I have to use their customer service before. Their response has been just fantastic. I had contacted them on a Tuesday and had a replacement on Thursday. That goes a long way with me I have a few of their products.
I tried to buy a Vortex, but i just couldnt get past all the bad reviews for them. I went back an forth many times, read to many bad things about them. Two of my friends bought votex scopes, both had to be returned for problems. Pretty much told me to look elsewhere for a better scope. So i did just that. I finally settled on a Riton X5 Conquer 5-25x50 34mm tube, and i couldnt be happier. The glass in the Riton was much clearer and much more crisp than vortex. Riton also has a better warranty. They dont care who owned it, or even have a receipt for it, you get a brand new scope, not a fixed or refurbished one. Sure wish i could tell you if they really do stand behind their products, but i dont know, i`ve never had a problem with any of the Riton products.
Looks like a great scope. I've got a rifle build going on, it's in getting trued, and timed, and a 6.5 cm barrel put on. I've really been thinking about a vortex gen 2 PST, but I've seen and heard to many failures of Vortex in the past. Ya the warranty is great, but It would really suck having a scope go down in the middle of a hunt... And I've seen that. When you take a week off from work, don't want to take that chance.
Thanks for the video but, if you are going to compare it to Sightron as much as you do, you may consider putting them side to side so that others understand what you are talking about. Again, thanks for the video.
Really good review of the PST Gen II. Very glad i watched it. A good every-man review with plenty of detail. I have had a few people tell me how goo the Sightrons are, But I found (in my opinion) that they fared poorly compared to the NF SHV F1 and the Razor Gen I we compared them to. In particular the fit and finish, features and glass quality. The glass quality was a surprise as that is generally the selling point of the SIghtrons from what I am told.
I have a Vortex Viper PST, Vortex Razor, Leupold Mark 4, and Nightforce NXS scopes.. I don't know if you just meant that the turrets feel better than Nightforce, the adjustments clicks feel more tactile, or what when you said Sightron or Vortex was BETTER than Nightforce, but I hope you did not mean that the Vortex and Sightron are better scopes than Nightforce scopes. I understand that turrets, feel, and features like that are subjective. However, the optical quality of a Nightforce NXS, ATACR, or BEAST is much better than the Viper PST. The Vortex Razor series glass quality is more on par with Nightforce and probably is not noticeable by the average person (me included). However, I can definitely tell a difference between the glass quality of the Viper PST and the Nightforce scopes I own. The Leupold Mark 4 is somewhere in between. I LOVE the Viper PST series, and I do feel like it is a great scope for the under 1000 price point, but as far as glass and optical clarity and quality is concerned, Nightforce and the Vortex Razor are much better. I'm not trying to start an argument, I just disagree IF that is what you were saying. Like I said if you like the turret style and tactile feel of the Vortex Viper or Sightron better, that is completely understandable. However, there is a very discernable difference between a $750-$900 piece of glass versus a $1500-$2000 piece of glass. Once you pass that $2000 price point, I believe the improvement in glass quality is incremental and you start getting more into "do you really need" that incremental improvement in glass that most people wouldn't be able to tell a difference between, with scopes like Schmidt and Bender and Hensoldt vs Nightforce. IOR, Vortex Razor, or Leupold Mark 6 (not the Mark 4). I personally like the Leupold Mark 4 scopes over the Viper PST, simply due to the generous eye box/relief, and to me, the glass quality is slightly better. I do like the Vortex reticle options and that most are mil/mil scopes. I will say that I have not been able to shoot with a Gen II Viper PST, however, I have a Razor HD, and can say that the glass is much clearer on the Razor at high magnification than on the Viper PST.
I was specifically speaking to the feel of the turrets. I will however have to disagree that the glass on the NXS is better than the Sightron SIIIs. I have little doubt that the mechanics of the NXS are more durable than the SIIIs. I do think the original PST is not quite as good in the glass department but it would not make me wish I had better glass. I do not have enough time behind the GEN II to have an opinion on the mechanics or the glass. I don't think many would doubt the NXS is a better overall scope but not everyone wants to, or can, spend that kind of money.
I think..Depending how bad is your eyes and hearing sensation ... only determines what kind of scope you need... i own a cheap and high end red dot ... and still seeing 3 or 4 dots .. maybe eye problem? Oh yeah definitly....
@@HuntinTheWest I mean it's all subjective. I have an ATACR and a couple NXS 5.5-22x50's and a Viper PST Gen2 5-25x50 FFP, and I see a clear difference at 22x between the Nightforce and the Vortex Viper PST Gen 2. Now, I will say that the Viper PST Gen 2 has close to if not a little better glass than the SHV series of NIghtforce optics, and I think they are more on par with a Leupold Mark 4 LR/T 6.5-20x50. I've got a Mark 4 3.5-10x40 on a DD Mk12 and a 6.5-20x50 on a Sako TRG-22. To my eyes, I'd rank them (overall quality): Schmidt & Bender PMII, Nightforce ATACR, Leupold Mark 6, Nightforce NXS, Leupold Mark 4 or Vortex Viper PST Gen 2, Burris XTR II 34mm tube, Nightforce SHV, Vortex Viper PST Gen 1, SWFA, Primary Arms. Those are the scopes I own. I've owned a US Optics, a Trijicon, and a Steiner T5xi which I would put up with the Mark 6 and above the NXS, except for the Trijicon. I'd put the Trijicon below the NXS. Although the glass in the NXS and ATACR is not as drastically different, as it is with the SHV. It's sort of like going from a PST "down" to an HS-T (not a great analogy but best I can come up with right now) even though they are sort of the same scope with different features for a different application. I've always had good luck with the Leupold Mark 4 LR/T scopes for the money, as far as clarity and eye relief/forgiving eye box, durability, but the Viper PST Gen 2 has legitimately impressed me with the feature set, MUCH better turrets, zero stop, i've always loved the EBR reticle, and much better quality glass than in the Gen 1; and for $900-$1100 depending on where you buy it from, it is very hard to beat its value, warranty, customer service, etc. I don't have a problem with the Nightforce SHV line, Viper PST, or Burris XTR as price point scopes, as you get the durability and reliability with just slightly lower quality glass quality but still a well built scope, different options for reticle, FFP, 30mm+ tube, excellent turrets, plenty of elevation, for less than $1000. The Burris XTR II also surprised me with its 100 MOA of elevation bc of the 34mm tube. I'd say the Burris and the Vortex Gen 2 are on very close levels as far as glass quality and feature set. I sort of consider NightForce Tier 1-B lol, right below Schmidt, IOR Valdada and USOptics, but on par with the Leupold Mark6 Mark5 and Steiners, and slightly above Vortex Viper PST Gen 2, Burris XTR II, Leupold Mark 4, Trijicon, and some of the new Sig offerings.
Best value for the money 👍 Vortex viper gen 2 25/50 and tikka rifle tac A1 all you need for long shoots good quality and best value for the money 🧐 pro stuffs For less money than 2000💲
Thanks for the review. It came down to this Vortex, Athlon Ares and Burris XTR II for me. The first 2 are hard to come by. They were all fairly close in price and specs. I opted for the Burris mainly because it was available and has been out for a while with good reviews. The mushy turrets and your zero stop problem kind of steered me away from the Vortex. You didn't appear to be blown away by the new gen 2 Vortex. I'm sure you like it but if it isn't making you want to toss the Sightron then I don't know. I will keep an eye out for your next review on the PST gen 2 after you field test it. There is just way too little hands on reviews for me to say yea or nay yet. You can't really go wrong with Vortex though. I think we both got excellent scopes.
I will be getting Ares BTR and will be doing a review of it as soon as they are available. I had my hands on the XTR and a SIg. They have the mushiest exposed turrets I have ever touched so I had no interest in owning either scope. They both get good reviews but they are not for me.
I have 30 days to return if I don't like it. It should be here this week. I will be looking forward to your review on the Ares. It got pushed back to mid July. It is supposed to have some good glass. I have a gen 1 pst and a strike eagle so I do like Vortex.
Optics are clear but the light is way dim. My razor gen 2 set on 2 is brighter than the pst gen 2 at max. The illumination does nothing to light up the tree and the illuminated numbers aren't very clear. If you have a razor gen 2 you will see a very big difference between the two (illumination wise). In daylight with no illumination needed, you can see the tree and the numbers clearly. I really do like the scope. But, I don't see how anyone could've done worse with illumination. Vortex truly needs to fix that issue. Otherwise, really good scope.
HuntinTheWest I'll be interested in your review of the Ares. I'm a fan of the SIII's and was hoping the Ares would have the glass and add the features that Sightron has neglected. The glass was good, but it wasn't SIII level. The turrets also weren't very crisp. The version I reviewed was the pre production model, so maybe they made some changes.
Excellent honest review boss. I must say that the Sightron scopes are impressive. I had the 8-32x56 also but found the 32x just a little milky. I have this scope ordered and am looking forward to reviewing it myself. Have you managed to get out and test it yet? Any other thoughts?
+SlimySquirrel Due to having to go through four scopes to get a good one I just couldn’t trust it through hunting season. I’ve moved on to testing other scopes.
I was in the same boat. I received my XTR II and it is fantastic. Great turrets! Couldn't be happier. I was a little worried after HuntinTheWest's comment on mushy turrets but they feel great. On the other hand my PST gen 1 arrived and I had to send it in to Vortex because the magnification ring moves fwd and aft. In for repair brand new out of the box. I would have sent it back to Europtc but I had waited too long before unboxing it and finding the problem. From now on I will only buy from SportOptics. 30 day return no questions as opposed to a 15 day with 20% restocking fee.
Thanks for the video. In your next video about the Vortex Gen II PST could you go into lens clarity, chromatic aberration and resolution. How bright, clear and sharp is the scope?
All of my discussions on the glass will be very subjective. I will discuss it once I have had time to compare to the Sightrons I use. I will not be using optical resolution charts. Like I said in the video, mechanics are far more important to me than glass. Having said that I have yet to find a scope in the $1000.00 and up range that I found optically disappointing. On the other had, there are many scopes out there that just do not have the mechanical features or durability that I require. Thanks for watching.
On the PST Gen II windage turret. Does the cap lock down in place? I'm worried about the windage turret being bumped/turned while out hiking and not realizing it when you stop to take a quick shot.
Hey man thanks for this great video. I just bought the same scope in 3-15. The illumination knob on mine is very hard to turn. I can't even do it with one hand. Is there a way to adjust this or should I contact Vortex support?
Customer service is paramount. But does it bug anyone else that the warranty is the main selling point of vortex. It's like chris Farley said all a guarantee is a guaranteed piece of shit. And I hear more stories about "hey, when this thing broke they were so fucking nice." Dont get me wrong I love vortex and have had great luck with the 10 products I've had. I have also had a rough year as far as repairs go (leupold, browning, cmc trigger, and Burris). If you actually use stuff it breaks, I understand that as well as anyone. But all of them handled it just as well as the vortex item I've had to send in. To top it off they are made overseas! And of course vortex let me down when I needed it to work the most and cost an elk! The warranty, the warranty they say! Blah blah blah. What we should be asking is " why are you so focused on this warranty man? Should I know about something?"
I ordered this scope from vortex about three months ago. Still has not shipped vortex keeps saying 3 plus weeks. How long did it take to get your scope in?
I got this one from Scheel's. Cabela's had some at the time but I was too slow on the purchase. They were out of stock within minutes of me buying from Scheel's.
J CHASS. Took 6 most for me but I love the scope and no bs warranty but I have seen some in a gun shop while waiting on mine ; I suppose it's a who has pull with Vortex. Fyi
I am thinking about this scope and would like your opinion on the glass quality. You mentioned the Sightron SIII which I also have in FFP and love the glass quality. It is even better than the Night Force my friend has (he agrees too and also owns Sightrons) So the question - how does the optical quality of the Vortex Gen II PST compare to the Sightron and Night Force?
With the limited time I have spent with it as of now I would say they are about the same. I personally believe the importance of glass quality is over rated. I say that because I have never owned an $800.00+ scope that made me want better glass. I would much rather have better mechanics. Having said that I did go ahead and purchase some optics test charts and hope to spend some time comparing the two scopes this weekend. If I were you I would weigh the features that are important to you to make your decision. If you are not in a hurry I will hopefully have a detailed review in the next 2-3 weeks. Thanks for watching.
Please try to make another video looking through the scope, it might say more than 20+ minutes of explanations. That`s what peoples that watch this kind of review are expected to see. But...a thumbs up because i really don`t know where you got so many bla bla bla to fill this video.
Thanks for watching. The problem with what you are asking is the device capturing the video will always induce or add some negative characteristics. It is near impossible to show the quality of glass in a scope of any kind with a camera.
In my opinion the fit is perfect. In case you did not know I have a video on the stock. I will be making another once I have spent some more time shooting it.
J Ramirez the rifle in the video is a Christensen Arms Ridgeline in 28 Nosler bedded in a Stocky's Long Range Carbon Fiber stock. I will be doing a review of the rifle and this setup.
The problem with giving everyone a social media platforms they can will spread incorrect information. This man has no clue about scope "light gathering capability". That is dependent on the lenses and the coatings put on the lenses. NOT the objective bell diameter or tube size.
One of the most important factors in determining maximum allowable light transmission in optics is the exit pupil. The exit pupil is directly affected by the objective lens diameter. If you have a cheap scope with a large objective lens competing with a high end optic with a smaller objective then the coatings will absolutely trump the cheaper scope. All else being equal the bigger objective lens will have more light transmission. I think it would behoove you to do some more reading and make some phone calls to find the facts.
