MandoBear
Well-known member
I've been thinking long and hard about whether and how to make this post... The following happened a good few months ago, and it is history now. Nevertheless, I think other forum members may find my experience of interest.
My intention is not to attack Swarovski, as they are a company who I greatly respect and whose products I very much enjoy. However, my experiences illustrate that even the best companies can sometimes make mistakes and get things wrong – the very best still manage to make things right in the end.
In November 2018, I bought myself a pair of the new Companion CL 8x30s from my local Swarovski stockist – and I found them to be really very good. They don't displace my EL 8.5x42s, but when a lighter and more compact binocular is desired, they fit the bill very nicely. However, when observing a buzzard against the sky one dull afternoon in February 2019, I noticed a curved shadow in the field of view of one of the tubes. After a bit of examination, it was clear that it was internal: a short hair on one of the ocular lenses near to the field stop. I was able to photograph this – see attached photo. It hadn't been visible before, so I can only assume it got in during assembly and moved about inside during my use. Somewhat disappointing, but I figured it should be an easy fix for Swarovski. I had also noticed what looked like some very minor porosity in the casting of one of the tubes of the binoculars, so I photographed that (see second photo) and mentioned that to Swarovski as well. I duly printed off and filled in the return forms, boxed up the binoculars and sent them off to Swarovski UK who duly forwarded them to Absam in Austria. I got the confirmation of arrival, and that my binos would be fixed free of charge. No sweat, no bother.
My intention is not to attack Swarovski, as they are a company who I greatly respect and whose products I very much enjoy. However, my experiences illustrate that even the best companies can sometimes make mistakes and get things wrong – the very best still manage to make things right in the end.
In November 2018, I bought myself a pair of the new Companion CL 8x30s from my local Swarovski stockist – and I found them to be really very good. They don't displace my EL 8.5x42s, but when a lighter and more compact binocular is desired, they fit the bill very nicely. However, when observing a buzzard against the sky one dull afternoon in February 2019, I noticed a curved shadow in the field of view of one of the tubes. After a bit of examination, it was clear that it was internal: a short hair on one of the ocular lenses near to the field stop. I was able to photograph this – see attached photo. It hadn't been visible before, so I can only assume it got in during assembly and moved about inside during my use. Somewhat disappointing, but I figured it should be an easy fix for Swarovski. I had also noticed what looked like some very minor porosity in the casting of one of the tubes of the binoculars, so I photographed that (see second photo) and mentioned that to Swarovski as well. I duly printed off and filled in the return forms, boxed up the binoculars and sent them off to Swarovski UK who duly forwarded them to Absam in Austria. I got the confirmation of arrival, and that my binos would be fixed free of charge. No sweat, no bother.