Update on Vortex Fury 6.5x32 (1 Viewer)

I just now got off of the telephone with the technical people at Vortex. As I have posted earlier, I arranged to buy the 6.5x32 binocular I reviewed. Shortly after I did that, the diopter focus started drifting toward the plus side of the scale eventually drifting to a proper focus of +4.0. At this point I contacted Vortex and sent it back. I spent quite some time on the phone with them talking about possible diopter issues. So the upshot is that Vortex has redesigned the Fury diopter mechanism. They offered to replace the Fury I sent in with my choice of Viper or said I could wait the 4-6 weeks it would take for them to get the new parts and to begin to get replacement binoculars with the rededsigned mechanism. Since I have a Viper I opted to wait. They admitted to finding a flaw in their design and did not pass it off to bad QC at the factory. The girl I talked to did not have any technical information on what was changed. It probably isn't likely she would have been free to say if she knew. So Fury buyers might want to wait awhile for the new design. I'll post again when I get the new Fury.

I'll keep an eye out for reports on the "new" Furys and probably other Vortex. Let's not ignore Owen's post:

OwenM said:

I wouldn't bother exchanging for another Fury. Here, listen to me whine for a minute.
I sent back Vortex Razors that had a loose eyecup(due to the detent), bad powdercoat on the bridges, and a diopter adjustment so bound up that it made a bunch of noise, and actually cracked the housing around it.
The replacement, that was supposed to be inspected prior to shipping, had collapsing eyecups, a "locking" diopter so loose that it would pop out with the tap of a fingertip, and a focus knob that made a popping noise when you went from one extreme to the other with it.
Apparently Vortex has no quality control at all, and it probably wouldn't be reasonable to expect more from the Chinese models than their "top-of-the-line" Japanese ones.
The optics were fine, but from an overall quality standpoint, these things are garbage. I've got $45 in return shipping receipts to show for trying to get a decent binocular for $750. Pretty pathetic.

Click to expand...

BTW, I emailed Vortex about the Fury issues I had and a link to the thread I started about this here on BF last Friday. So far no response, but I'll let you know what they say if they do respond.

I'll be curious how Vortex will deal with all the Furys and (maybe) other models that are at dealers and, especially, in the hands of people who haven't realized a problem... yet.

I called them and talked to them at length. I also told them about this link and also about the hunting optics forum on 24 Hour Campfire where there is also quite a bit of 6.5 Fury stuff. I probably should note that Vortex called me back today when they got my binocular and my enclosed letter. I was in the field behind an idling John Deere tractor hooking up an implement when they called my cell phone. I was in sort of a hurry so I forgot to ask a couple of questions. When that fact occurred to me it was after business hours in Wisconsin. I left a voice message and if they don't call me, I will call them. It should have been obvious to ask them about what they were going to do about the already sold Fury's or if this is a 6.5 issue or a 32 mm chassis issue, or a complete Fury line issue, and how they were going to handle the problem. I was considering their offer of a Viper so that and other things distracted me. The lady who called me indicated they had gone through the forums I told them about and thanked me for the heads up. I'll post whatever relevant info I get tomorrow.

Since Kevin mentioned my other post, I'll add that Eagle Optics sent me an email several days ago offering to refund my return shipping costs. Hasn't hit my credit card yet, but will ensure my future business.

What I don't get is that most or all of these Vortex binos are surely made in factories that make similar models made by other manufacturers, so why these problems? Is a goal for unique design features causing this?
Things like eyecups, focus knobs, and diopter adjustments shouldn't be hard to get right. I can only figure that by trying to be different, for instance with the Razors' multiple stop eyepieces, and the focus knob diopter adjustments they share with the Fury, trying to pack too many features into a cost-effective package is killing them.
My less expensive binoculars like the Browning 8x32 and Pentax DCF SP 8x32(less than the Razor) don't have fancy features, and aren't very "original". They're almost identical except for their optical performance, and minor cosmetic differences. They don't have any problems, though.
I was highly impressed with the optics on the Razor, and would have bought the 6.5x32 Fury(instead of the Pentax) but for my disappointment with the Razor's quality.
Perhaps Vortex has unnecessarily complicated their designs in an effort to offer more attractive features that are actually a severe detriment to the finished product when they aren't executed well.
There are a couple of other models that are tempting me, that I'll be watching for comments about, and may take a chance and buy soon. I'm hopeful that it's only the ones with "special" features that have issues, and will just avoid those for the time being.

Owen,

I really think that you and I are rare soul swho happened to get stuck twice in a row with a bad sample. It seems that you are using your experience and extrapolating too much from it. I would suggest that you get on the phone , call Vortex and politely and diplomatically explain your problem. That's what I did with the Fury. I was 0 for 2 with the Fury. I could have said the heck with it/them and got my money back. Instead my conversation with them led to the discovery of a diopter flaw. That tells me they are making serious effort to produce a quality product and are using first rate customer service.

I think ceasar is right about the diopter. It simply required too much effort to pull the center focus knob out so the diopter could be adjusted. It also required a fair effort to snap it back into place. That said, the diopter didn't move when set. Why did they use this design? Well it seems to me that diopter adjustments are one thing that everybody complains about. Vortex tried to get one to answer most of those issues. They came up with a glitch, recognized it was there and came up with a fix.

Vortex designs and builds the prototype of any new binocular in Wisconsin and then uses whatever factory that will build the binocular to their design specs for the best price.

Steve C-
"I really think that you and I are rare soul swho happened to get stuck twice in a row with a bad sample. It seems that you are using your experience and extrapolating too much from it."

Steve, with all do respect I think you are being overly generous here. You admitted in a previous thread that it appears there is a design problem. Of the people who have responded to these recent Vortex threads, all have had focus/diopter issues.

"I would suggest that you get on the phone , call Vortex and politely and diplomatically explain your problem. That's what I did with the Fury. I was 0 for 2 with the Fury. I could have said the heck with it/them and got my money back. Instead my conversation with them led to the discovery of a diopter flaw."

It seems to me that you "discovered" the diopter flaw, then notified Vortex. And, aren't you a bit curious about that chain of events? Do you think Vortex was unaware of this issue before you contacted them? If so, doesn't THAT give you pause?

"I think ceasar is right about the diopter. It simply required too much effort to pull the center focus knob out so the diopter could be adjusted. It also required a fair effort to snap it back into place. That said, the diopter didn't move when set."


To me, that is not the point at all. The issue is that the diopter/focus mechanism doesn't work correctly. In my case, the adjustment drifting almost immediately until unable to attain focus at all. While it was doing this the focus wheel felt like it was involved in a machining operation.

I'm glad to hear from you that Vortex' customer service is good and that they are responsive to this issue. I will consider Vortex in the future once the dust settles and I do hope they rectify these problems to everyone's satisfaction. I do like what they're trying to bring to the party.

Vortex will pull the remaining Fury stock of the 32 and 42 mm Furys. They will fix the remaining in stock models when they get the proper parts. They will resume sales of the Fury when they get the new binocular with the proper parts. Untill then you will see the item listed as not in stock. They will continue to repair the original Fury binoculars as they are returned.

Yeah Kevin it did give me pause and no, I really do not think they were unaware of at least a potential problem, and no I do not think my call was in any way magical in regard to their discovery of the problem. I also think that despite Vortex taking credit for the mistake, that there is likely some problem at the factory that will eventually be discovered, if it has not been discovered already.

I do not work for Vortex and I am not a damned brand loyalist. What did impress me was the fact they admitted a flaw and are going to fix it. That will leave the market with an improved affordable binocular of really decent optical quality. Also I am not prone to go to forums and complain based on limited experience. I posted my impressions of the binocular based on what I saw from what I had and have no intention to try to post fluff. If that seems to some to have been too generous, so be it. People differ. What I wrote was what I saw. Others will most certainly have different opinions and many will not be able to be satisfied by any binocular produced by Vortex or anybody else at ther upper Vortex price level of the Razor. Nothing wrong with that. That is just the way it is. Nothing wrong with buying or not buying what you do or do not like.