Hawke vs Vortex Warranty

[Sampo]

I was on the lookout for a new pair of binos and was evaluating the warranty for various vendors. Being a huge fan of Vortex VIP Warranty I was happy to see that Hawke offered a similar - No Fault Lifetime warranty.

Expecting this to be the same as Vortex and Hawke being British, I was tempted to go for one of the Hawke Frontier LRF binocular models. Something just told me to re-read the warranty which as per the website states 'The Hawke No Fault Lifetime Warranty applies to rifle scopes, spotting scopes and binoculars only. Range finders, cameras, red dots, reflex sights, mounts and other accessories are covered by our two year warranty.'

To avoid confusion, I did contact Hawke to get confirmation on what exactly is covered in case of binoculars with laser range finders. The official response I got was 'The warranty of the binoculars/optics is lifetime, but for the LRF mechanism, is 2 years.'

I am of the opinion that this makes the resale value of the product much less as its somehow has lost its appeal for me. The binoculars would still be covered (post 2018) but for LRF binos, unfortunately its the end of the road for me. Also I believe the warranty might only apply within the UK and NI. Thought I might put this out here in case of anyone else considering the same product to be able to take an informed decision.

 

[ashray]

hawke warranty ONLY applies to the original purchaser and is NOT transferable ,thats the main reason people are unlikely to buy hawke optics second hand

 

[Eagleeye]

Vortex warranty you cant beat it one of the best in world.

 

[Zio65]

I had problems with the Hawke warranty even though the scope was six months old and the parallax error was gigantic, I didn't argue, sold with a defect and will never buy Hawke again

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Is hawke not chinese?

 

[Eagleeye]

If you are orignal owner of scope and have invoice jawke warranty is not bad they will repair or replace scope.
In some cases if you are not original owner and don't have invoice you have to send scope to hawke if is beyond repair they will offer you 50% discount on new purchase.

 

[Shaun Goss]

You just won’t beat the warranty on vortex I recently sent a pair of binos back to them, no receipt or anything and got an email saying they had received it and you will have them back fully repaired in 4 days. 4 days later they where back working perfectly.

 

[Pete1774]

About 3 years ago I had a problem with a Hawke scope that was about 18 months old. Phoned Hawke and they said send it to them which I did. Following morning I got a phone call saying they were unable to repair it and they would send me a new one for free. It arrived the following day. Can't complain about that for after sales service.

 

[Lloyd90]

I had a Hawke scope with an issue, couldn’t find the receipt, Hawke wanted to charge to review / repair wasn’t really worth the bother.

 

[nun_hunter]

I lost a scope cap off a Hawke scope I bought. I emailed them asking about a replacement and was told it'd be £4 for the cap and £5 postage, not horrific for the cap but £5 postage was excessive.

Compared to Vortex repairing the eye cup on some binos and posting back for free seemed like worlds apart as far as customer service go bearing in mind the scope and Bono's were about the same price new when I bought each of them.

 

[Len the dog]

About 3 years ago I had a problem with a Hawke scope that was about 18 months old. Phoned Hawke and they said send it to them which I did. Following morning I got a phone call saying they were unable to repair it and they would send me a new one for free. It arrived the following day. Can't complain about that for after sales service.

Just had that very same experience just today. Sent a sidewinder back on Friday, unrepairable, brand new one out with DPD for delivery tomorrow.
I couldn’t find the receipt so contacted the gunshop, because I had bought a rifle at the same time and knew the exact date they were able to confirm to Hawke that I was the original purchaser.
Absolutely superb service from both Hawke and my local gunshop.

 

[Eagleeye]

 

[User00040]

Vortex warranty you cant beat it one of the best in world.

But let's not forget, on the bottom end of their line, this is because the products are being churned out for pennies on the pound in China and the Philippines.

Buying one unit, you have effectively paid their cost for several units over.

Buisness 101, but I'd rather get a better product to begin with and not need to use their warranty (although Vortex take pride in giving you a new set if an accident like a fire or running them over happens, good PR...)

Once you look at Vortex top end products, they become very expensive for what they are!

Is hawke not chinese?

Yes, but low end Vortex is as well.

 

[Sampo]

But let's not forget, on the bottom end of their line, this is because the products are being churned out for pennies on the pound in China and the Philippines.

Buying one unit, you have effectively paid their cost for several units over.

Buisness 101, but I'd rather get a better product to begin with and not need to use their warranty (although Vortex take pride in giving you a new set if an accident like a fire or running them over happens, good PR...)

Once you look at Vortex top end products, they become very expensive for what they are!



Yes, but low end Vortex is as well.

The good thing is that as a second or third user of the product, you are still covered under the Vortex warranty even for the so called low end optics while for Hawke, you are out of luck even as the second owner for the so called high end optics. Apart from a few premium grade brands, most other optics are manufactured in the South East Asia.

For me its all about buying something used knowing i am covered if things go wrong and don't have to keep track of receipt or buy original. Its the assurance of knowing the product will serve me as long as I want it to as opposed to ifs and buts. As someone on a budget it is a good feeling to have knowing I can enjoy what I am doing without worrying over warranty and when it might expire.

 

[John Gryphon]

Hawke vs Vortex Warranty Quality.​

Buy quality more so than for a warranty imo.

 

[slider]

But let's not forget, on the bottom end of their line, this is because the products are being churned out for pennies on the pound in China and the Philippines.

Buying one unit, you have effectively paid their cost for several units over.

Buisness 101, but I'd rather get a better product to begin with and not need to use their warranty (although Vortex take pride in giving you a new set if an accident like a fire or running them over happens, good PR...)

Once you look at Vortex top end products, they become very expensive for what they are!



Yes, but low end Vortex is as well.

Vortex units are pretty decent quality. I had Viper HD's and now Fury RLF's. Both are very very close in optic quality to the big names. Both come with a warranty no-one can beat. Does it matter where they are made?

 

[John Gryphon]

Does it matter where they are made?

To instill confidence,yes.

 

[Sampo]

To instill confidence,yes.

The very top end of Vortex’s Razor line of scopes is assembled in the United States at the Vortex facility in Wisconsin.
Hawke is very clear that all their scope models are produced in China.

Source - Comparing Rifle Scopes: Hawke Optics vs Vortex Optics

 

[nun_hunter]

To instill confidence,yes.

Quality control instills quality not just location.

Plenty of really high quality items are made in China and have quality controls throughout production and post manufacturing.

If you buy cheap tat from anywhere and aim for the lowest price then yes you'll get lower quality.

 

[John Gryphon]

Plenty of really high quality items are made in China

If contracted to by the west add "dependent on the specs issued"