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| http://www.vortexbirding.com/ |
Binoculars: undoubtedly a birders most treasured and valued possession. A birder without binoculars is much like a swordsman without a sword, a jockey without his horse, a marksman without his rifle, a sailor without his ship or a pilot without his plane. A birders binoculars could very well be more important to them than any one of their limbs and to some they assume a role of importance higher than that of their wedding ring or motor vehicle. Binoculars are not only an important and crucial birders tool but an object which enhances the world of birding taking it to the 'next level', enabling us to view the worlds variety of avian wonders up close and personal, absorbing each and every detail presented to us creating a memory based photographic imprint which will store itself in the recesses of our brain until tapped into for our own pleasure as one reminisces about that moment in time when stuck in the office or the much feared bustling city traffic and thus it is imperative that a birder makes sure he/she has the best pair of optics which they can afford so as to help them fully maximize their birding experiences and that's where Vortex comes in.
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| Martin Benadie and myself |
Now reading the brochure and the variety of product information you may find on the internet whilst conducting research is all fine and well, and don't get me wrong is imperative when researching a new pair of binoculars, but one can only read so much and there is always this slight air of uncertainty as to how exactly your new binoculars will fair whilst out and about tackling the extremes or simply sitting and enjoying the birds in your garden, and thus the reason for this blog is a simple one, to recount my experiences with the Vortex Viper HD 10X42's so as to provide those looking at purchasing a new pair of binoculars with a personal opinion on the brand that is on everybody's lips at the moment, Vortex.
Being a birder, and obviously one wishing to attempt a Big Year, it was crucial that I had a pair of binoculars which would be able to withstand the elements, a few bashes here and there (maybe more than a few with all the falling I did last year!), continuous use and still be able to maintain the same level of optical brilliance as it originally had upon taking it out of it's box. Now having read the brochure, box and having conducted research of my own I already knew that the Viper HD's were waterproof and fogproof but how reliable was this information on the brochure? The answer is simple, very reliable! Throughout my travels last year I found myself in situations whereby I got carried away with chasing a bird and the heavens decided to open thus resulting in a very wet, cold me, but not at one point did I have to worry about protecting my binoculars from the rain in fear of having them damaged, instead I was able to worry about which flu I was going to contract and how wet exactly the bar one chocolate in my pocket was and was it indeed still edible?....The answer to the latter was in fact yes, it was still edible, much to my surprise!
The joys of having a pair of waterproof and fogproof binoculars are truly fantastic: Mess a bit of juice on your bins? Perhaps you got them a bit dusty whilst caught in a small dust twister? Drop them in the sand? Well it's simple, put them under some gently flowing tap water and give them a good rinse, that will do the trick and it is an incredibly nifty feature to have, especially when one is stuck out in the middle of the bush with no other cleaning alternative. You have nothing to fear, no fogging and no water infiltration, well at least not whilst the reliable O-ring seals are in place! The quality of the lenses themselves is something to marvel at: HD extra low dispersion glass helps deliver impressive clarity not only in broad daylight but in overcast and low light conditions as well whereby performance is at an all time high. This feature was of particular assistance to me whilst I was down in Cape Town at Rooi Els. My year list was sitting on 699 species with 700 in reasonable reach, I was at Rooi Els with close friend of mine, Peter Sumner, with one target in mind, the South African endemic Cape Rockjumper. After over an hour of unsuccessful searching the sun had finally started to set having just disappeared behind the Hottentot Mountain's when all of a sudden I picked up on the distinctive call of a pair of Rockjumper's calling quite some way up the hill and with that I started my ascent constantly scanning to try and pick up on any movement. All of a sudden two dark figures appeared on top of a rock, their movement's matching the sound of Rockjumper's echoing off of the surrounding cliffs. I immediately started up the hill at a much more rapid pace and eventually had no option but to stop for if I had to continue I would run the risk of losing the birds for good. I thus, sat down, rested my Viper's on my one knee and started scanning again, when all of a sudden I finally picked the two birds up yet again, this time the excellent low light performance of the Viper's allowed me to take in every detail of this absolutely incredible, sought after bird which just so happened to take the spot of number 700 on my Big Year list, and I wouldn't have been able to get a "tick'able" view if it weren't for my Viper's, fact!
The rubber armor is more than sufficient protection and allows for a non-slip grip, especially handy for those wet situations and the eye relief provides both birders with and without glasses the ability to adjust the eye pieces to their own specific preferences. The locking diopter is an added benefit and will make sure that your own settings are not changed whilst making us of your binoculars.
If there is one criticism I have regarding the Viper's it is the rubber covering the eye pieces. Obviously the continued usage throughout the year as well as the extremes I put these binoculars through it all proved to be a bit too much and toward the end of the year the glue worked loose and the rubber caps started to get loose and every now and then fall off. However, as mentioned, this was due to what I put these bin's through and I am sure that any normal usage of these optics will yield no problems at all and any abnormal usage of these bin's should also yield no problems and if it does, Vortex Optics offers a life time warranty on their products which covers everything with the exclusions of loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage which does not hinder the optics performance, a warranty a birder will be hard pressed to find in any other medium priced optics brand.
A proud Vortex user through and through and a brand I have no doubt will continually serve me well in the field and in my future birding endeavors for many years to come. Thank you to Vortex Optics and Whylo Distributors for the opportunity to represent the brand during my 2014 Big Year and I hope to continue spreading the word on this incredible optics brand, and in so doing, opening the eyes of fellow birders who will hopefully be able to experience, as I did, more than 800 species through some top notch glass!
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| Powered by Vortex |
Very nice review, John!
ReplyDeleteI like your writing style.
I might have a proposition for you about writing some articles around birdwatching.
Drop me an email at sparnar at gmail dot com if you would like to discuss.
Greetings from Pretoria
Eben