Review on Vortex Optics Razor Binoculars 18X56 by Eric Aulia

My wife wanted to give me something special for my 65th birthday and she complained that I always buy what I want, why don't you just tell her and she can buy it. I thought about it and decided that a good set of bird watching binoculars would be great. I already have a good set of 12x50 binoculars and while excellent for distant subjects you can often see birds a bit closer and 12x gives too much magnification. I chose the Razor USD 8x42 binoculars, they are a bit heavier but have better glass and an Abbe Konig prism which is larger but has better light transmission. Now I don't hike much anymore and often go for walks in our parks or to the blind birds at the state park, so I felt the extra weight was okay as I got excellent optics. As soon as I opened the box I was amazed. The binoculars come in a nice box and inside was a note that Cindy checked and boxed my binoculars! They come with a well-designed carry case, safety straps, an extra pocket for the bag, and a microfiber cleaning cloth. There is also a good neck/shoulder strap. I was very impressed when I went outside to check them out. They are really well made and everything was crystal clear. I didn't notice any chromatic issues, such as B. A color shift band where the branches meet the flat sky. The edge sharpness is excellent. They're not cheap, but compared to other Alpha binoculars from companies like Zeiss, Leica, and Swarovski, the price is really reasonable. Build quality is excellent and while I hope they stay clean and dry I don't think dusty or wet conditions will be a real problem when it comes to getting into lens barrels. Just be careful with external elements. cleaned.