Vortex Fury 6.5x32 vs. Viper 6x32 (1 Viewer)

As many of you probably know, I currently own a pair of the Vortex Fury 6.5x32 (bought at steep discount from CameralandNY) and used to own a pair of the Vortex Viper 6x32 (also bought at steep discount closeout pricing from Eagle Optics).

I returned the Vipers a while back because the eye relief didn't work for me, and eventually also tried a pair of the Viper 8x32 HD which I ended up selling as well (probably my biggest regret, since they were phenomenal optically).

Anyway, since I returned the 6x32 Vipers a ways back, I never got a chance to compare directly to my 6.5x32 Fury's. However, my brother recently asked me for a recommendation for a rugged, compact pair of bins with excellent optics. He is not a birder, rather he is a rock-climber / mountaineer / outdoors freak who mainly wanted something that he could use for general wildlife observation, scanning rock faces for climbing routes, etc. He is also VERY rough on his gear, so naturally Vortex and their combination of bang-for-the-buck and no-fault lifetime warranty sprang to mind.

I recommended that he buy a pair of the Viper 6x32 for the wonderful $275 discount price, and they arrived a few days ago. So, I finally had a chance to compare the Viper and Fury 6x models side-by-side with my brother there as a second voice.

Note that my brother is really critical about optics, but he is a photographer primarily. So, while he is very sensitive to things like CA, sharpness, brightness, etc. he doesn't know anything about binocular brands, and thus his views aren't biased by brand or price preconceptions... and I also made sure that he didn't know how much the Fury's cost relative to the Vipers to avoid additional bias. I simply handed him the Fury's and asked him to compare the two and let me know what he thought.

After he had plenty of time to compare, I did my own comparisons and found I largely agreed, and then I let him know how much they cost. It was interesting to revisit these binoculars, which I compared extensively with the 7x36 ED2 at the time I owned them.

Bullet point summary...

OPTICS:

- Brightness = *slight* advantage to the Vipers
- Sharpness = advantage to the Vipers
- Color/contrast = advantage to the Vipers
- Chromatic aberration = equal
- Glare/flare control = advantage to the Vipers

This was a nice confirmation of my memory, since my recollection was that the 6x32 Vipers were about equal to the 7x36 ED2 in terms of overall optics, but my current Fury's are noticeably (although slightly) behind my current ED3's.

As has been my experience with the other two pairs of Vipers I tried, they are SHARP little buggers. Colors are more vivid, and details just "pop" more... this was especially obvious when looking at distant objects. As I and others have noted before, the Fury's are plenty bright and sharp, but when you A/B compare them to a pair with better optics, all of a sudden the Fury's appear every so slightly "dingy". Perhaps again this is the difference between silver and dielectric prism coatings.

I was surprised that both were essentially equal in terms of color fringing, i.e., absent in the center but clearly present as you moved off axis. I probably wasn't looking as critically with the first pair I owned, but I know for sure that the Viper 8x32 HD I tried were superb in this respect (nearly as good as the Zen ED3). So clearly the improved "HD" glass in the newer Vortex models offers improvements in this regard.

I was also suprised to see that I was definitely aware of the field curvature of the 6x32 Vipers that others have reported. Again, I probably just wasn't sensitive or critical enough to notice the first time I tried them, but it's definitely there. You don't really notice when staring at a stationary object, but it's obvious when panning. The Fury's have pincushion distortion, but the Vipers clearly had more field curvature.


ERGONOMICS:

- Vipers are a bit more compact
- Vipers have a better focus knob
- Fury's have more comfortable eyecups

Overall, the Vipers do justify the higher price point and "made in Japan" badge vs. the China made Fury's. Everything just feels a tiny bit more solid and better engineered, from the rubber armor to the eyecup mechanism to the focus knob. The Fury's have a very nice focus knob, but it feels a wee bit loose, whereas the Viper knob, while having a tiny bit more resistance, just imparts the feel of finely machined precision. I guess you could say the Viper knob is "buttery smooth" whereas the Fury knob is more like melted butter 3

The Fury eyecups though are just phenomenally comfortable, both of us agreed on this point. Simply the most comfortable eyecups I've used.

Overall comfort was sort of a wash... both have their plusses and minuses. I like the way the Vipers have a more compact central hinge, allowing you to wrap your pinky finger around the barrel, but on the other hand the Fury's slightly bulkier body have a comforting feel in the hand.


So, bottom line.... the Vipers are better. It's just a bright, super sharp little pair of bins. No big surprise considering the price point... but, as with all things optics, I will caveat the above by noting that these differences are really just the types of things that critical nit-pickers will notice. The Fury's are very, very close, so close that a casual observer probably wouldn't notice any difference. But if you are looking for a low mag, compact, rugged pair for a great price, and are really critical about optics -- and you don't mind the field curvature -- the Vipers at $275 are a great deal.

I only wish I had a pair of the 6x32 Rangers there too to complete the EO/Vortex shoot-out trifecta....

eitanaltman said:

... since my recollection was that the 6x32 Vipers were about equal to the 7x36 ED2 in terms of overall optics, but my current Fury's are noticeably (although slightly) behind my current ED3's.

As has been my experience with the other two pairs of Vipers I tried, they are SHARP little buggers. Colors are more vivid, and details just "pop" more... this was especially obvious when looking at distant objects. As I and others have noted before, the Fury's are plenty bright and sharp, but when you A/B compare them to a pair with better optics, all of a sudden the Fury's appear every so slightly "dingy". Perhaps again this is the difference between silver and dielectric prism coatings.

....

Click to expand...

I pretty much agree with this. The Fury's are pretty nice, but they do loose a bit in a side by side. They are definitely less sharp than the 7x36 ED 2 and do not have quite the level of color representation or contrast either.

Having said that, the Fury is an excellent example of when you find something that works for you, as the Fury certainly will for most who have it, it is sometimes best to just put the nit picker down, pick up the binocular and go use and enjoy it.

agreed. I've said it before, but this is really a wonderful time to be a "budget shopper" in the binocular world. Things have changed so much in the last few years. The last time I bought bins -- 5 or 6 years ago -- there was really the Eagle Optics Ranger and Nikon Monarch as the standouts in the $300-and-under price class. That $300 price point was really the point of "diminishing returns" and they were a huge step up over the $100ish options you could get.

Things have changed a lot since then and now we are blessed with a plethora of wonderful options. The Fury are really well into the point of diminishing returns on optical quality and 99% of users would be wonderfully satisfied with them, especially given the warranty and ESPECIALLY if you got them for the ridiculous $129 price. When you combine them with under-$200 options like the Sightron SII, Theron Wapiti LT, Zen-Ray Vista / Vortex D'back, Bushnell Legend ED, etc..... it's really a good time to be a binocular shopper.

Interesting thread ...

I've a ZR ED2 7x36 on the way for $275 (new condition).

Do you think the Fury could be another good buy for me or it's not worth the trouble to buy them because the ZR are better.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Cheers

François

Francois

A member who goes by black crow has tested the ED2 7x36 against the 6.5x32 Fury. He sold the Fury and kept the ED2. I have the Fury and the ED2 8X43, and while the Zen is better, I have no desire to sell the Fury.

Bruce

barebow said:

Interesting thread ...

I've a ZR ED2 7x36 on the way for $275 (new condition).

Do you think the Fury could be another good buy for me or it's not worth the trouble to buy them because the ZR are better.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Cheers

François

Click to expand...

Thanks Bruce for your helpful answer. :t:
The differences between the Zr 8x43 and the 6.5x32 Fury are obviously worth to keep them both. o

I think I will keep the ZR
Cheers

Sounds good Francois. If you get a chance to buy a good pair of the 6X Fury for $150 or less, I would do so without hesitation.

Bruce

barebow said:

Thanks Bruce for your helpful answer. :t:
The differences between the Zr 8x43 and the 6.5x32 Fury are obviously worth to keep them both. o

I think I will keep the ZR
Cheers

Click to expand...

barebow said:

Interesting thread ...

I've a ZR ED2 7x36 on the way for $275 (new condition).

Do you think the Fury could be another good buy for me or it's not worth the trouble to buy them because the ZR are better.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Cheers

François

Click to expand...

having owned them all (Fury 6.5x32, ZR 7x36 ED2, ZR 8x43 ED3, Viper 6x32, Viper 8x32HD) I would say that the Fury's are more of an alternate/complement to the Zens than an effective replacement. The Zens are simply better optically, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not "worth the trouble" to get the Fury's as they are just... different. That said I think the Fury's are probably a better complement to an 8x or 10x pair with their 6.5x magnification, wide FOV, good eye relief, and easy (big ocular, big exit pupil) views.

the questions are (1) can you even find the 6.5x32 Fury's (they are discontinued now), and (2) do you want to have more than one pair of bins? If you are looking for a secondary pair to complement the Zens, there are many worthy budget options out there. If you want something much more compact than the Zens as car bins or hiking bins I think the Sightron SII 8x32's ($180ish) are fab, as are the Vortex Viper 6x32 ($275) as I note above. I would also consider the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT 6x32 ($180) if you want something low mag, compact, light and inexpensive with an ironclad lifetime warranty, although if you can afford the extra $100 the Vipers are a step above the Rangers in build quality, optics, etc.