Problem with green coating of EL SV 8x32 (3 Viewers)

[Gary Schiltz]

These are mine, the peeling of the armour accelerated recently after the material became tacky and brittle. This is after only 2+ years of light use.

My much cheaper Vortex binoculars (which are not known for great built quality) have been totally fine in this regard, not even a scuff mark.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with that problem. I bought mine and my wife's "forever binoculars" (Swarovski EL 8.5x42 field pro $2500 each) six years ago and mine started doing this last year. Swarovski USA has been very good in the past in sending replacement parts that IMHO are bad by design (objective lens covers that attach to the barrel of the binoculars, but come apart very easily; and also, the eyecup rubber that easily comes off and gets lost). This is the first time I would have to send them to get them repaired. Unfortunately, living in Ecuador, it's very difficult to send things out of the country, and they want to charge import duty when they return. So I'll probably buy a pair of mid-priced Vortex while I'm without my ELs, probably for 6 months or so.

 

[rodneyAB]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with that problem. I bought mine and my wife's "forever binoculars" (Swarovski EL 8.5x42 field pro $2500 each) six years ago and mine started doing this last year. Swarovski USA has been very good in the past in sending replacement parts that IMHO are bad by design (objective lens covers that attach to the barrel of the binoculars, but come apart very easily; and also, the eyecup rubber that easily comes off and gets lost). This is the first time I would have to send them to get them repaired. Unfortunately, living in Ecuador, it's very difficult to send things out of the country, and they want to charge import duty when they return. So I'll probably buy a pair of mid-priced Vortex while I'm without my ELs, probably for 6 months or so.

I'm sorry you have the armor problem. it is easily fixed by Swarovski, and they do good service on their products. I understand your geographic location adds a nearly insurmountable obstacle to getting factory service.
I got exceptionally fed up with this particular thread. No big deal, I just got tired with the ongoing rants against the brand name, so I skipped out on reading the furthering bad mouthing and figured this is all there is to BF.
I was just viewing backyard birds under cloudy sky with the NL 8x32, absolutely stunning instrument. My opinion, and very few agree...whatever.

 

[digiscope09]

Swarovski has confirmed that the rubber used is "sustainable material" which can degrade - though in my case not from extreme temps or frequent use beyond what is to be reasonably expected from a binoculars.

They will fix it free of charge, as they should under warranty (how about after the warranty?)
But the one-way shipping cost (which is non-trivial as this is a recurring issue every few years) will need to be borne by the customer, needlessly adding to the already high cost of ownership + the loss of use.

"Due to the used sustainable material, extreme temperatures and frequently use may cause the material to degrade in some cases.
Within the guarantee period, we are very accommodating and will replace the armouring free of charge.
We are constantly working on improvements and adaptations.
At the moment, however, this reinforcement is the best and most environmentally friendly.
We will forward your honest feedback to our responsible product managers.

...

Possible handling and custom fees has to be taken over from the customer.
This is not covered by warranty, we are sorry.
The return shipment will be organised and handled by us."

I understand this post is dated now but could not let it pass that Swarovski appears to have abandoned its products with the faulty armour cover. I am from Australia and contacted Swarovski service here about the problem on my 8.5x42 EL bins and was informed that they had to be sent back to Austria for repair which I understand but wait for it, they quoted three to four months for the repair!
Now anyone who has outlayed $3-$4K on a pair of binoculars is not going to go without them for that length of time.
Is Swarovski deliberately dissuading customers from seeking the repair due to the magnitude of the problem? I do not know the anwer but whatever the reason, it is very poor customer service. I had an earlier pair returned to Austria some years back for repair and it took three weeks!
Why would a retailer stock Swarovski knowing that attitude to repairs.

 

[dorubird]

I'm sorry you have the armor problem. it is easily fixed by Swarovski, and they do good service on their products. I understand your geographic location adds a nearly insurmountable obstacle to getting factory service.
I got exceptionally fed up with this particular thread. No big deal, I just got tired with the ongoing rants against the brand name, so I skipped out on reading the furthering bad mouthing and figured this is all there is to BF.
I was just viewing backyard birds under cloudy sky with the NL 8x32, absolutely stunning instrument. My opinion, and very few agree...whatever.

we should not be surprised by the negative feedback here, because this is a topic about an extremely widespread problem with this very expensive brand. This must be voiced because we are the ones who pay for, and I feel ok that this is done here on BF. There is a lot of discussion here on BF about binoculars and everyone is free to say what they think about binoculars they own and what they have experienced with them. Here we are not discussing the very good optics of these Swarovski binoculars, there are plenty of other places where this is done. Here, on this particular topic, we are discussing an ugly and shameful armor problem, not yet solved by Swarovski. Swarovski should pay more attention to the quality of their finishes, not replace their armor with exactly the same quality, lower quality than cheap binoculars.
So, again, here we are not talking about his optical qualities but about the bad quality of his armor. These binoculars, in certain climatic and human PH conditions, have a more sensitive armor than a child's cheek.
It's funny how some take the defense of a brand against clear evidence...It's like saying: "bad luck for those who live in equatorial areas, but these binoculars have no problems at my home in the temperate zone"

 

[SGBirder]

I understand this post is dated now but could not let it pass that Swarovski appears to have abandoned its products with the faulty armour cover. I am from Australia and contacted Swarovski service here about the problem on my 8.5x42 EL bins and was informed that they had to be sent back to Austria for repair which I understand but wait for it, they quoted three to four months for the repair!
Now anyone who has outlayed $3-$4K on a pair of binoculars is not going to go without them for that length of time.
Is Swarovski deliberately dissuading customers from seeking the repair due to the magnitude of the problem? I do not know the anwer but whatever the reason, it is very poor customer service. I had an earlier pair returned to Austria some years back for repair and it took three weeks!
Why would a retailer stock Swarovski knowing that attitude to repairs.

Still no update from Swarovski about the supposed new material.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

I'm just here again because I saw the thread had popped up as one of the latest threads on the right-hand side of my screen and I had a look through it for 'old times sake', going back to before I last posted here in July 2023.

Reading all of the posts, yes all of them, from then I got to wondering if any poster on these boards actually bothers to read earlier comments to see the history of the discussion, before they come in with their personal pearls of wisdom and I regretfully come to the conclusion that with a few notable exceptions, very few do.

For instance, time and again I see the same (innacurate) platitudes like 'not to worry, it mainly occurs in humid jungles and such and the rest of us have nothing to worry about unless we have sweaty hands and bathe in DEET' or 'It's not a problem in northern latitudes, just avoid going to Costa Rica if you can', or 'How dare you complain, just because your binoculars are crap? Mine are just fine!'

Just for the record, and to save people scrolling back too far and wearing out their scroll buttons, I will re-iterate some of my points.

1. I bought my ELs in 2016 and by early 2019 they were starting to see deterioration in the coating. By autumn 2019 they were falling apart and that's when I sent them to Swarovski for repair and I started a thread here to see if anyone else had suffered a similar problem. For my efforts, I suffered all sorts of accusations, including knocking them about, abusing them, having sweaty hands and using insect deterrent or sunscreen, even though I posted a copy of Swaro's response to say they were now using bio-degradable plastic to alert people to this fact.

2. I don't use DEET except on very, very rare occasions, and when I do, I wash my hands thoroughly after applying it. My £2,000-plus binoculars are inexpensive compared to the camera gear I carry, and I'm not about to jeopardise that, or my binoculars.

3. I qualified as a surveyor, using delicate optical equipment, many decades ago, and looking after optics is second nature - I don't kick them about, put them on the ground, cover them in dust, or use them to knock nails in with.

4. I don't use sun-screen. I have clothes and a hat to do that job.

5. I don't have sweaty palms.

6. I don't live in the tropics, far from it, quite the opposite. At something over 55° North on the North Sea coast of England, high humidity and high temperature is not something I need to worry about at home - ever. I have two or three trips per year, mainly to Spanish territory, to coincide with spring and autumn migration periods, and maybe a January or March trip thrown in, so no extreme temperatures, or high humidity there. Optics kept out of the sun during transport.


7. And still my binocular armour fell to bits in three years from new.

 

[Hikerboy]

I have a first gen EL 10x42 I purchased back in 2006, as well as an SLC HD I acquired in 2012, and their armour is still in beautiful condition. They're both exposed to frequent sunlight, although i dont use DEET, and I rinse the sunblock from my palms after applying. The only thing preventing me from purchasing the NL is because of said issue with their current armour's proclivity in degrading. I know I'm beating a dead horse, but for the high cost of these instruments, this should not be an issue. I truly hope that Swarovski finds a logical and cost effective solution, as their older rubber recipe was absolutely perfect.

Hope everyone's doing great!

 

[diekmann2]

Still no update from Swarovski about the supposed new material.

Any word from the Secret Service about the new super duper armor????

 

[YuShan]

There is definitely something wrong with the armour of the newer Swaros.

My own 2011 8.5x42 SV fortunately has the old robust armour. Despite intensive use in all kinds of climates and lots of UV-exposure, humidity and sweaty hands in hot climates (though no sunscreen or DEET exposure) and pretty rough treatment at times during long backpack trips and hiking (as evidenced by the picture below), there are still no problems with the armour.



Many of the pictures that I have seen of newer binoculars with the armour falling apart seem well treated and in pristine condition, apart from the armour. So there is obviously something wrong with the quality of the armour of those binoculars.

 

[Yarkho]

Hi everyone,

I am an astronomer and optics afficionado recently turned birder. I have 2 Meopta B1s, a Nikon Monarch HG and have been eyeing Swarovski EL as my next purchase as all of my current binos have some CA and not entirely flat field. I have looked through the EL, NL and CL binoculars in the past and I do know what I want optically.

Now the armor issue is a killer for me: I am not paying €2000+ to buy a problem.

Thanks to this forum, I got an idea about the numbers. It needs to be said that 40% of ELs being affected is not a "rare problem". Nor am I willing to risk it.

The armor is, in my view, a necessary part of a binocular. With normal care it ought to withstand moderate use and normal environmental conditions (light drizzle / sweat included). The HG feels nice but a bit fragile with a small leatherette,. On the other hand, I love the Meopta's armor and the "solid" durable feeling it gives me. Thus for now I will stick to my Meoptas.

Happy birding / clear skies to you all.

 

[Swissboy]

Hi everyone,

I am an astronomer and optics afficionado recently turned birder. I have 2 Meopta B1s, a Nikon Monarch HG and have been eyeing Swarovski EL as my next purchase as all of my current binos have some CA and not entirely flat field. I have looked through the EL, NL and CL binoculars in the past and I do know what I want optically.

Now the armor issue is a killer for me: I am not paying €2000+ to buy a problem.

Thanks to this forum, I got an idea about the numbers. It needs to be said that 40% of ELs being affected is not a "rare problem". Nor am I willing to risk it.

The armor is, in my view, a necessary part of a binocular. With normal care it ought to withstand moderate use and normal environmental conditions (light drizzle / sweat included). The HG feels nice but a bit fragile with a small leatherette,. On the other hand, I love the Meopta's armor and the "solid" durable feeling it gives me. Thus for now I will stick to my Meoptas.

Happy birding / clear skies to you all.

You might try a Zeiss!

 

[Crex67]

Hi everyone,

I am an astronomer and optics afficionado recently turned birder. I have 2 Meopta B1s, a Nikon Monarch HG and have been eyeing Swarovski EL as my next purchase as all of my current binos have some CA and not entirely flat field. I have looked through the EL, NL and CL binoculars in the past and I do know what I want optically.

Now the armor issue is a killer for me: I am not paying €2000+ to buy a problem.

Thanks to this forum, I got an idea about the numbers. It needs to be said that 40% of ELs being affected is not a "rare problem". Nor am I willing to risk it.

The armor is, in my view, a necessary part of a binocular. With normal care it ought to withstand moderate use and normal environmental conditions (light drizzle / sweat included). The HG feels nice but a bit fragile with a small leatherette,. On the other hand, I love the Meopta's armor and the "solid" durable feeling it gives me. Thus for now I will stick to my Meoptas.

Happy birding / clear skies to you all.

Well, most of us (and I certainly) do not suffer from the "armor problems". In fact, there's not much complaining about it on the internet except here on BF. Guess you will be missing out on a lot of great feature's skipping the beautiful EL. For a fact I do not completely trust the "poll" numbers on this forum. People who do not suffer from the problems don't fill in these kind of polls so the numbers are not relevant at all.
I would give it a second thought if I were you ;-)

 

[tenex]

have been eyeing Swarovski EL as my next purchase... Now the armor issue is a killer for me...

You can also consider waiting until Swaro introduce the improved armor they've been working on (if they announce that?), or buying a pre-owned ELSV. There seems to be some confusion as to when the problematic material was introduced, but ~2015 seems likely, and year of manufacture is easily determined by adding the first two digits of the serial number to 1930.

 

[chill6x6]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to this forum, I got an idea about the numbers. It needs to be said that 40% of ELs being affected is not a "rare problem". Nor am I willing to risk it.

The armor is, in my view, a necessary part of a binocular. With normal care it ought to withstand moderate use and normal environmental conditions (light drizzle / sweat included). The HG feels nice but a bit fragile with a small leatherette,. On the other hand, I love the Meopta's armor and the "solid" durable feeling it gives me. Thus for now I will stick to my Meoptas.

Happy birding / clear skies to you all.

Dear Sir,

I'll start with the big issue first....there is absolutely NO POSSIBLE WAY 40% of Swarovski EL binoculars could be experiencing this issue. No way.

I have personally owned six Swarovski Els. NEVER an issue. NEVER. I still have four(a least LOL). Never an issue.

 

[dorubird]

Only the oldest ones NEVER had problems with the armor! Instead, the models after 2015 can have problems sometimes (Or the older ones serviced after 2015, whose armor was changed!)

 

[Moo]

I’ve had issues with the armour becoming detached with Zeiss, Nikon and Swarovski binoculars, none of them were mistreated, it just appears that the glue doesn’t like the heat and humidity of the tropics.