Vortex Solo 10x25 just arrived this evening (1 Viewer)

After the purchase of those horrible steiner compact binoculars, I quickly ordered the most well know pocket monocular, the Vortex Solo 10x25, my quest for my ultimate pocket optic is still on the go.

I've just opened the package, the overall construction quality is superb. The rubber armor is very well made, it's not a cheap tacky rubber you as would expect, it's stiff, very tight around the optical tube, and is solid like a rock. It's a semi matte texture and is smooth when you run your hands over it, the molding operation is top notch from what I'm seeing. The twist out eye cups are stiff and stay locked with authority when twisted out, very nice quality!

The Solo 10x25 has a very special perk, it has a 60 degree AFOV, which is very impressive for 25mm optic, let alone a monocular. The only thing on the market that matches it's AFOV right now is the 2017 Zeiss victory 8x25 which goes for $800.

I'm gonna see how this things performs next morning, from looking through it now in my dark backyard, the edges are nice and defined, and center resolution is pretty good! It indeed does have a wide FOV as advertised!

Been playing around with it and doing a white paper background test tonight, edges are very slightly soft, purple fringing around the edges. My uncle complains that he has to slightly hover and hold the eyecup slightly away from his brow to get a proper field of view. Like explained before, the solo has a very large field of view for it's size.

The eye relief is not sufficient for spectacle wearers on the 10x25. I found out I cant use my prescrip eyeglasses with the 10x25 solo, that's a let down. Maybe eyeglass wearers might migrate to the 8x25 model which has the bare minimum 15mm eye relief.

Shots from my morning outing.

The purple fringing around the edges is visible when looking into bright conditions.

Image begins to lose quality 55-60% from the center, and is very subtle, its begins bluring 80% from the center. I rate the resolution of the center sweet spot 7/10.

Image is relatively flat with no distortions, very good.

Quality control is not consistent with the Vortex solo line, I've ordered the 8x25 model for my uncle and it just arrived this evening. There's a hazy double image in the fov, and very low contrast, it must be defective. To top it off, I could feel one of the ocular eyepiece elements is loose, feel like it's rattling around in the eyepiece. I have to return it.

Not withstanding the defective solo 8x25 experience, I think I'm in love with the Solo 10x25. I find it a charm to carry with me, giving me a nice 10x wide field of view whenever I wish. It produced a truly a nice decent view for a small pocket size optic, and you dont have to baby it like a fragile egg, since it's going price is only for $50 US, it makes it a great and affordable viable pocket scope.

Just make sure the retailer you purchase from has a good return or exchange policy.....

Another quick shot

I've been really debating getting one of these the past year to keep in purse all the time for quick spotting anywhere I see something.

Emily Taylor said:

I've been really debating getting one of these the past year to keep in purse all the time for quick spotting anywhere I see something.

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I have an inexpensive monocular that works well for me. I use on my belt when in the mountains and want a quick look at something eg wild boars.

The optics are better than I expected for the price £15, from AliExpress.

I suspect that there are many the same, just rebranded.... With the same optics, eg viking Cygnus, vortex solo etc.


I also wonder about the claimed 60 degree AFOV of the vortex quoted above, with a FoV of only 96m (at 1,000m). The Signeta is more (122m) and only 5.2 degrees 52 AFOV) for the X10.

I have another x10 ED monocular, but bigger and heavier..... I use the cheapie more.