Vortex body construction (1 Viewer)

I have been asked to recommend an inexpensive bino after giving a talk on birding. Can someone confirm the body materials for the Vortex Crossfire 8X42 and the Diamondback new 8X32? I cannot find it listed anywhere. Also how would they compare to the Celstron Nature DX 8X42 (polycarbonate) and the TrailSeeker 8X42 (Mg alloy)?

Response today from Vortex:
Thank you for writing and for your interest in Vortex Optics!

The most up-to-date information I have from our Design Team is that the current Diamondback has polycarbonate tubes with an aluminum hinge, while the Crossfire is entirely polycarbonate.

I would still be interested in any remarks about these bonos in thier respective price ranges.

There's always something better than Vortex for the same or less money. The Athlon Midas is far superior to the Diamondback.

Look into Opticron. It now has a presence in the USA.

https://www.opticronusa.com/

https://www.opticronusa.com/Pages/contact_us.html

https://www.opticronusa.com/Pages/binoculars_menu.html.

Their Discovery Series has popular sizes like 8x32, 7x42, 8x42 and 10x42 for under $300.00. And the 42mm and 50mm versions have lightweight Magnesium body construction.

Bob

Bob:

Do you have any experience with Opticron ? Let us know, if they have sent you samples.

Jerry

NDhunter said:

Bob:

Do you have any experience with Opticron ? Let us know, if they have sent you samples.

Jerry

Click to expand...

Jerry,

Certainly Opticron hasn't sent me samples! Why should they? I paid for mine.

OP was inquiring about inexpensive binoculars so I referred him to Opticron which specializes in economy priced binoculars.

As for me I do have the Opticron 7x42 Discovery which I have written favorably about here a number of times. I also have their discontinued 7x36 BGA Classic, a very fine small 7x roof prism binocular. And I have a 6x32 Traveler BGA, also discontinued; a good compact binocular which I don't use very much. I don't know why because it has 19mm ER and an 8º FOV. I think I'm going to start carrying it around in my car!

Bob

Bob,

You do have a lot of glass. Now that they are here in the US, more choices the better.

Andy W.

Thank you for these responses. the Athlon Midas is ~$300 and out of consideration. The Opticrons seem to be a possibility, but the Vortex is available locally to handle, and without any direct comparison comments (and with the VIP warranty) , I have recomended the Vortex Crossfire at <$150 and the Diamondback at just over $200.

jgraider said:

There's always something better than Vortex for the same or less money. The Athlon Midas is far superior to the Diamondback.

Click to expand...

Exactly ^

Vortex is a good company...but there is better glass at their different price points.

Look at Nikon.....

Hï to all!

Is there much difference between the Crossfire and Diamondback?
In Belgium, i saw a lot of variation in price between them with the Crossfire sometimes at a higher price than the Diamondbacks
while I thought the Diamondbacks were a step u from the Crossfires.
So that makes me wonder if one is better than the other and/or if there's any difference in view.
Are they decent? Never tried one before..

Grtz

Nobody seems to know..

Crossfires and Diamondbacks

Nivado said:

Hï to all!

Is there much difference between the Crossfire and Diamondback?
In Belgium, i saw a lot of variation in price between them with the Crossfire sometimes at a higher price than the Diamondbacks
while I thought the Diamondbacks were a step u from the Crossfires.
So that makes me wonder if one is better than the other and/or if there's any difference in view.
Are they decent? Never tried one before..

Grtz

Click to expand...

Here in the UK, Crossfires are sometimes nearly as expensive as Diamondbacks and occasionally even a little dearer than the DBs because they are not as widely stocked, but they are definitely the range below the Diamondbacks (including the new HD versions of each). I have the 2016 Diamondback 8 x 42 which I like (I really like the styling and handling, particularly the large ocular size and the very positive action on the large eyecups too, and for me at least, there are no bothersome issues with the optics - a little flare sometimes, a little chromatic aberration (i.e. magenta and green fringes on opposite sides of a really harshly backlit, contrasty object) occasionally in difficult situations, but everything else is fine and these are very mild (for me). The new HD versions might improve the CA and I am tempted to try an 8x32 HD pair to see how they compare. I have other modern binoculars too but the Diamondbacks are a favourite - of course, everyone's eyesight and tastes differ.

I haven't handled a pair of Crossfires (HD or not) as nobody I can easily get to stocks them - but they look stylish too, though I note they have an odd construction where you can see the separate black and green panel joins even at the edges of the rims around the objective lenses. I hope that they are fully rubber-clad on the barrels, and don't use that velvety rubber-like paint finish on hard plastic anywhere (like Hawke puts on the bridges of current Endurance ED and Nature Trek models for example) because that stuff has, in my experience on other products, invariably either peeled and flaked or gone really sticky and stringy after some years. Hopefully they don't use it anyway, in which case it's a non-issue. They don't come in anything less than 42mm objective size, and interestingly, despite the all-polycarbonate chassis, I see they are a little heavier than the Diamondbacks. I can see, looking at the Crossfire pictures, that they have different eyecups than the ones I like so much on the Diamondbacks, and from the specs the 8x42 model has a narrower field of view and doesn't focus so close as the Diamondback, so I was never tempted to go for the Crossfire instead of the Diamondback, even at a slightly lower price.