Leupold vs vortex

[Shooter4]

I have the 12x50 leupold guide Binos and also picked up the vortex 10-50 hd crossfires in my white elephant the vortex are significantly cheaper but they seem to have just as good if not better quality and more user friendly 160$ compared to 800$ and thoughts?

[addicted1]

Yeah, can I join your white elephant?

[highside74]

I lost all train of thought after seeing the dollar sign after the number. FYI that doesn't mean 160 dollars it means 160 dollar sign.

I know, I know that's kinda internet police ish but public service announcements are sometimes necessary.

As far as Leupold vs Vortex your eye likes what your eye likes. I'd use them at dusk and at distance and see where they stack up.

[dmoua]

Low light conditions will show you which one is better.

[Klickitatsteelie]

Try them when the sun is out at distance. From my experience vortex picks up tons of heat waves at least the binos and spotter I had did. Returned both

[Archertl33]

The biggest thing leupold has going for them is the weight of their scopes. The are light weight compared to most companies vortex's are heavy

[buckfvr]

I have the 12x50 leupold guide Binos and also picked up the vortex 10-50 hd crossfires in my white elephant the vortex are significantly cheaper but they seem to have just as good if not better quality and more user friendly 160$ compared to 800$ and thoughts?

The Leupolds may be somewhat over priced, but the Vortex are most certainly not under priced.  You get what you pay for, even in this instance.

[ducks4days]

Leupold is better. The same class glass at similar price points will always have a slight edge over Vortex.

That said, I run Vortex. I am rough on my gear, quality glass is expensive, and vortex replaces or repairs everything no questions asked.

[highcountry_hunter]

Leupold is better. The same class glass at similar price points will always have a slight edge over Vortex.

That said, I run Vortex. I am rough on my gear, quality glass is expensive, and vortex replaces or repairs everything no questions asked.

The best warranty in the business…because you’re gonna need it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JWBINX]

My scopes are made in the USA!
Yours?

[Sakko300wsm]

My scopes are made in the USA!
Yours?

Mine are!! Just mounted a new USA made one yesterday

[Tenkara]

Leupold.

[JWBINX]

My scopes are made in the USA!
Yours?

Mine are!! Just mounted a new USA made one yesterday

 

[MADMAX]

I like my Leupold with a doubler eye piece
As said
Your eye likes what your eye likes

[Sliverslinger]

In around 1972, my grandpa bought a Leupold and that was the scope on his hunting rifle until 1994 when his clumsy 12 year old grandson tripped, dropped the rifle he was proudly carrying in after a hunting trip, somehow stepped on the scope, and then managed to knock an entire row of firewood onto it for good measure. It was a comical display of typical lab puppy growing boy clumsiness. I’ve never forgotten the look on his face when he saw I’d bent the bell. He got ahold of Leupold the next day and they sent him a brand new scope of the current day which was much nicer than the one he had. Leupold gained a customer that day and Leupold sits on every rifle I have except 2. I traded for a rifle that came with a Zeiss, and I have a Nightforce on a long range rifle. I’ve also mounted multiple scopes and created dope charts for friends and compared Vortex and Leupold side by side. In terms of scopes, Leupold is in my opinion far better than Vortex. I prefer my Vortex Razor HD binos to Leupold, but Leupold doesn’t make higher end binos it doesn’t appear. That said my Vortex binos have gone back for repair multiple times. I’ve never sent a Leupold item back, although they carry the same warranty. For the money and value, Leupold VX-5s are top of the line scopes for just about anything hunting related.

[fowl smacker]

My scopes are made in the USA!
Yours?

Not all Leupolds are made in the USA now....sadly!

[JWBINX]

Leupold builds all their scopes in the USA.
Their spotters and binos are built overseas.

[Pathfinder101]

Leupold is better. The same class glass at similar price points will always have a slight edge over Vortex.

That said, I run Vortex. I am rough on my gear, quality glass is expensive, and vortex replaces or repairs everything no questions asked.

The best warranty in the business…because you’re gonna need it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a buddy that runs a long range shooting school.  This is exactly what he says.    "best warranty in the business... because you're gonna need it...."

[highside74]

Leupold warranty is nothing to scoff at. Only stuff I've ever sent back was due to wear on my part and they've fixed or replaced anything I've ever sent.

I just sent back my gold ring spotter because of a mark on the glass. They took care of the class and replaced anything that looked worn at all. Spotter came back looking brand new for free.

[buckfvr]

Leupold builds all their scopes in the USA.
Their spotters and binos are built overseas.

Havent bothered to chase it all down in several years but last time I did, Leupold scopes were imported parts assembled in the usa.  The best glass in the world comes from other countries and if you research you will find the highest-grade optical sand comes from only a few locations in the world.  Manufacturers spec out their lenses to be ground by specialty companies mostly overseas and then import them if they intend to assemble here.  And then theres those companies who just opt to have the whole nine yards done overseas to their own engineered specs.

May have changed some buy I doubt it as much as profit has become market focus more so than ever.

[h2ofowlr]

Leupold plant is located in Beaverton, OR.  I have toured the facility and they have a very nice setup at that location.  You would be supporting a USA facility.  I have purchased close to 25 of the scopes over the years and have always had good results with them.  The only non-leupold that I have is a Zeiss Z-800 on my .257 Weatherby.

[JWBINX]

Leupold set the standard for warranty and customer service over 40 years ago.
All others have just followed suit.

[jeffro]

All the glass on my hunting starts at leu
Never miss

[idaho guy]

another vote for leupold. I bought one vortex scope and got rid of it. I wont use a bortex rifle scope ever again. I fell like when you buy a 1500 dollar scope you are just buying 3 500 dollar scopes that you recieve over time. You will get at least 3 new scopes with returns. you just paid for all 3 upfront 😂. I think you were asking about binos and I have a good pair of vortex binos that were well priced and have workef very well for years. They are more of a back up and not my main binos. So maybe the binos are better. Leupold has always had a great warranty but I like that in 40 years I have never had to use it. Some people llike vortex scopes but my experience was not good on the rifle scopes. I pretty mich just avoid anything vortex.

[Goshawk]

My scopes are made in the USA!
Yours?

Not all Leupolds are made in the USA now....sadly!

Which ones are not? Per the company they are all still USA made either in Oregon, or Colorado.  Some components are out of Japan but all the assembly is USA only.  On a side note, the amount of fake Leupolds out of China is increasing.  Half the time I look at EBay, I find counterfeit leupold scopes there.  I've bought a few for only 50 bucks, then use Paypal to demand my real scope, not this plastic counterfeit crap they sold me.  So far, I've been successful in shutting down a lot of EBay counterfeit crap.

[Bob33]

If Chris Kyle didn't mind using Leupolds that's enough of an endorsement for me.

[JDHasty]

Used to be there was a store called Cabela's in Lacey where a guy could do a pretty good job of side by side comparing the optics while standing at the optics counter and looking into the dark recesses of the shooting gallery.  Cabela's was bought out by a purveyor of outdoor themed Chinese clothing and the optics section was moved to the other side of the store making it a PITA to compare optics side by side.   

[pickardjw]

If Chris Kyle didn't mind using Leupolds that's enough of an endorsement for me.

Didn't he use Nightforce?

“Scopes are an important part of the weapon system. Overseas, I used a 32-power scope. As a SEAL, I used Nightforce scopes. They have very clear glass, and they’re extremely durable under terrible conditions. They always held their zero for me,” said Kyle. If you take that info to consideration, the scope in the photos must be a Nightforce NXS 8-32×56. However, a Nightforce rep told me that at the time of Kyle’s service, the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22×56 was a popular choice on magnum rifles. He added that at the time, they were configured with 0.25 MOA click adjustments, and either the Nightforce Mil-dot or MLR reticles. Towards the end of Kyle’s career, scopes with Nightforce’s ZeroStop feature were getting phased into use."

More from the author,

"You could be right. I don’t know for certain, but just presented what the experts at Leupold told me it was. After I wrote this post, I actually met the guy at McMillan Firearms that personally built Kyle’s rifle (and also built the rifle used in the American Sniper movie). He said that Kyle removed the Leupold scope when he got back in combat overseas, and moved his Nightforce NXS 8-32×56 over to his 338 Lapua rifle so he’d have more magnification. That seems to make sense to me, but this is all he-said-she-said.

The only thing we know definitively from the man himself is what he wrote in his autobiography."

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/01/17/american-sniper-chris-kyle-rifles/

[Goshawk]

In terms of binos and spotting scopes in the Leopold line; go Gold Ring.  The lesser quality is not worth it.  My 12x40 from 1989 is as sharp today as it was that first Wyoming trip.  As far as rifle glass goes, I've had nothing but Leupold on all my weapons from hunting to duty, with one exception; Trijicon.  I dropped a lot of money back in the day for a tri-power Trijicon on my AR duty rifle. 7 years later, I had issues with it's illumination.  I contacted Trijicon and told them the issue I was having.  "We don't support that model anymore" the nice lady said.  I told them, "Ok, I get the warranty is over so I'm willing to pay for it".  "No you don't understand, we don't support that model. However, go to our website and check out the newer models that replaced it".  "Will I get a credit or price break?"  "No, but our newer models are much smaller and worth looking over".   "Do they have a lifetime warranty?"  "No, nobody really has that anymore".  "Well Leupold still does, so why should I buy a second optic from you if I have to replace it in another 5 or 7 years?"  She hung up on me.

I still have that first delta point pro on my duty weapon. It serves flawlessly and since it's a weapon mounted optic, it has the life time warranty.  Pay once, cry once.

[Bob33]

If Chris Kyle didn't mind using Leupolds that's enough of an endorsement for me.

Didn't he use Nightforce?

“Scopes are an important part of the weapon system. Overseas, I used a 32-power scope. As a SEAL, I used Nightforce scopes. They have very clear glass, and they’re extremely durable under terrible conditions. They always held their zero for me,” said Kyle. If you take that info to consideration, the scope in the photos must be a Nightforce NXS 8-32×56. However, a Nightforce rep told me that at the time of Kyle’s service, the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22×56 was a popular choice on magnum rifles. He added that at the time, they were configured with 0.25 MOA click adjustments, and either the Nightforce Mil-dot or MLR reticles. Towards the end of Kyle’s career, scopes with Nightforce’s ZeroStop feature were getting phased into use."

More from the author,

"You could be right. I don’t know for certain, but just presented what the experts at Leupold told me it was. After I wrote this post, I actually met the guy at McMillan Firearms that personally built Kyle’s rifle (and also built the rifle used in the American Sniper movie). He said that Kyle removed the Leupold scope when he got back in combat overseas, and moved his Nightforce NXS 8-32×56 over to his 338 Lapua rifle so he’d have more magnification. That seems to make sense to me, but this is all he-said-she-said.

The only thing we know definitively from the man himself is what he wrote in his autobiography."

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/01/17/american-sniper-chris-kyle-rifles/

That could be right. Leupold claims he used a Leupold.

https://www.leupold.com/blog/post/top-5-leupold-movie-roles#:~:text=American%20Sniper%20(2014)&text=While%20on%20multiple%20deployments%20to,25x50mm%20LR%2FT%20Illuminated%20scope.

[fishngamereaper]

If a guy wants a good Leupold look at buying a Sig...


If ya know you know 

[pickardjw]

If Chris Kyle didn't mind using Leupolds that's enough of an endorsement for me.

Didn't he use Nightforce?

“Scopes are an important part of the weapon system. Overseas, I used a 32-power scope. As a SEAL, I used Nightforce scopes. They have very clear glass, and they’re extremely durable under terrible conditions. They always held their zero for me,” said Kyle. If you take that info to consideration, the scope in the photos must be a Nightforce NXS 8-32×56. However, a Nightforce rep told me that at the time of Kyle’s service, the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22×56 was a popular choice on magnum rifles. He added that at the time, they were configured with 0.25 MOA click adjustments, and either the Nightforce Mil-dot or MLR reticles. Towards the end of Kyle’s career, scopes with Nightforce’s ZeroStop feature were getting phased into use."

More from the author,

"You could be right. I don’t know for certain, but just presented what the experts at Leupold told me it was. After I wrote this post, I actually met the guy at McMillan Firearms that personally built Kyle’s rifle (and also built the rifle used in the American Sniper movie). He said that Kyle removed the Leupold scope when he got back in combat overseas, and moved his Nightforce NXS 8-32×56 over to his 338 Lapua rifle so he’d have more magnification. That seems to make sense to me, but this is all he-said-she-said.

The only thing we know definitively from the man himself is what he wrote in his autobiography."

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2015/01/17/american-sniper-chris-kyle-rifles/

That could be right. Leupold claims he used a Leupold.

https://www.leupold.com/blog/post/top-5-leupold-movie-roles#:~:text=American%20Sniper%20(2014)&text=While%20on%20multiple%20deployments%20to,25x50mm%20LR%2FT%20Illuminated%20scope.

Yeah, sounds like the only confirmation from Kyle himself is the quote in the book. They definitely used a Leupold in the movie.

[mcrawfordaf]

I bought my son a pair of Leupold Yosemite 8x30s in 2011. The only issue after 10+ years of use was the plastic holding on the eye cups broke and they had the tendency to come off if not too careful when retracting them. The binos performed flawlessly otherwise. Several years later my daughter has come to age to be out in the woods with me and started using them. On a scouting trip she retracted one of the eye cups too far and unfortunately lost it while hiking. I emailed Leupold, with the understanding that this model of bino had been discontinued for several years, to ask if there was any possible way to purchase new eyecups. They replied shortly after requesting me to send them in for evaluation. After a week or so they sent an email back determining these were no longer functional and warranted a full replacement. Since these were a discontinued model they sent me a pair of brand new BX-1 McKenzie 8X42 with chest harness and all. I've been a loyal Leupold customer ever since.