According to the manufacturer's assurances, the body of the spotting scope is made of magnesium composites. Its housing is argon-purged and completely sealed, which is designed to ensure a high degree of water resistance. The external lenses are coated with ArmorTek, intended to increase scratch resistance and reduce the tendency for various types of dirt to adhere.
The front lens of the Razor HD 13-39x56 mm indeed has a diameter of 56 mm. It is situated about 1 cm deep inside the barrel, whose edges are well-blackened, matted, and baffled. Unfortunately, most likely due to weight and size savings, the manufacturer chose not to include a retractable sunshade in this design.
When we look inside the barrel, we can see that the vast majority of its components are well-matted and blackened. There are no complaints about cleanliness either, as we couldn't spot even the slightest trace of dust or dirt inside.
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The main body of the spotting scope is covered with a high-quality, matte green rubber that looks very tasteful. It's smooth on the front part of the barrel, then transitions to a subtle texture further back. This rubber adheres very well to the barrel everywhere, indicating a high-class piece of equipment.
The first section of the barrel is 88 mm long and features a small manufacturer's logo on its upper part. It ends and transitions into the manual focus ring. This ring is 39 mm wide, covered in a black, matte rubber with noticeable knurling, and additionally features four distinct protrusions that facilitate faster operation. The ring operates smoothly, with a fair but still appropriate resistance. Traversing the entire focusing range requires a 390-degree rotation, which is a very well-chosen value, ensuring precise adjustments.
The next element is the angled part of the barrel, containing the roof prism system. It's covered with a matte, green rubber with a delicate texture. Here too, everything fits perfectly. Additionally, the manufacturer's name is placed on both sides of the scope, and a metal Arca Swiss standard tripod connector is attached to the bottom. This is secured to the barrel with two Allen screws, allowing the connector to be permanently removed from the scope, further reducing weight and bulk. The product's serial number and information that it was assembled in the USA are located on this connector. This is good news. Most components of the Razor scopes are manufactured in Japan, with the rest likely coming from other regions of Asia, but it's pleasing that everything is assembled at the company's headquarters in the United States. One can trust that this ensures more effective quality control and allows for better service.
The main body of the scope ends with a thread for attaching the eyepiece. Here, the smallest Razor fundamentally differs from its larger siblings, which feature a slightly more versatile bayonet mount instead of a thread.
Looking into the scope from the eyepiece mount, you'll see a well-blackened, matted, and baffled inner tube. Inside, at a depth of over 2 cm, are the roof prisms, shimmering with greenish-blue antirelection coatings. The entire scope body, without the eyepiece, is only 197 mm long and weighs 595 grams. Additional grams can be saved by unscrewing the tripod connector. At this point, we're already at the weight level of small 32 mm class binoculars.
Once the eyepiece is attached, the length of the setup increases to the stated 264 mm, and the total weight to 810 grams, which perfectly matches the specifications. In this case, we're at the weight level of lighter 50 mm class binoculars.
The eyepiece itself, as is easy to calculate, weighs 215 grams, and its total length, with the eyecup folded, is 95 mm. When the eyecup is extended, the size increases to 106 mm. The eyepiece is parfocal, meaning that once focus is set, it's maintained regardless of the magnification used.
The eyepiece body itself is also made of magnesium composites. However, it's important to remember that its largest part is the rubberized and knurled magnification adjustment ring. It operates with smooth and fairly significant, but still appropriate, resistance. On both sides of this ring, on the metal casing, you'll find inscriptions. At the bottom, they contain magnification markers for 13x, 19x, 25x, 32x, and 39x, and at the top, we simply have the full name of the scope, Vortex Razor HD 13-39x56. The eyepiece ends with the aforementioned rubberized eyecup, whose height can be adjusted to three different levels.
The manufacturer has provided a rich set of accessories for the scope. The equipment arrives in a tasteful and not-so-large box. When opened, it reveals the scope body with the eyepiece placed separately - all nestled in shock-absorbing and protective foam padding. In an additional pocket, you'll find a soft carrying case.
Both the scope and the eyepiece are equipped with rubberized lens caps with the manufacturer's logo, which can be secured to the body so they don't fall off. The cap for the eyepiece mounting thread does not have such attachments.
Additionally, the box contains an owner's manual and a cleaning cloth. The manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty for the scope.
