Problem with green coating of EL SV 8x32 (1 Viewer)

[Alaska4me]

To answer a question in a previous post: Dale Forbes, Head of Strategic Business Development at Swarovski Optik, is a member of BF:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daleforbes/?originalSubdomain=at
https://www.birdforum.net/members/dale-forbes.65117/
Peter Oettl & Dale Forbes
He is an active member with more than 416 posts and I am sure he reads as many comments on Swaro optics as he can, including those in this rather long thread.

@Dale Forbes

 

[tenex]

AT the beginning I laugh about the bar soap given with the [NL!] binos but now few things start to make sense.

Indeed... but we can't blame EL/SLC owners for not having followed a care suggestion they were never given, or even NL owners who got no explanation of it. The clear implication here is that the new armor is especially sensitive to sweat and dirt and requires regular cleaning. One can accept that, or buy something else... but one should be fully informed first. It seems that failure is not as rare as Swarovski might have hoped.

The armouring material of Swarovski binos was changed 2015 with the new FP series due to environmental, cosmetic and allergic reasons.
The new material is - on a long term perspective - biodegradable. The new NL armouring is made out of the same material.
In general the new material overall has a better resistance and performance (Temperature, UV, humidity, abrasion) than the old one of the SV, but if it deteriorates, its damage behavior differs from the older material - due to the biodegradability. The old material blisterd the new gets softer and softer until it tears.
Prolongation of the armouring is possible if you apply a good cleaning and treatment of it, like for instance for leather. For the rare case of deterioration we offer a free replacement.

This says it all (including the 2015 date) and it's very welcome after going around in circles for 17 pages here, so thank you for sharing it.

 

[tehri]

My God, it are only bino’s not some kind of living creatures.

Regarding to the effects provided by these NL's and their strong imprints on the vision and the brain, I am not sure that these are not living creatures from elsewhere, released on Earth by a mad lab !! 🤪

 

[Paultricounty]

Regarding to the effects provided by these NL's and their strong imprints on the vision and the brain, I am not sure that these are not living creatures from elsewhere, released on Earth by a mad lab !! 🤪

View attachment 1519929

That’s great 😃

 

[SGBirder]

Regarding to the effects provided by these NL's and their strong imprints on the vision and the brain, I am not sure that these are not living creatures from elsewhere, released on Earth by a mad lab !! 🤪

View attachment 1519929

Love your photoshops! Or is it AI-generated? Haha

 

[diekmann2]

Astronomy and hunt forums also mention it. Just do a search on Internet.

Correct but they refer to what’s posted here on birdforum

 

[PeterPS]

Indeed... but we can't blame EL/SLC owners for not having followed a care suggestion they were never given, or even NL owners who got no explanation of it. The clear implication here is that the new armor is especially sensitive to sweat and dirt and requires regular cleaning.


This says it all (including the 2015 date) and if it came from Dale Forbes, that's no surprise. I just want to add that while he does read the forum he's cautious about participating in discussions here, and we should respect his reasons for that (easy to understand if you take a good look at this one), and the fact that this was a private communication. That said, it's very welcome after going around in circles for 17 pages here, so thank you for sharing it.

Not really important, but the comments that I posted were made by a person from the Eng Dept of Swaro (Absam, Austria), not by Dale (who is a nice fellow and an avid birder but not a technical person).

 

[MiddleRiver]

This is a bird forum, but the 'regulars' on bino sub-forums are obviously another level of OCD and brand loyalty. Not that I'm guilty of it LOL

Disclaimer: I'm not a Swaro fan...
...but it's hard to not be stunned by the armor failure. In many (most) cases it does look like heavy use (professional?) but I'm not sure I've seen the same degree of 'catastrophic' failure of cladding in any other premium brand? That's NOT saying others don't have their problems or that Swaro isn't justified just by virtue of optics (tho it's not my cuppa')... just that it is indeed something that seems valid to ponder. I respect the desire to make an environmentally righteous product, but if you were to consider cradle-to-cradle impact of failing plastic, I would tend to favor something better.

 

[diekmann2]

Regarding to the effects provided by these NL's and their strong imprints on the vision and the brain, I am not sure that these are not living creatures from elsewhere, released on Earth by a mad lab !! 🤪

View attachment 1519929

My mistake…;-))

 

[paddyluke]

Love your photoshops! Or is it AI-generated? Haha

that's a fault,mine don't do it

 

[SGBirder]

Astronomy and hunt forums also mention it. Just do a search on Internet.

Comments section of this review also have 4 first-hand accounts about the armour coming apart, including one repeat case

Swarovski NL Pure 8x42 W B binocular - BirdGuides

Slim, yet curvaceous and with a revolutionary field of view, is Swarovski's NL Pure now the ultimate birding binocular? Mike Alibone investigates.

www.birdguides.com

 

[tenex]

Not really important, but the comments that I posted were made by a person from the Eng Dept of Swaro (Absam, Austria), not by Dale (who is a nice fellow and an avid birder but not a technical person).

Then I must have misidentified the "earlier question" you were clarifying by mentioning Dale, which was... what again? I've corrected my post.

Regarding to the effects provided by these NL's and their strong imprints on the vision and the brain, I am not sure that these are not living creatures from elsewhere, released on Earth by a mad lab !!

Very nice. This really belonged in a discussion of glare, which has now been totally eclipsed by armor. I suppose a change is welcome after a while...

 

[SGBirder]

SGBirder could you give us more info about that Humidity controlled Dry cabinet???
Could that procedure, stored in there , could have it worsen the situation? (do not take it harsly, just asking) Since we now know that the armour, like leather, needs moisturizing?
By the way could you store in that cabinet a piece of leather for some months and inform?

I just saw that in the EL and NL Pure manuals, Swarovski recommends such storage methods for "tropical areas or areas with high humidity"

 

[tehri]

Love your photoshops! Or is it AI-generated? Haha

Thx, buddy... Oh it's just a quick play with PS, nothing more, to bring some fun to the thread.
Here about this funny picture, i must admit that the NL's have really this effect on me !! lol !!

 

[Jos Stratford]

.... Dale (who is a nice fellow and an avid birder but not a technical person).

Agree with this, a really nice guy 👍

 

[PeterPS]

Then I must have misidentified the "earlier question" you were clarifying by mentioning Dale, which was... what again? I've corrected my post.

I agree this was not clear, I have edited my post to clarify (post #339).

 

[[email protected]]

I emailed Swarovski about the armor issued with their binoculars, and this was their reply.

"Good afternoon, Dennis

In accordance with its corporate philosophy, Swarovski Optik is committed to using top-quality, sustainable materials in its products. The armoring on the instruments in question is made of plastic (TPU). This material contains no plasticizers or protective agents, is low in allergens, and is biodegradable. As with all our products, we recommend regularly cleaning the surface of the instrument with a mild detergent and a damp cloth. This will also extend the life of the armoring.

The particular properties of this material mean that optical changes such as clear abrasion, tears, and cracks may occur in the armoring when the product is subjected to very frequent use. If this happens, we ask our customers to contact Customer Service to arrange for the casing to be replaced. It should also be known that we are currently developing a new armoring. We don't have a timeline yet for the release or if it will be retrofitted to older products, but once we know more, we'll be happy to discuss it with our customers.

Assistant Manager Customer Relations

Del Lavature
Customer Service

Swarovski Optik North America

Tel. (800) 426-3089 ext. 2940
[email protected]
SWAROVSKIOPTIK.COM"

 

[z-ben]

Dennis you are now officially my hero .

 

[Owlbarred]

....
The particular properties of this material mean that optical changes such as clear abrasion, tears, and cracks may occur in the armoring when the product is subjected to very frequent use. If this happens, we ask our customers to contact Customer Service to arrange for the casing to be replaced. It should also be known that we are currently developing a new armoring. We don't have a timeline yet for the release or if it will be retrofitted to older products, but once we know more, we'll be happy to discuss it with our customers.

Assistant Manager Customer Relations

Del Lavature
Customer Service

Swarovski Optik North America
....

Thank you for posting this. Swarovski's admission of the problem should quell the denialism and sometimes hostile posts in this thread. Kudos (praise) to Swarovski for their reply and their confirmation that a new armor is being developed.

 

[bongobino]

We don't have a timeline yet for the release or if it will be retrofitted to older products

I wonder if that means the current models will not get the new armour and only new products yet to be released will, or if they mean products released before the current armour was applied won't get the new formula since there is no issue with the previous formula.