Vortex Optics Crossfire HD Spotting Scopes - HD Optical System, Wide Field of View, Helical Focus, Tripod Adaptable, Rubber Armor, Waterproof, Fogproof, Shockproof - Unlimited, Unconditional Warranty

This spotting scope is very well made and durable. It has a shock proof rubber coating over the entire body of the scope. It comes with a neoprene jacket to further protect it. I needed it to view objects close up at roughly 130’ and it was perfect. The zoom feature gave me an excellent field of view. Focus was clear. Light weight and easy to use. I did need to purchase a tripod head adaptor for my manfrotto tripod.

This is my first spotting scope so I’ve got very little experience with them but I am a wildlife photographer and can tell what a good optic is. For the money this scope is incredible. I’m able to zoom in much farther than any camera lens and the image is still descent around the edges though not perfect.

Amazing

Overall I'm pleased with the scope. At low power it has a bright clear image with good color. The image is clear from edge to edge. No slack in any of the gearing (focus knob or magnification setting). Material construction seems solid. Love the lifetime warranty! I can mitigate the cons but my solution costs extra $Pros: Fantastic clarity, Several rotations of the focus wheel for fine focus ability. Heavy duty rubber dust covers (lens caps). At low power (20x) can easily spot a child's tennis shoe at 800m.Cons: No true storage case. Scope comes in two parts (body & eyepiece). Eyepiece locking ring must be re-tightened from time to time forcing foam condom (fitted cover/case) removal. Objective lens cap flutters in 15 mph wind causing scope to wobble on medium grade tripod.Cons of ALL spotting scopes: Focus not as sharp at high power. Image gets dimmer as power increases.Mitigations: Buy premium HD tripod with fluid head. Buy hard case for storage and transport.

The media could not be loaded. It's been fantastic so far (1 day). I took a very bad video and picture (I don't have the phone mount). The picture and video don't really do the scope justice, but I wanted to show what I've done so far and those things are pretty much the extent. A red tail hawk was feeding her juveniles outside my house the first time I set up this scope. My only complaint is the protective pad that comes with the scope covers the locking screw that adjusts the angle of the eyepiece. It's fine if I leave it at one angle, the problem is my kids want to see through it too and for them I need to adjust the eyepiece. If you are solo using the scope, that shouldn't bother you very often, and it still works its just not simple/inconvenient, but you can choose not to put on the padded cover all together so it still gets 5 stars for the price of $299. Also in every situation I have used this scope the straight angle scope would have been a nightmare. I almost bought the straight scope. But viewing a hawks nest, or the moon--most tripods would never ever be tall enough not to be scrunches over hurting your neck and back. Do yourself a favor and get the angled scope unless you always plan to look down from high points.*Edit to the review saying this isn't clear when not at minimum power, I have to wonder if that person knew it is a manual focus? You have to focus the scope manually it focuses pretty good at maximum zoom, maybe not as good as minimum but decent.*Edit #2 9/5/2024Near three months I've had this scope and to be honest... I take it Everywhere. I live near a lot of public land, I live 5 minutes from a Wildlife Management Area, and within 20 minutes of another WMA, 30 minutes of yet another. I take it fishing, I take it hunting, I take it to sight in rifles and I take it to the back porch. I watch birds, I watch fish jump, I watch my wife's rifle groupings. For me, this has a value that is near priceless. It's good enough to gain perspective far out of normal reach. Maybe I should have bought the higher quality scopes? Possibly, but if this isn't good enough I'm not sure anything could be.

As competitive archers, we've been looking for a "travel" spotting scope that was smaller, and lighter, than our full-size scopes. We had tried the Roxant Blackbird, which was agreeably small and packed well; it also is delicate and breaks easily (the eyepiece falls off).Finding the Vortex Crossfire 12-36 x 50 was the answer to our problem. Small enough to pack easily, and very, very durable. The Crossfire exudes quality, too, and the lifetime warranty is amazing for a $200 scope.Having the built-in Arca plate is perfect! After the whole 2024 season of travel to 8 tournaments, the Vortex is in perfect shape. Optically, it's not as good as our full-sized Nikon Prostaff scopes, but darn close - easily performs at 90% of sharpness and chromatic aberration as the Prostaff. Eye relief is quite good when wearing sunglasses, and it's easy to score X10's at 70 meters. Really happy with the Crossfire, we bought two.

For it's price point this seems to be a great scope!

Neck angle was not taken into consideration so I need a straight it’s just hard on our neck looking down. They were used 2024 rifle deer east of Tucson az snowed a bunch but these were still amazing with the snow. I loved them I archery hunt and spot and stalk and this little guy is all I need when I’m moving 100 yards at a time with my tripod.