Bulldog0156
Well-known member
I've been in the market for some lrf binoculars and have recently had the opportunity to compare the new Tract toric LRF binos and the Vortex talon 10k. These two options are both new to the market this year and have comparable price points. I spent a few hours comparing the two and walked away impressed by both. Both options offer full ballistics solvers built in and Bluetooth for easy app support. I figured I'd share my observations of both for those interested in these two offerings. I would not hesitate to buy either of these options and use them as my primary hunting glass. Ultimately, I bought the vortex talon 10k's so I've had more time with those and have a better assessment on their finer details.
The Tract binoculars feel like normal binoculars in hand. They're a little more hefty than a regular bino but otherwise you really Can't tell they're different. Eyecups on these binos worked great for me and were comfortable. Eye relief was good and i had no issues with tunneling when wearing glasses. Button placement is great, eyecups had good functionality and comfort, and the image controls were great. I judged image quality as a 7/10 but did not have time to put them on a tripod and really look at the finer details. For reference, I consider my SWAROVSKI EL's as a 10/10 for image quality. I've used NL pures but not enough to know if the image quality is actually improved from the El so that is my reference point. The biggest detractors for image quality was that towards the edges i had some really noticeable "color phasing." I don't know the propert term to use; it was not CA. It almost had the appearance of stray light when looking into the sun but I'mnot sure if it was caused by internals or if it had to do with coatings on the lenses themselves. The issue was not at all noticeable in what i would consider a "normal use" scenario. Edge to edge clarity and image crispness was otherwise good. The color of the image was pleasing to me; it was consistent with other schott glass I have looked through; for me the contrast is great and "pops" a bit more than most glass. The color palette might favor blues a bit but in no way would i say the image was tinted blue.
The number of display options and ability to turn things off was great. Overall navigation in the menu was really well thought out and I was impressed. The laser worked extremely quick and I had no issues ranging things out past 2000 yards in the middle of a hot sunny day. These binos do allow you to adjust the laser to the reticle, i messed with this feature and it was easy to use but alignment was perfect out of the box. I didn't really get a chance to mess with the ballistics solvers so I really can't comment on that. My overall impression was very positive with these binoculars and I thought they were a very good value at the price point.
The talon 10k's feel close to normal in my hands; they have more heft than the Tracts but are still comfortable overall. Button placement is not perfect for me. These binos have long barrels after the hinge area and the buttons feel a bit too close to the ocular end of the binoculars. The diopter and display adjustment rings lock but i have had some difficulty with them adjusting into the locked position. Function of the buttons is very intuitive and easy to learn. One feature that really sold me on these is you can turn the display off immediately if you press both directional buttons at the same rime. This feature is great for hunters when you just want a quick range on something and allows you to have a longer "display on" setting than you may otherwise want. They eyecups on these suck in my opinion. The ocular lenses are big and so is the diameter of the eye cups. They don't lock super great and I've noticed they get out of adjustment easy if you use the provided rubber lens cover. In all fairness, I've yet to find a comfortable vortex binocular eyecup, so a lot of it may be my preferences. Eye relief is good and i found no issues with tunneling image while wearing my glasses. I judged image quality as 8/10 and have had time to play with these on a tripod. Edge to edge clarity is really good but doesn’t match the ELs. For normal use it is not something that i think most people would notice. CA is not controlled as well as ELs but once again, not something that most would notice in normal use. Color is very neutral to me and comparable to the ELs. The image is really sharp and depth of view is quite good. I did notice some pincushion distortion but it wasn't enough to affect my feelings of image quality. Overall i find the image to be quite excellent and was very impressed.
The display options allow for a lot of flexibility. Some of the menu organization was funky to mee and not how i would organize things but you quickly learn where options are located. The display also has a really nice auto levelling function. The laser works great and i have hit a open ridge 5500 yards from my house in normal mode. Initially i had some slow ballistics solutions but that was prior to updating the software on the binos. No issues since. These binos also allow you to align the laster with the reticle but I have not had to use this function. Overall, the vortex environment with the option to add a weather meter and the geoballistics app is really great once you learn it. These binos also have the ability to drop a waypoint on the geoballistics map. I've had a few troubles eith this but i have only tried it a few tims and i think the issues are most likely operator error.
Overall, i landed on buying the vortex 10k's due to the following:
Self levelling display
Didn't have the color phasing issue
One time fee for full geoballistics functionality vs monthly fees for eagle ballistics on the tracts for full app functionality
The ability to turn the display off quickly by pressing both directional buttons at the same time.
As a self-admitted vortex hater, i am really impressed with these binos and i hope they hold up. My past experiences have led to warranty work on nearly every vortex item i have purchased and i am extremely careful with my gear.
The Tract binoculars feel like normal binoculars in hand. They're a little more hefty than a regular bino but otherwise you really Can't tell they're different. Eyecups on these binos worked great for me and were comfortable. Eye relief was good and i had no issues with tunneling when wearing glasses. Button placement is great, eyecups had good functionality and comfort, and the image controls were great. I judged image quality as a 7/10 but did not have time to put them on a tripod and really look at the finer details. For reference, I consider my SWAROVSKI EL's as a 10/10 for image quality. I've used NL pures but not enough to know if the image quality is actually improved from the El so that is my reference point. The biggest detractors for image quality was that towards the edges i had some really noticeable "color phasing." I don't know the propert term to use; it was not CA. It almost had the appearance of stray light when looking into the sun but I'mnot sure if it was caused by internals or if it had to do with coatings on the lenses themselves. The issue was not at all noticeable in what i would consider a "normal use" scenario. Edge to edge clarity and image crispness was otherwise good. The color of the image was pleasing to me; it was consistent with other schott glass I have looked through; for me the contrast is great and "pops" a bit more than most glass. The color palette might favor blues a bit but in no way would i say the image was tinted blue.
The number of display options and ability to turn things off was great. Overall navigation in the menu was really well thought out and I was impressed. The laser worked extremely quick and I had no issues ranging things out past 2000 yards in the middle of a hot sunny day. These binos do allow you to adjust the laser to the reticle, i messed with this feature and it was easy to use but alignment was perfect out of the box. I didn't really get a chance to mess with the ballistics solvers so I really can't comment on that. My overall impression was very positive with these binoculars and I thought they were a very good value at the price point.
The talon 10k's feel close to normal in my hands; they have more heft than the Tracts but are still comfortable overall. Button placement is not perfect for me. These binos have long barrels after the hinge area and the buttons feel a bit too close to the ocular end of the binoculars. The diopter and display adjustment rings lock but i have had some difficulty with them adjusting into the locked position. Function of the buttons is very intuitive and easy to learn. One feature that really sold me on these is you can turn the display off immediately if you press both directional buttons at the same rime. This feature is great for hunters when you just want a quick range on something and allows you to have a longer "display on" setting than you may otherwise want. They eyecups on these suck in my opinion. The ocular lenses are big and so is the diameter of the eye cups. They don't lock super great and I've noticed they get out of adjustment easy if you use the provided rubber lens cover. In all fairness, I've yet to find a comfortable vortex binocular eyecup, so a lot of it may be my preferences. Eye relief is good and i found no issues with tunneling image while wearing my glasses. I judged image quality as 8/10 and have had time to play with these on a tripod. Edge to edge clarity is really good but doesn’t match the ELs. For normal use it is not something that i think most people would notice. CA is not controlled as well as ELs but once again, not something that most would notice in normal use. Color is very neutral to me and comparable to the ELs. The image is really sharp and depth of view is quite good. I did notice some pincushion distortion but it wasn't enough to affect my feelings of image quality. Overall i find the image to be quite excellent and was very impressed.
The display options allow for a lot of flexibility. Some of the menu organization was funky to mee and not how i would organize things but you quickly learn where options are located. The display also has a really nice auto levelling function. The laser works great and i have hit a open ridge 5500 yards from my house in normal mode. Initially i had some slow ballistics solutions but that was prior to updating the software on the binos. No issues since. These binos also allow you to align the laster with the reticle but I have not had to use this function. Overall, the vortex environment with the option to add a weather meter and the geoballistics app is really great once you learn it. These binos also have the ability to drop a waypoint on the geoballistics map. I've had a few troubles eith this but i have only tried it a few tims and i think the issues are most likely operator error.
Overall, i landed on buying the vortex 10k's due to the following:
Self levelling display
Didn't have the color phasing issue
One time fee for full geoballistics functionality vs monthly fees for eagle ballistics on the tracts for full app functionality
The ability to turn the display off quickly by pressing both directional buttons at the same time.
As a self-admitted vortex hater, i am really impressed with these binos and i hope they hold up. My past experiences have led to warranty work on nearly every vortex item i have purchased and i am extremely careful with my gear.
