brand new pair and a complimentary hat, just a few days later. The new pair works great! I mention this because it shows that Vortex had great customer service, but also as a caveat that their quality control may not be perfect for this model. If you ever receive a questionable model, you should contact them and hopefully you'll receive the great service that I did. Quality control is also something that you can expect to be lacking in a cheaper model such as this one, but you'll get more than your money's worth if you are diligent and work with the company if you have any problems.

For the price and the unconditional guarantee this is a great value. Well made, feel solid in the hand, and give a nice view. The only reason for the 4 stars is the first pair they sent me was obviously a returned item. There was no box or paperwork, the strap was tied to the binocular connections with a double knot, one of the adjustment sliders was missing, and there were fingerprints on 3 of the 4 lens surfaces. I wasted no time in returning it.

I did extensive research prior to buying these and have tried many pairs of binoculars before arriving to the 5 star review on these. I had a pair of nikon 10-22x50 aculon , Bushnell trophy 10x42 and Celestron DX 8x42 and none were as clear and crisp as these. There is some slight fringing in some lighting at times but nothing major or bothersome. I can clearly and accurately determine color for birds which the others had difficulty doing. The 10x magnification is perfect for me and I can quickly pick up birds as they fly in. 8x wasn't really cutting it. These binoculars feel great in my hand are easy to adjust and scope your target. If I could only own 1 pair of binoculars under $300 I would most certainly pick these again. The build construction is nice too and they're compact enough to lug around or wear on a strap or chest harness. My only gripe is I purchased the vortex chest harness and and openings on the binoculars are too small to use the tethers with the rings that it came with. I had to buy smaller tethers on here to he able to use it. Not a big deal as they were cheap.

gifted these to my wife for Christmas. She loves them, just what she was hoping to get from Santa.

Great quality for decent price