Vortex Optics HRCCOY-08 Binocular

For more than 20 years, my constant travelling companion has been a pair of Nikon Venturer II 8x23 binoculars.  They've been everywhere from Africa to Iceland, always faithful, always reliable.  The years had taken their toll on my friend, the hinge was loose (so that the tubes wouldn't stay at a fixed distance-need constant adjustment), the rubber on the eyepiece was beginning to crack and while still serviceable, I felt it was time for a new pair.

After some research on line, I decided on the Vortex Hurricane 8x28.  They were reasonably well reviewed for Binocs in the $125-$150 range ($189 List, $139 street).  What put me over the top was that one supplier (Eagle Optics) was selling them for $89 (if you'd take a cosmetically blemished binocs).  Hey, my binoculars get blemished after 1 use.  I'll take a $50 discount on a product I was thinking of anyway!!!  BTW, when they arrived, I couldn't find the blemish. (I since found out that Vortex has discontinued this color, so they're moving them out.  Honestly, I care zero whether they're brown or green, so I'll take the $50).

Bottom Line

I'm going to provide quite a bit of basic binocular information -- so if you don't want to sift through the technical stuff, here's the bottom line.

If you're buying binoculars, you have to decide your budget.  I get no pleasure out of really cheap binoculars -- I'm not an expert, but I can definately notice the visual defects.  Similarly, I can really see the difference with REALLY good binocs.  But they go for $500-$1000-$1500, etc.  Hey, I can even tell the diff of a $200-300 pair, but don't want to spend that much.

The Vortex Hurricanes provide excellent optics for the price.  Optically they are mid-range binoculars, These are similar to a number of  binocs in the $150-200 range, so at $90, there a bargain. There are, however optically better binocs for the same money or less. For example, the Leopold Yosemete 6x30s are probably better optically, however, they're a little larger and a little heavier.  IMO, the Leopolds are just a little larger than I want for travel bincos. The Vortex Hurricanes are compact, relatively light weight (though not the lightest or smallest), and very solidly built.  They have many features of more expensive binoculars.

At $89 they're a great bargain.  At $139, they're solid contenders, but there are other products worth looking at.

Good for hikers, travel, birding.  Less good for astronomy (as with any binocular this size).

Highly recommended.

The "Stars"

My star ratings always take into account both price and quality.  In this case, they're a solid 4*.  For the money <$100, you can find comparable optics or comparable size/weight, but I don't think you'll find a pair with the combination of size/optical quality for this price.

Out of the Box Experience

The Hurricane Binos come packed with Lens Protectors (both front and back), a nice carrying case, Comfort Shoulder Strap. 

Before use, you need to attach the shoulder strap to the binoculars and the lens protector for the eyepiece -- this should take about 1 or 2 minutes.

After that, they work pretty much like any other binoculars

1.  Adjust the distance of the lenses to the width of your eyes (the two tubes are hinged),
2.  Focus (left lens to left eye) using the center focus wheel.
3.  Correct for your right eye by adjusting the lens and

Viola, look at what you want.  See something different -- refocus using the center wheel (no need to constantly correct for the right eye).

All of this is like any pair of binoculars you have used.

Note -- I find that with these binos, I have to hold them up a bit (i.e., my eyes don't go in the eye cups.  It's a slight comfort issue, but I got used to it quickly).

Geeky Technobabble Stuff -- Prisms

In general binoculars  use two systems for lenses -- Roof Prisms and Porro Prisms.  What does this mean -- well, it depends on how geeky you are.

To save you reading the next few paragraphs.  Both are fine optically.  Roof Prisms make somewhat smaller more compact binos, Porro, slightly better optically for the money.  The differences shouldn't be great.

If you took a lens and looked into the distance, the image you'd see would be upside down and backwards -- try this with looking at a distance through a magnifying glass someday.  In order to correct the image, binoculars bend the light using prisms.  For most binoculars, the type of prism governs the shape of the binocular -- Roof Prisms are generally a straight tube, while Porros have a traditional binocular shape (ie., the eye pieces are closer together than the front of the binocular -- or the opposite with reverse porros).

Roof Prisms are generally have a smaller more-compact (given similar characteristics).  However, they are more expensive to make, and may give slightly inferior optics than similarly priced Porro's. (if you care, this is largely because whenever you send light through a prism, a little of the light is reflected, lost, etc. -- because of their design, Roof Prisms, especially at lower prices, lose more light than Porro Prisms, all other things being equal.  There, are other differences, but the bottom line -- Either is fine.  Porros, may be a little better optically for the money (you may not notice), Roof is more compact.

If you need more than this thumbnail, there are many websites that can explain the optics to you.

If you get Roof Prisms, look for phase corrections -- more technobabble, basically means you'll get a sharper view.  (Not an issue for Porro Prisms).  With any binocular the surfaces have to be 'coated' for optimal viewing.  Fully multi-coated is the best.  Others are non-coated (cheap), coated, multi-coated.  Almost any serious binocular today will be fully-multicoated.

The Vortex Hurricanes use roof prisms.  If you look up ratings, you'll see that they're upper-end optically for this price range..  They have many of the features of more expensive roof prisms.  Phase Corrected, Fully Multi-coated.  Nitrogen Purged (this means the tubes are filled with nitrogen, which helps reduce fogging).  The Hurricanes are meant to be $150 ish (street) binoculars.  They're a good value, but are not as good as products costing 10x as much.

More Geeky Optic Stuff

As mentioned, the Binocs I got are 8x28.  What does this mean.

8 -- (magnification) this means that the lens magnifies things 8 times.  For most people, if you don't plan on using a tripod or get image stabilized binocs , 7x or 8x (10x at most) is the most magnification you'll want.  Beyond this, it's hard to hold steady.

28 -- (objective lens diameter) The opening in the tube to let light in is 28mm.  The importantce of this number -- the bigger the number, the more light it lets in.  Also, the bigger and heavier the binocs are -- Do you want light binocs that are easy to hold, or bigger objective lens its a trade-off, bigger isn't necessarily better.  More light, vs easy to carry.

3.5 Exit pupil. When you divide these two numbers (i.e., 28/8) you get the exit pupil number (3.5 mm in this case).  During bright daylight, most of our pupils get small (i.e., our eyes let in less light).  In fact, if you ever walk from a dark room to a very light room, it takes the eyes a moment to adjust -- this is the pupil adjusting.  At night, the pupil is larger.  Now, how does this relate to binoculars -- well, if the exit pupil number is larger than the actual opening of the pupil, your eyes cannot use all of the light the binocular provide.

By way of reference, during bright sun light, most people's pupils are less than 3.5mm in diameter. This means that these binocs provide more light than you can use!!  If you're an adult (40-50 ish), your pupils on average expand to 5mm at night (in dim light) (meaning binocs with a bigger ratio than 3.5 will be better for night use).

Overall, 3.5 is a nice ratio.  Many excellent binocs have ratios of 2-3, so this collects light better than those.  However, for full-size binocs, (or astronomical) you'll see a ratio of 5 or more (i.e., 7x35, 8x40, 10x50).  BIG HINT -- if you're in your 40s, since your pupils probably won't dilate to larger than 5mm anyway, it does you little or no good to buy binocs with a ratio greater than 5.  IMO at least.

Field of View -- 6.9 degrees (or 360 feet at 1000 yards)  Means what it says -- if you're looking at something 1000 yards away, the binoculars will show 360 feet.  In general, with FOV, bigger means more.  Generally, the larger the magnification, the greater the FOV.  For an 8x binoc, this is pretty good.

Close Focus (the closest you can see something in focus) 13.1 feet.  Unexceptional.

Other Specs

The Vortex Hurricanes have a number of nice features that make them fun to use.

First  -- Twist up eye cups.  With any binocular, your eye must be a minimum distance from the len to see properly.  Almost all binocs have an eye cup to slightly distance the eye from the lens.  If you wear glasses, you don't need this space (because there is already space between your glasses and your eyes), So, they eyecup is generally either retractable (twist up) or they're rubber and you can roll them back.  With the latter, over the years, the rubber can wear out (as happened with my Nikons).

Anti-fog -- as mentioned, they're nitrogen filled (this is good -- if you spend A LOT of money, Argon is supposedly better).

Waterproof -- you can take them in the rain.

Textured Grip (easy to handle) 

Sturdy. Road Warriors.

Can be mounted on a tripod (with an adapter).  The website says this, but the manual doesn't say how. -- since you ask -- the button with the logo on the front center of the binocs screws off so you can screw in the adapter.

Size 4.8" x 4.5"  This is borderline between compact and mid-sized binocs.  Still small enough to throw into a knapsack, not the smallest on the market.

Weight 14 oz.  Here's a trade-off.  As I said, these are sturdy. One of the prices you pay is that it adds a few ounces to the weight.

Lens Caps -- Attach right to the binoc frame -- so they're hard to lose.  This is more important than you'd think.

Diopter -- Everyone's eyes are different.  By this I mean that your right eye is different than the left eye, almost all binocs allow you to correct for this.  In this pair, the correction is by twisting the right eye lens.  More expensive binocs often let you 'lock' this in.  This feature isn't present here -- not a major issue.

Warranty -- Vortex has their VIP warranty.  They're warrantied forever.  If they break, they'll fix or replace.  For Free.  Can't ask more than that.  No warranty card to fill out -- the warranty is fully transferrable.  Basically, they say they'll stand by their product.  May be the best warranty I've ever seen.

Comparison: Vortex Hurricane 8x28 v Nikon Venturer 8 x 23

Ok, My Nikon Venturer IIs are still useable, so I compared the two.  The Nikons, btw are 8x23, with Porro Prisms.  For the Record -- the Venturer IIs are a legendary set of binocs.  They were almost discontinued when a bunch of years ago, Consumer Reports gave them a rave review, saying they were better optically than binocs costing several times as much -- this caused them to be THE hot travel binoc for many years.  So it's a good binocular for comparison.

Optics -- OK, this is key.  Honestly, the two are very comparable. I maybe give a slight edge to the Hurricanes, but both are more than acceptable.  This is based on limited testing, and my gut tells me I may be under-rating the Hurricanes, but this is where I am right now. I'll update this if I materially change my opinion.

Close Focus -- Big edge to the Hurricanes.  Maybe 2-3 feet.

Diopter -- Small Edge to the Hurricanes -- the Venturer's slip regularly (though this may be age).

Weight -- Big edge to the Venturers -- they're several ounces lighter.  If you're having trouble with a weight limit (and every ounce counts, this will matter)

Size -- Big edge to the Venturers -- you can throw them in a bag anywhere.  With the case, the Hurricanes will take up a little room.  Space will be a consideration, though not much of one.

Eye Cups -- Edge to Hurricanes.  Rubber wearing out was one of the reasons the Venturers need to be replaced.  But after 20 years use, I'm not complaining.

Road Warrior Status.  Small Edge to Hurricanes.  They're much sturdier.  If I'd bought both new, I'd say BIG edge, but it's hard to knock the Venturers since they've lasted 20 years of use and abuse.

Anti-Fog -- Edge to Hurricanes (if it works)  I'll know this only after more use.

Overall -- Comparable Optically, because of features, Hurricanes should be more expensive.  Let's face it I love my Venturers, and weight may ultimately be a factor for me.  However given the conscious design features, I think the Vortex Hurricanes are probably the better binos.

Editorial Changes

In the month I've had these binocs, I've come to some conclusions that have led me to downgrade from 5* to 4*.  First of all -- I still think they're great.  The combination of price/size/quality is unbeatable.  However, after trying out several other pair I've decided that while still solid for an average consumer, there are others in the same price range that are comparable or better optically. (The Leupold 6x30's for example).  So, as opposed to a clear blow me away product (which is my basic criteria for 5*), I think that for the money, it comes down which do you prefer, slightly smaller or slightly better optically.  This is really the crux of the difference between BAK4 Prisms and Roof Prisms.  Overall, size and weight were very important to  me (I already own 2 pair of full-size binocs), so I stayed with these.

Conclusion

These are great little travel/hiking binocs.  Not the smallest, not the lightest, but certainly small and light enough.  Optically they're good (don't compare to Binocs Costing $2000, or even $200-250, I'd tested, but I didn't expect them to). If you can get them for $89, they're a bargain.