Vortex Optics Razor UHD Binoculars 18x56

I was in the market to replace my 16+ year old Audubon Birder's Bausch & Lomb 8x36 binos that I've been using all this time for birding. I wanted to get "the last pair of birding binos you'd ever need in your life" so decided to really go upscale. The cream fo the crop IMHO are the Swarovski ELs, 8.5x42 which commonly sell for >$2,500 which I couldn't justify the price, so started looking for good binos in the $1200-$1500 price range. Did a lot of research and finally decided on the Vortex Razor UHDs in 8x42.I've had experience with Vortex's riflescopes, which are definitely and deservedly at the high end of scopes, and this is why I focussed on Vortex Optics, however, I was looking at them from the perspective of a birder, *not* a hunter, as bino demands are different in each case.I was surprised to hear a longtime birder friend of mine on the other end of the country had picked up the Vortex Viper glasses years ago, and he gave them high praise... so then had to decide on the HD vs. the newer UHD binos. There's pros and cons for both, but decided to go with the UHDsAfter a week of using them, I do NOT regret paying up. First, I think the optics are on par with the Swarovski ELs. The "hype" I've read about these glasses turned out to not be hype. They really are that good!!!! Amazing low light detail. Sharp contrasts, no color aberration.. holy moly.. they WERE that GOOD!!!!They feel good in hand. Amazing long eye relief and did I mention crystal clear vision?However, I think these glasses are definitely designed with the hunter in mind, not the birder, but I don't think this is a deal breaker at this price point. Let me tell you the pros and cons from a birder's perspective.Pros:1. Optic quality on par with the much, much more expensive Swarovski ELs. These definitely compete with the other high end optic mfgs like Leicca and Zeiss. They weight a couple oz's more than the ELs, but it's not really noticeable. The optics make these *perfect* birding binoculars at this price range. Zeiss.. Swarovski? Vortex has sent a shot over your bow.!!!!2. Argo-purged, waterproof. Non-fogging, rubber armor. Everything a birder needs for a long day in the field.3. Comes with a chest harness for all day carry. It's well made and comfy, but jury is still out for me on this.4. "Slow" focus wheel, Makes it easy to make precise focus adjustments without overshooting.5. Long eye relief and "locking" diopter. Perfect for the eyeglass wearing me!6. 8x glasses have a 420' FOV at 1000 yards. That's pretty amazing and makes finding and zeroing in on bird motion a breeeze.7. Close focus!!! (<5 ft.)8. Vortex Warranty. It's about as good as it gets. Covers everything except "theft" and "loss". Vortex Optics also has an excellent customer service reputation.Cons:There's really few cons with these glasses. I'm only mentioning them here because it needs to be considered by the birder. A couple of their "pros" might actually be "cons" for the birder1. Weight. They're 32oz. These are a couple ounces heavier than the ELs, but they are heavy for all day neck strap wear and other high end glasses don't weigh this much. I don't think I'd take these on day hikes if birding wasn't my primary objective. I could even seen hunters being a bit put off by this if they're trekking all day. Consider this. However, the weight is partly because of the Abbe-Koenig prisms that are used. Long optical path, heavier, but the advantage is excellent low light performance and crystal clear optic paths. Also, comes with a carry chest harness, so a lot of the weight disadvantage is negated.2. "Slow" focus. One fo the strengths of the slow focus may make it a pain for going from one distance to the extreme other quickly. It takes >2 full turns to do this and if you're glassing near, then suddenly a fast-moving bird is soaring in the sky? You might miss it because of the amount of focus turns required. Quick, near-to-far and vice versa focusing is important to a birder and MUCH less so to a hunter. We'll see if this can be mitigated by how I use them in the field. The slow focus makes it easier to get crisp focus on minute distance changes without overshooting though.Hope this helps another birder on making a purchase decision. At $1500+ these are excellent.. *excellent* glasses for the money. Optics on par with "paradigm" glasses costing >$800 more.One comment for hunters (and I used to be one....). I think you should go with the 10X model. The light gathering power of these binos is awesome and the 10X mag will hit the sweet spot of magnification needed for that activity.

My wife wanted to get me something special to mark my 65th birthday and complained that I always buy the stuff I want anyway so why not just tell her and she could buy it. I thought about it and decided a nice pair of birding binoculars would be great. I already own a nice pair that are 12 x 50 and while that is great for distant things one often finds birds a bit closer and the 12x offer too much magnification.I decided on the 8 x 42 Razor USD binoculars. They are a bit heavier but they have greater quality glass as well as the Abbe–Koenig prism which is a bigger but has better light transmission. I don't do a lot of hiking now and often am doing walks at our parks or to a bird blind at a state park so I felt the extra weight was ok since I was getting superior optics.I was impressed as soon as I opened the box. The binoculars come in a nice box and inside was a message that my binoculars were inspected and packed by Cindy! They come with a well designed case, harness, add on pocket for the case and a cleaning micro fiber cloth. There is also a nice neck/shoulder strap.I was very impressed when I went outside to have a look through them. They are truly well made and everything was crystal clear. I didn't notice any chromatic issues like a color shift fringe where tree branches meet a flat sky. The edge to edge sharpness is superb.These are not cheap but when you compare them to other Alpha level binoculars made by companies like Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski the price is really reasonable. The build quality is excellent and while I hope to keep them clean and dry I don't think dusty or wet conditions would be any real issue as far as getting into the lens tubes, one would just need to be careful how the outer elements were cleaned.The only thing I wish was just a bit better designed is the case that is supplied with the chest harness. The case is really tight with my 8 x 42 model, can't imagine anything bigger fitting in. When you put the binoculars into the case and pull the cover over (it is held with strong elastic bands) the binoculars case is not completely shut, if out in some rain it would get inside the case. I wish they had made the case a bit deeper to fit these binoculars.