Thread: "New" scopes.

Is it just me or has there been a deluge of "new" scope brands come on the market recently?
Sightmark, Vector, Swampfox, Crimson Trace, Zero Tech and more. Some of which are up there in pricing competing with the more "traditional" brands we are accustom to in NZ.

A lot coming from the same Japanese or Chinese factory.

These brands have all been out in the US for a while now, but yes there have been a huge influx of brands, and as Friwi pointed out they are all coming out of the same few factorys.

Nowdays, anybody with a bit of capital could start their own optical brand by subcontracting the production to one of those Asian factories and sorting out the marketing from their home country .

If you buy on price alone you will regret it.
You really are better sticking to the brands that have a record of good service when ya wreck something.


Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

So an Element, Athlon or Arken scope could well come out of the same factory as a Nikko Sterling, Bushnell or Vortex Makes it difficult to determine what is good value for money.

Some brands will spread the manufacturing. For example Vortex caters to wide range of prospective buyers from a few hundred bucks to their top end Razors so the cheaper ones may be Chinese, the mid range from the Philippines and the top end from LOW in Japan. A lot of Brands use LOW in Japan or Gushin in China but its the specification and tolerance's the brand asks and pays for that make the difference.

Originally Posted by Shearer

So an Element, Athlon or Arken scope could well come out of the same factory as a Nikko Sterling, Bushnell or Vortex Makes it difficult to determine what is good value for money.

Long story short yes.

The Element Theos and Nexus are made by the same company who make the Athlon Cronus, most Bushnells, Vortex Razor, most (if not all) Nightforce, Delta Stryker, Tract Toric, Maven, etc.
The Athlon scopes are made by the same company that makes the Vortex Strike Eagle and Venom scopes, the Bushnell Match Pro, many Element scopes, etc.

I'd say stick to the more better known brands, especially the ones with a NZ presence, unless you are looking for something in particular.
I'd happily by an Element or Arken scope in NZ, but would be a little more nervous with Riton, Swampfox, Blackhound etc, especially if you are importing one.

Country of origin isn't as important today and there are scome really good scopes coming out of the Philippines and China, and you can get a turd from Japan.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Long story short yes.

The Element Theos and Nexus are made by the same company who make the Athlon Cronus, most Bushnells, Vortex Razor, most (if not all) Nightforce, Delta Stryker, Tract Toric, Maven, etc.
The Athlon scopes are made by the same company that makes the Vortex Strike Eagle and Venom scopes, the Bushnell Match Pro, many Element scopes, etc.

I'd say stick to the more better known brands, especially the ones with a NZ presence, unless you are looking for something in particular.
I'd happily by an Element or Arken scope in NZ, but would be a little more nervous with Riton, Swampfox, Blackhound etc, especially if you are importing one.

Country of origin isn't as important today and there are scome really good scopes coming out of the Philippines and China, and you can get a turd from Japan.

Alot of the atacrs are made in the states.
Yes LOW optics do make a lot of nf products but under stringent Qc which you pay for.

Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by andyanimal31

Alot of the atacrs are made in the states.
Yes LOW optics do make a lot of nf products but under stringent Qc which you pay for.

Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

But is the extra you pay for quality control or the Night Force name????

The other end of this is outfits getting the components made to spec all over the planet and then shipped to a place for assembly. You see a lot of scopes with German glass, Asian made mechanical bits but assembled in the US and plastered in US flag stickers.

Originally Posted by No.3

The other end of this is outfits getting the components made to spec all over the planet and then shipped to a place for assembly. You see a lot of scopes with German glass, Asian made mechanical bits but assembled in the US and plastered in US flag stickers.

I dont know all the consumer laws in the usa but i know that a lot of there imported beef gets sold as product of the usa just because its packed there

I think there has to be a certain percentage of labour going into the product inside the US to qualify as US made, but most of the labour that seems to qualify is in assembly and not the actual component manufacturing. I know some of the older Minox scopes were like this, Schott glass, Chinese and Korean mechanical bits and parts, assembled in a Japanese contract manufacturing outfit and stamped "Made in Japan" then sold via the US...

Originally Posted by Shearer

But is the extra you pay for quality control or the Night Force name????

Nightforce is quality!

Sent from my SM-A556E using Tapatalk

Made in USA/America criteria.

https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8