Viper 15x50's?

[Hoss50]

I have a shot to get a set of Viper HD 15x50's for a great price. What are people's opinions on these? For the price I don't think I can pass them up right now as the best I have is a set of Vortex Diamondback 8x42's.

 

Are 15's basically exclusively for tripod use?

 

Harley

[Norteno]

No, you can use the 15x50 freehand and it's not too bad unless you are Michael J. Fox. A tripod is really the way to though. My hunting partner has the 15x50HD and a side by side comparison I think my Nikon Monarch 5 12x42 are a better for half the price. A good price for 15x50HD's would be $450-$500 ish?

 

just my 2-cents

[Hatchet Jack]

I've never looked through those but having a 15x with just a 50mm objective would make me shy away from them, i'll bet you lose light quickly. And 15x free handing is not very effective for me. But if the price is right I'm sure they have their place.

[G_E_E]

I went back and forth between the viper 15x50 and vulture 15x56. After my LEO discount it would be a 100 dollar difference, the vultures costing 400 and vipers 500. I don't know if that's near your price point. I went with the vultures cause of the 56mm objective lens for those low light situations. They are a little heavier but other than that I didn't see major difference as far as clarity with the glass. And yes I only use them with a tripod, I wear 10x50 around my neck.

[kazpilot25]

I would use the 15's on a tripod for sure. Too difficult to hand hold. As far as the 15x50 Viper, they were my first pair of 15's and did the job (until I upgraded to the Kaibab, then Swaro). Each step of the way you will see a significant difference. The biggest difference I noticed between the Diamondback and Viper was the color and contrast. The diamondbacks are very washed out color wise when compared to the Viper HD. The contrast is also significantly better.

 

If you're not hunting too much or not worried too much about getting an extra 10-15 minutes of glassing in the morning, the 50mm objective should be fine for you. You will see a difference in light transmission between the 50 and 56mm.

[mfernaz]

I've used the vultures, viper 10x42/12x50/15x50, kaibab, and I now soley use the razor 12x50s with a razor 65mm spotting scope. The viper 15x50 I did not like for early moring and late evening glassing, and for whatever reason I felt that they picked up the mirage way to much. I'm no optics expert, but through my trial I really like the 12x50 in whatever version you decide viper/razor, good for free hand and better on a tripod. I would suggest the viper 12x50s.

[azslim]

I carry 15x50 Viper's as backups and loaners, they work fine if you know how to use glass, you spend a lot more time on the focus wheel than you do with Swaro's, I take out quite a few folks that want to learn to hunt and haven't set themselves up with gear yet, these are perfect for that, if they break them so what, the warranty will cover them

[TOBY]

I would use the 15's on a tripod for sure. Too difficult to hand hold. As far as the 15x50 Viper, they were my first pair of 15's and did the job (until I upgraded to the Kaibab, then Swaro). Each step of the way you will see a significant difference. The biggest difference I noticed between the Diamondback and Viper was the color and contrast. The diamondbacks are very washed out color wise when compared to the Viper HD. The contrast is also significantly better.

 

 

Save your money. ^^^^^ spent an extra 1000 plus dollars before buying the best glass. Save for another year and buy once.

[CatfishKev]

I say get what you can afford. I know people mean well when they say wait a year buy once cry once. But what if you also need to buy a bow, spotting scope, rifle, rifles scope, a good pack or all the rest of the stuff you need to buy. Are you supposed to work overtime for 15 years so you can buy everything your ever going to need all at once? No, get what you need that will still get the job done not what you necessarily want and can't afford. The best way to do this is buy used. I got a kaibabs for $775 and a $300 pack off this website for $60. When you can afford the swaros get em, you've earned it.

[TOBY]

My wife has the vortex 15 vipers. I have some 10x vortex. They work good. I have my 15 swaros and they are uncomparable to any vortex product. Do they work sure they do. My wife glasses up deer sometimes faster than me. So buy what you want and enjoy it. Our suggestions are just that.....suggestions.

[bigorange]

All good points. I have the non-HD viper 15s now as a backup/loaner pair to Kaibabs. I used them for several years before upgrading. There is a noticeable difference in the 50 and 56 objective, but they still worked great. I didn't have great success without a tripod, but one of my buddies has used them on a shooting stick without issues. They're a lot better than the 8s you have for distance and a good step up until you can upgrade. I used the 15s on tripod and diamondback 10s around my neck for several years.

[bigorange]

I say get what you can afford. I know people mean well when they say wait a year buy once cry once. But what if you also need to buy a bow, spotting scope, rifle, rifles scope, a good pack or all the rest of the stuff you need to buy. Are you supposed to work overtime for 15 years so you can buy everything your ever going to need all at once? No, get what you need that will still get the job done not what you necessarily want and can't afford. The best way to do this is buy used. I got a kaibabs for $775 and a $300 pack off this website for $60. When you can afford the swaros get em, you've earned it.

 

This. I'd rather get what I can afford now and use it for a couple years while I save up for the upgrade.

[Hoss50]

I ended up with a set of Viper HD 15x50's. I literally got them this morning so I have not had a chance to play with them yet but I am hoping this helps during my late elk hunt. I have a few different glassing points I want to try out. My Diamondback 8x42's will be on my neck and the 15's in the backpack. I have a tripod coming too to help use with the 15's.

 

I will probably use these until my oldest son turns 10 and then hopefully I can use that as an excuse to upgrade to a nicer set of glass.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

[PatrickJr]

I used the 15x50 Vipers (not HD) for 2 years and it was my first pair of 15s. I really liked them but they might hold you back as a glasser. Quality and warranty is good. Biggest negative to them is when you have to glass into the sun, clarity is terrible, must have something to do with coatings. I always used them on a tripod, They are very small and light for 15s, which is better for hand holding. They are a good intro to hard core glassing. This year i was able to put together funds and bought my own pair of Swarovskis, never going to look back.