- 10x magnification & 42mm objective lenses, these Diamondback HD binos are optimized with select glass elements to deliver exceptional resolution, cut chromatic aberration and provide outstanding color fidelity, sharpness and light transmission
- Fully multi-coated lenses increase light transmission with anti-reflective coatings on all air-to-glass surfaces. Dielectric coating provides bright, clear, color-accurate images. Armortek coating protects exterior lenses from scratches, oil and dirt
- Adjustable eyecups twist up and down for comfortable viewing with or without eyeglasses. Center focus wheel adjusts the focus of both binocular barrels at the same time. Diopter (located on right Eyepiece) adjusts for differences in a user’s eyes.
- Rubber armor provides a secure, non-slip grip, and durable external protection. Binoculars are tripod adaptable allowing use on a tripod or car window mount.
- Argon purging and O-ring seals provide water and fog proof performance in all environments. Rugged construction withstands recoil and impact. Includes glass Pak harness.
David Far and Wide –
The first thing you have to remember about binoculars is “everything is relative”. My first pair were a £50 Olympus pair of 8×21 and I thought they were great, until I tried something better. Then I thought they were terrible.
More recently I have been using a pair of 8×42 Nikon Prostaff 3S. They were about £130 and compared to the Olympus it was night and day – lovely to hold super clear image, fantastic. Problem with the Nikons was a) my wife and I were constantly fighting over them whenever something interesting appeared in the garden, b) they were too heavy to lug around when we went for a walk.
So, feeling flush because we haven’t been out for an entire year, I thought I’d splash out on a lighter “next grade up” pair of binoculars that we could use in the house and also out for a walk. I did loads and loads of reading and research and settled on something in the 8×32 class with a higher grade of prisms / coating etc compared to the Nikons.
Among 8x32s I looked at Opticron Discovery around the 140 mark and dismissed them as they just don’t feel as solid, quality build, although they are very light <400g. I was also tempted by the Celestron Trailseekers which I didn't try but get great reviews, are only £150 here, and are pretty light at around 450g. And also the Hawke Endurance ED which are I think around £180 and also get great reviews but are heavier at around 560g. In the end I plumped for these because I saw so many good reviews of them. My sense from all the reviews I read was the Hawkes are marginally better than the Vortex, which is itself better than the Celestrons, although I'm not sure they're £50 worth of better if I'm honest. The Vortex's seem a little bit more solid and quality feeling, but I didn't compare the optics.
Anyway, all I have currently to test them against are the Nikon Prostaff 8×42. What’s interesting is the image with the Vortex compared to the Nikon’s is definitely brighter and sharper, despite 32 vs 42 diameter lens. So the higher quality optics does show itself. In terms of the weight though – 460 vs 565g you actually struggle to notice the difference, so I’m not sure it’s worth worrying too much about the weight.
Anyway, I really like them. They feel like they’ll last forever and they’re nice to use. My only reservation is that I I don’t think they are particularly great value for money at £199 compared to other options. In particular if you don’t care about the extra weight the Hawke Endurance EDs are cheaper and have better optics.
b.brown –
I have a pair of Bushnell elites paid just shy of $1000. And are spectacular, compared to the much more expensive swaros, at a fraction of the price, perfect for bird watching, so I wanted something with a little more power and read the reviews on the HD Diamondbacks and thought for the money I’d try them out, for brightness they are incredible, on a scale 1-10 for sharpness I’d give it 7.5 -8, as far as value 1-10 I’d give it a solid 10, they are more than sufficient, and lifetime warranty , won’t be my last pair of Vortex
Ms G –
What a difference a good pair of binoculars make! The clarity, the light, the focus, the ease, the weight, the size are all that I’ve been looking for. I did my homework and found out 8×42 is good for birding, and after reading review after review on various brands, etc., I pulled the trigger and hoped for the best, and I got it! It comes with straps, harness and case. There are even pockets outside the case that holds my cellphone and lens cloth. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.
Sean McCormick –
The binoculars are exceptional quality – feel really well built – optics are super with sharp clear images in all light conditions.
I researched these widely before purchasing, I’m more than pleased, and would highly recommend them to anyone wanting a mid quality compact pair of binoculars. (the Vortex lifetime warranty is a huge benefit, and gives great peace of mind. )
Performance and delivery from Amazon was a great disappointment – initial (Prime) delivery advised as 27th Jan to 2nd Feb, but didn’t arrive until 14th Feb – product should have been black, but green version arrived! Considering delay already, just decided to keep green ones, but not great service or information from Amazon!
AZ Hunter –
The pair I received were defective right from the box. The middle hinge that keeps them in place just let them fall down. Vortex Qualitycontrol on their lower end products has fallen since they started having them made in China. The American made stuff is still really well made and quality control is on point. Then Vortex wanted me to pay shipping to them on a brand new product right from the box. Literally just opened them. Lucky for me Amazon took them back no questions ask. Maybe my last Vortex optic. 🙁
Simon Rees –
I’ve owned some very expensive binoculars over the years, and although these had some great reviews I wasn’t expecting them to be as good as claimed. Wow, was I wrong! These are superb, the optical clarity is equivalent to anything I’ve used in the past costing 5 times the amount. You won’t be disappointed. I’m not going to mention the crazy harness but I’m sure some will find it useful. But it’s not for me.
Seth –
I have mild experience with binoculars but a buddy of mine owns a $2.5k pair of Swarovskis (10×50 RF) and the clarity difference between those and these 12×50 HDs is indistinguishable. I also own a pair of 12×25 Bushnell compact and these are worlds above those. These 12×50 DB HDs feel like a quality product in your hands and the Glass Pak is a welcomed accessory with great functionality.
Casey S –
I decided on a pair of the 10x50s and went with this brand based on friends’ recommendations and testing out some other brands. While they are quite a bit heavier than the 42mm version, I felt that it was worth the sacrifice for better low-light performance as the FOV is still decent. I avoided the 12x magnification due to concerns that it can be more difficult to quickly locate a target and remain steady. Overall, I am very happy with these binos. They are rugged, stylish, and produce a great image. I would buy again
Kevin –
Admittedly a novice here who purchased these after alot of research. I took a chance on buying these after some reviews slightly favouring another make. From a novice with a critical eye, I cannot fault the viewing experience or handling of these. I got a litte distracted from others talking of colour aberrations etc. I cannot see any such failings. Also the lack of numerals for the eyepiece adjustment.. there are 5 clear markings there. I know my setting is 1.5 to the left.
One of the main deciding factors for me was the lifetime warranty. As I live in Ireland I was worried about warranty with an online purchase. Vortex have an agent here which will handle any warranty issues. This is great peace of mind for me. Some of the other Brand names did not have this facility.
Penjamin –
Wonderful binoculars, I also like that Vortex has essentially changed the optics market for warranties. Vortex was getting very popular due to their stance on a “no questions asked” warranty policy. Now almost all the other manufacturers have come out with their “version” of it. But back to the binos. I bought these about the same time as a coworker bought the Vortex Razor HDs (nearly 4 times the cost of these). We both brought them to work one day and compared them side by side. The winner… obviously the Razor HDs….but not by that much…in my opinion. When first looking through them it was hard to even tell a difference. Both were extremely clear. It was only after going back and forth between them numerous times that you started noticing the differences. The first most noticeable is the field of view. The razor HDs were wider but not by a lot. If you were glassing long distances for hours you would probably appreciate the added area but I don’t, so this wasn’t of much consequence to me. Other than that it was really hard to pick out the differences. Finally after going back and forth (and having several other do the same without previous knowledge on which was more expensive) we could tell a real difference. So I took some paper with varying font sizes on it and set it up across the room. When comparing the two we were able to more clearly see some of the font with the Razor HDs. So with the added field of view and slightly better (perceivable) clarity, the Razor HDs won the side by side comparison…shocker right? But I paid a quarter the price for these and they barely lost the comparison. Every person we had look through both said the same thing. For the money they would go with the diamond backs. In fact several of the people that did the comparison went out and bought the diamond back HDs
Simon Packer –
These are not state of the art but they are very good for value/performance. The initial impression is excellent; bright, sharp and clear with good contrast. Detailed testing show a few minor imperfections, but they are relatively minor. They are not Swavorskis. There is a sweet spot very slightly below the centre where chromatic aberration, colour fringing, is negligible and resolution really very good. Above this point there is a little magenta fringing, and below a little turquoise fringing, on high contrast edges. This limits the results just a little at longer ranges, but you’ll have to spend big money to get much better. Resolution is very good for about the central 60-70% of the large apparent field of view vertically, and good throughout horizontally. There is some pincushion distortion but really you have to look for it.
Build quality is really good, they feel like a premium product.
A first pair came with a soft case with an unstitching logo and were returned. The binos were fine and optical performance seems extremely sample-consistent.
Overall very pleased.
E. Kennedy –
So far I’m very happy with the Diamondbacks. They are much lighter and less bulky than the Nikon Prostaff ones they are replacing. I haven’t had a chance yet to do a side by side comparison, but it wouldn’t be fair as my Nikon is a few years older and less expensive. In any case I was tired of lugging my old ones up the tree stand because of their weight and how much space they took up in my pack.
For my purposes, the wide field of view should be very helpful as I use them to scan the woods around the stand – good way to find the squirrels that are pretending to be deer walking around. If we had deer on the property, it would probably also be good for catching them trying to sneak through the brush. Fortunately the neighbors do a good job keeping those pests away. Many of the more expensive binoculars out there have narrower FOV, so another good reason I went with these.
The included chest harness is the best one I’ve seen yet. The fact that it is sized correctly doesn’t hurt, but it includes snap buckles on the straps, so you can easily disconnect it from the harness if you don’t want to use it. I gave up trying to connect my old harnesses because the metal rings were a huge pain. The pouch itself opens easily with an elastic loop (no velcro to make noise) and the flap can be left to loosely cover the opening or folded back to make it more accessible.
One of the buckles on the harness came broken out of the box. Amazon put me in touch with their customer service – they had a brand new case sent out which arrived the next day. They included a hat which fits my XXX-Large head (24.75″) and a lens cloth too. I can’t complain about that.
If I do come up with any complaints after using them this season, I’ll be sure to update this review. Hopefully I won’t have to do that.