Vortex Warranty Put to the Test

[acnewman55]

Picture almost says it all. My hunting partner was carrying my Diamondback binos in his pack. We had to down-climb a 25-foot rock face during out hunt over the weekend in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.  He decided to drop his pack down the last 8 feet or so and assumed it would rest at the bottom.

It toppled end over end for about 25 yards downhill. Inside my binos were in two pieces, his Ray Bans were destroyed (why bring those hunting?) but his $1200 vortex spotter and everything else survived unscathed!

Anyway - I'm a little disappointed about how fragile these binos turned out to be.  They were in the main body of the pack, not an outside pocket.

The good news is the focus wheel remained attached to one side, and that side functioned as a monocular for the remainder of the weekend and helped me nail my first buck ever!

Hopefully the legendary Vortex warranty holds up and I'll have a fresh pair of binos for my second buck next season!


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[Bean Counter]

Where's the buck?

Look on the bright side, now you have two riflescopes 

[jackelope]

I'm curios to see how this plays out. While I'm sure they'll replace them for you, would you be upset with Vortex if they didn't? I mean, that's clearly not a manufacturers defect.

[scoyoc5]

off their website....



Our VIP warranty is about you, not us. It's about taking care of you after the sale.

VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.

You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was, or where you purchased it. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods, and monoculars.
•Unlimited Lifetime Warranty
•Fully transferable
•No warranty card to fill out
•No receipt needed to hang on to

If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you.

Note
 The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.

[acnewman55]

I'm curios to see how this plays out. While I'm sure they'll replace them for you, would you be upset with Vortex if they didn't? I mean, that's clearly not a manufacturers defect.

Yes I would be upset.

Vortex's warranty is a major part of their marketing. I bought this pair of binos expecting to be taken care of if I had an issue, based on the verbiage on their marketing materials.

Frankly, the cheap plastic hinge that holds the two sides together is pretty weak.  If they're going to promise no questions asked repair or replacement on hunting optics, maybe they should incorporate a stronger material and charge a little extra if necessary to cover that cost. Clearly they invested in making the viper spotting scope solid - different price points obviously but the warranty extends to both pieces.


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[biggfish]

They say they will replace optics lost to fire damage!  I've only ever heard good things about them. Good luck but I don't think you'll need it.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

For 259$ the hinge isn't gonna be titanium. But I bet you gets new pair as soon as vortex knows.

[jackelope]

For 259$ the hinge isn't gonna be titanium. But I bet you gets new pair as soon as vortex knows.

Agree, they are relatively inexpensive binoculars, and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I dropped a Minox spotting scope out of a Jeep with the tripod attached to it and it broke the base off the scope. They also replaced it no questions asked.

[Stein]

You will get a new pair, guaranteed.  It is a bit surprising that you sound agitated that a $200 pice of glass didn't survive an 8 foot drop and long tumble.

[Timberstalker]

While I agree that a good warranty is a must in the optics industry, I am not certain I could support issuing a new pair for your issue.

That's my take.

Here's an analogy, I buy a brand new Martin bow, I am crossing a drainage with a shale slide and I loose my footing.  The bow takes a tumble, (a bad one) and both limbs are destroyed.  Does Martin cover this? 

Sounds like a helluva stretch to me.......

Let us know what Vortext tells you.

[kentrek]

I did something very similar with a pack ....such a bad idea !  Darn things sure can roll 

Having stuff stashed in a pack can actually be pretty hard on an item..people think packs are bomb proof protection...I'm guilty of it as well but we treat our packs terrible...between using it as a back rest or just flopping it off on the ground after a hard day the stuff inside isn't that protected unless it's wrapped in a sleeping bag or clothing

Youl get new binos but be glad you do ! Not alot of companies do that

[jackelope]

While I agree that a good warranty is a must in the optics industry, I am not certain I could support issuing a new pair for your issue.

That's my take.

Here's an analogy, I buy a brand new Martin bow, I am crossing a drainage with a shale slide and I loose my footing.  The bow takes a tumble, (a bad one) and both limbs are destroyed.  Does Martin cover this? 

Sounds like a helluva stretch to me.......

Let us know what Vortext tells you.

This is where I'm coming from also. I work in the warranty repair business. If a customer runs into a curb and breaks an axle or damages a wheel on their car, that's not a warrantable repair and you won't get it covered under warranty ever.

I told my Minox story. I also put a Vortex Diamondback scope on a .300 win mag rifle. The recoil from the rifle floated/broke the reticle. I sent it back to Vortex and they replaced it no questions asked. I won't put that scope on a .22-250 now.

I think REI learned a lesson from this sort of thing with their extremely liberal return policies. That's changed now. Hopefully all these companies won't follow suit and change their policies to where they will warranty manufacturer's defects and nothing else. Aside from their wording re: their warranty coverage, it's not even remotely close to their fault that your bino's broke when they fell off of a cliff or that my spotting scope broke because it toppled out a lifted Jeep with a tripod attached to it.

[lokidog]

I have heard nothing but good regarding their warranty, however, intentionally tossing a backpack is a big difference from slipping on a rock/log and landing on the pack breaking the binos inside.

Note
 The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.

Depends how their third quarter profit statement came out......      Just playing Devil's Advocate.   

[Blacktail Sniper]

Where's the buck?

Look on the bright side, now you have two riflescopes 

 

[cbond3318]

Who cares, they offer a warranty , use it. I'm sure the executives at Vortex are very aware of the warranty language and that they will see their fair share of customer caused damage. It gives them an edge over the competition and as long as they offer it, we the consumer should take full advantage of it.