A review of Vortex Binoculars

Summer 2025

By Ben Baker

Photos courtesy of Vortex.

Vortex binoculars are made in three countries, Japan, China and the Philippines. Each country produces different quality optics.

In the beginning Vortex only made optics in Japan. Chinese and Philippine factories could not meet the product standards Vortex required. Advances in production techniques and worker training got quality up.

In other words, the quality of your optics is based on the country it was made. Japan makes the highest grade. Here, we break down some of their optics so you know what you are getting.

Over time, the Vortex manufacturing plan has changed. When Vortex started, all the optics were made in Japan. China simply was not good enough.

As the Sino plants improved, Vortex moved more and more of its productions to China. If advances continue, Vortex may move more production to the mainland.

Here we will compare the best of the binoculars made in each country.

Japan

The only Vortex binoculars made in Japan today are the Razor line. This is the premier line and will set you back more than a moderately priced deer rifle.

RAZOR

Features and Specifications: 

  • These optics have European quality glass and the best coatings around.
  • The difference between the HD and UHD designation is the prism inside the optics. The prism is what directs light down the barrels to your eye.
  • The UHD has the Abbe Koenig Roof Prisms inside of them. The HD have the Schmidt-Pechan prisms.
  • The Abbe-Koenig prism bends light three times. The Schmidt-Pechan prism bends the light five times.
  • The less bending the light has to do, the clearer the image will be. The tolerances and precision needed to make the Abbe-Koenig are also much higher than the Schmidt-Pechan.
  • The Abbe-Koenig is the best internal prism system you can get in binoculars.
  • They have HD magnifications of 8, 10, 10, and 12. They also have UHD magnifications of 8, 10, 10, 12, and 18.

If you need the most precision possible, you need one of these binoculars. If you are standing on a mountain in Colorado, glassing the valley or the mountainside across from you, high quality glass is the difference between seeing that trophy bull elk and missing it. Professional guides invest a lot in their glass for this very reason.

Pros

  • The best Vortex has to offer
  • Excellent glass
  • Vortex warranty

Cons

  • The most expensive Vortex has to offer
  • Not for beginners

China

Most of Vortex’s production is in China. While the company says its high-end products are made in Japan, this is not 100 percent true. Some of the premium binoculars are made in China.

These Kaibab binoculars are made in China. It has a Porro prism which is less expensive than the Abbe Koenig and the Schmidt-Pechan mentioned above. 

KAIBAB

Features and Specifications:

  • The Porro provides good resolution, but not as good as the 2 just above.
  • Porros are smaller than roof prisms and provide better images than a roof prism.
  • If you are hunting in places where 200 yards is a long shot, the Kaibab will serve you well. At that range, the image quality is still enough to let you see parts of a deer hidden  behind the brush.
  • It has 18x magnifications. 
  • They are argon purged and rubber coated.
  • “Kaibab” is from the Paiute Indian language. It means “mountain lying down.”

Pros

  • Second level prism
  • Vortex warranty
  • Coated lenses

Cons

  • Nearly as expensive as the Razor series
  • Not for beginners

Philippines

Only one Vortex binoculars family is made in the Philippines, the Viper. That is subject to change.

The Viper is a mid-level scope series. These straight tube binocs use a roof prism. The Viper tubes are purged with argon, while the others use nitrogen.

I can see using these on the Plains hunts for deer, speed goats, and other critters. If you hunt in the South in forests, these are also good.

I call these acceptable for hunts in places, where you may sit on the edge of corn or soybean fields that are hundreds of acres. You can at least know where the deer are and how they move and make needed adjustments the next time you are in a stand.

VIPER

Features and Specifications:

  • Rubber coated
  • Right eyepiece locks
  • Argon purged
  • Chest harness included

Pros

  • Argon purged
  • Superior lens coatings

Cons

  • Small front bell
  • Roof prism
  • Not suited for long-range viewing

Conclusion

Many people have problems buying items made in China because of the state of US-Sino relations. However, China is a global manufacturing powerhouse. The quality has improved over the years and sometimes rivals that of other countries.

Where binoculars are concerned, the quality has yet to reach Japanese or European levels. For that matter, the quality also lags what optics are made in the US.

Chinese labor is far cheaper than American labor. China also has fewer regulations on its industries and fewer workers’ rights. Vortex’s decision to move so much of its production to China is a matter of business. To compete in the extremely tight optics market, Vortex had to reduce costs. 

Buyers overwhelmingly support that decision. Vortex is one of the top sporting and hunting optics makers in the world now. Money definitely talks.

Can you get better-quality binoculars? Yes. Will the higher quality come with a higher price? Yes.

Ben Baker is the Executive Editor of B&H Publications, including the Wiregrass Farmer Newspaper in Ashburn. He also is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. Ben can be contacted at redneckgenius@gmail.com.