Vortex defender St vs. Vortex defender XL

[Deadcoyote]

The vortex warranty policy it's pretty incredible. This is the second time I've had to use it over the years and absolutely no questions asked. They were even cool enough to upgrade being a little bit when I asked if I could try the xl. People can say all they want about the quality of Vortex products and lens clarity and all of that good stuff, but when your dies on you the warranty is what separates them from everybody else.

When my 4x PA prism died I even told them they could replace with with their choice of their 5x or 3x, stating I’d prefer the 5 but understood the 3 was cheaper. They just told me there is no expectation for a warranty to be honored for a product that no longer exists.

 

[Gawernator]

I think you just don't have astigmatism, Mine isn't super bad to the pont I can't use it but it's noticeable and I definitely have a preference for the Defenders over the others because they are just a lot less weird. I just got a holosun 407 Comp and it was like an amorphous blob, I had to take a picture of it with my phone to make sure it wasn't defective. But no, it's just me that's defective.

But if I don’t have astigmatism how come I see a starburst at night time indoors, especially higher brightness the starburst gets bad

 

[RustVendor]

But if I don’t have astigmatism how come I see a starburst at night time indoors

I guess it's just very minor, I see it in full daylight. Like if I use a magnifier on a rifle red dot and shoot 200-300 yards it will look like a weird line and I have to zero using a point on the line, it's like a pretty severe difference in the point of aim. I found it was better to just not use the magnifier.

 

[KingRansom]

That's how I got my first defender, I had the janky venom? Red dot from like 2019 with like the doctor footprint and they sent me an ST. Bought several XLs since then

The only Vortex optics I do not like are the prism Scopes and anything with first focal plane. The reticle is so small especially in those prisms that there's no way I can use it. I know there's more expensive higher quality optics companies out there than vortex, but for some reason my eyes like everything they make. People can say what they want about the strike eagle lpvo, but for me personally it's absolutely the best scope I've ever used.

 

[RustVendor]

The only Vortex optics I do not like are the prism Scopes and anything with first focal plane. The reticle is so small especially in those prisms that there's no way I can use it. I know there's more expensive higher quality optics companies out there than vortex, but for some reason my eyes like everything they make. People can say what they want about the strike eagle lpvo, but for me personally it's absolutely the best scope I've ever used.

I've found with scopes that the biggest noticible difference when you spend more is the eye box will be a lot more forgiving. it's a lot more drastic on the higher magnification stuff but the venom 5-25x drive me nuts trying to get centered withing the shadow. But thats what you get with a cheap first focal plain scope. Cheap scopes do actually work fine they're just rough around the edges. It's funny when people talk about the color reproduction like I should pay 1000 dollars more for that, if it's not producing artifacts that cause me to miss I literally don't care.

 

[Gawernator]

I guess it's just very minor, I see it in full daylight. Like if I use a magnifier on a rifle red dot and shoot 200-300 yards it will look like a weird line and I have to zero using a point on the line, it's like a pretty severe difference in the point of aim. I found it was better to just not use the magnifier.

Can you get eye surgery

 

[KingRansom]

I've found with scopes that the biggest noticible difference when you spend more is the eye box will be a lot more forgiving. it's a lot more drastic on the higher magnification stuff but the venom 5-25x drive me nuts trying to get centered withing the shadow. But thats what you get with a cheap first focal plain scope. Cheap scopes do actually work fine they're just rough around the edges. It's funny when people talk about the color reproduction like I should pay 1000 dollars more for that, if it's not producing artifacts that cause me to miss I literally don't care.

Funny you mentioned that because eye box relief is the reason I love the strike eagle so much. For whatever reason it works awesome for me. For me there's absolutely no point in spending money on a two or $3,000 rifle scope when my eyes suck ass anyhow. I can go get eye surgery and based off what I've been seeing all these years a two hundred dollar scope would look like a night Force

 

[RustVendor]

Can you get eye surgery

I dunno I haven't looked into it. I don't wear any kind of corrective lenses so I haven't talked to an optometrist like ever

 

[RustVendor]

Funny you mentioned that because eye box relief is the reason I love the strike eagle so much. For whatever reason it works awesome for me. For me there's absolutely no point in spending money on a two or $3,000 rifle scope when my eyes suck ass anyhow. I can go get eye surgery and based off what I've been seeing all these years a two hundred dollar scope would look like a night Force

Yeah I think on the lower power second focal plane scopes it's not an issue just on the bigger guys. I haven't had that LPVO but I did have a primary arms LPVO and it was definitely better than that Venom 5-25. I got an Athlon Cronus for a good deal and that's what I run on my PRS rifle, the way I know it's good is I never even think about the eye box. Otherwise I don't even know what's different haha