Vortex Diamondback vs Nikon Monarch?

[brotherjack]

Anyone here ever done a hands-on comparison of Vortex Diamondback binoculars and Nikon Monarch's? (8x42's are the ones I'm most interested in hearing about). Do the Vortex Diamondback's stack up, or no?

Thanks,

[rishu_pepper]

Never looked through the Vortex before, but I do own a Monarch 8x36. For my money, it's a pretty decent pair for the buck ($199 USD shipped from cameralandny). It ain't no Swaro but it's good enough for me, for now.

[Mr. Friendly]

a lot of 8x40/42 optics have been reviewed at www.cloudynights.com under the binocular forum. there are well over 380 reviews and while most of them are focused on astronomy viewing, a lot are tested during the daytime. definitely a good resource to consider when you figure out just how technical they get (EdZ reviews are among the best) when they figure out resolution and such.

some good bino's to consider perhaps are the William Optic's 8x40 Triplet (ED) bino's. GarrettOptical.com also has the same bino under their brand as does Oberwerk at bigbinoculars.com.

to see CDN pricing on the William Optics, you might find them at islandeyepiece.com (Brian on the Island).

[brotherjack]

Well, I just got back from a week in Idaho. I got to spend about 45 minutes at Sportsman's Warehouse doing a serious head-to-head comparison of Nikon Moarch's and Vortex Diamondback's (among other things). They even let me take them outside right at dusk and glass the hillside in the distance (about 700 yards out).

Results:

I was pretty shocked to find that the Vortex Diamondback's are nicer glass than the Nikon Monarch's - I went into it thinking I was going to walk out of the store with a set of Nikons. Nope - for almost $100 less, the Vortexes were better. Not by a huge margin, but I could definitely count more pine needles on the distant trees with the Vortexes than I could with the Nikon's. Light transmission looked about identical, but the resolving power of the Vortexes was a step up, for sure. The Vortexes also had a very noticably wider field of view, which was cool - and hey, the Warranty on the Vortexes is definitely better too.

I also looked through some of the more expensive Vortexes - and yeah, they do get better the more you spend; but the Diamondback's were plenty good enough for the likes of me and The Wife(tm). I almost bought them on the spot, but after I did some math - I saved $50 to mail-order them in Canada (5% exchange, 2% more on exchange to my credit card company, 8.5% WA tax, 5% GST, 7% PST; ouch!); but come Wednesday, they should be here (along with tripod mount and a doubler I thought I'd play with and see if that would replace a spotting scope for most of my hunting.

Anyhoo - thought since nobody else had replied that I might as well update the thread.

[Shooter]

Excellent choice. I love my Vipors, and went through the same process as you when I got them. I was also shocked to see that I needed to spend a good couple hundred more to get comparible glass in other brands. I guess there's another one converted to the vortex side of life

[highcountry88]

My son and I have both had 8x42 Nikon Monarchs for the past few years and both of us have been real happy with the performance and clarity and found them to be easy on the the eyes. My son is a Yukon sheep guide so he spends a lot of time glassing and Monarchs are used quite a bit by his buddies in the Yukon.

Now on the down side, both our Monarchs have had to be sent back to the factory and they could not be repaired- the factory said it was shock damage. We both hunt hard, but I don't believe we abuse our equipment, especially our binos and cannot recollect whenever either of the Monarchs were dropped, so we are scratching our heads on this one.

I am looking at the Monarch box and it says a 25 year warranty, and this is what partially attracted to Monarchs. They do have a good reputation.

Either I am going to "one eye" my broken Monarchs through this season or get by with some "Wal-Mart special" binos, till I can save some dough for better binoculars. One day, I would like to step up to Swarovski or Zeiss, but that won't happen for a while.

Any thoughts or experiences on Monarchs from you guys on this one?

[Shooter]

The Vortex have a lifetime no-fault replacement warranty on them which was a real selling feature for me as well.

[Bow Walker]

My son and I have both had 8x42 Nikon Monarchs for the past few years and both of us have been real happy with the performance and clarity and found them to be easy on the the eyes. My son is a Yukon sheep guide so he spends a lot of time glassing and Monarchs are used quite a bit by his buddies in the Yukon.

Now on the down side, both our Monarchs have had to be sent back to the factory and they could not be repaired- the factory said it was shock damage. We both hunt hard, but I don't believe we abuse our equipment, especially our binos and cannot recollect whenever either of the Monarchs were dropped, so we are scratching our heads on this one.
Either I am going to "one eye" my broken Monarchs through this season or get by with some "Wal-Mart special" binos, till I can save some dough for better binoculars. One day, I would like to step up to Swarovski or Zeiss, but that won't happen for a while.

I am looking at the Monarch box and it says a 25 year warranty, and this is what partially attracted to Monarchs. They do have a good reputation.


Any thoughts or experiences on Monarchs from you guys on this one?

Don't strain yourself or the wallet......check out the Vortex line and you'll be well pleased.

[Phoneguy]

Where did you order the Vortex in Canada from?

[Bow Walker]

Where did you order the Vortex in Canada from?

Here's their Canadian website/store.....

http://eagleopticscanada.stores.yahoo.net/



But you can checkout your local Birdwatching store (Wid Birds Unlimited?) - as the birders know and appreciate good optics.