Vortex Solo Monocular Quick Review
- Thread starter driller212
- Start date
Yea, its definitely not much compromise for increased convenience of use. Most of the hunters I know have huge heavy binos that they have a special chest rig to carry, and use them very little if at all. This thing is just a small light fella that you can fit in your pocket and it does the same job for less money. The only complaint I have is that there are no lens caps and no ability to mount a lens cap on the objective lens. I have expressed my opinion to vortex that their next gen needs to come with lens caps, or at the very least have the ability to mount lens caps.
I have a 10x Solo and it's great value. I usually have it clipped to my pack shoulder strap so it's out of the way but easy to get to. There's a high end version called the RECCE HD but with a price to match. I have never seen it stocked in Canada. https://vortexoptics.com/more-products/monoculars/recce-pro-hd-monoculars.html
Nice review,, I am going to have a look at one, just getting started hunting and I'm going to need everything at this point so saving $$$$ is going to be important , good advice not only on cost savings but also weight when packing. Thanks!!!!
I wonder if you could make a scope cap adapter by finding a plastic cylinder/sleeve the right size to slip into the recess of the objective lens and then protrude out far enough to accept flip up caps?
The 36mm size with the belt clip looks nice and the more expensive range finding models are also interesting..... a hunting version with a simple game dimension/ range references scale would also be nice.
The 36mm size with the belt clip looks nice and the more expensive range finding models are also interesting..... a hunting version with a simple game dimension/ range references scale would also be nice.
Either that or get the rubber type caps to slide over top? Not really sure, but for the price of the optic its not a big deal, just something they could improve on in the future. For the more expensive models I would want caps for sure, and I think they do come with caps ( at least the tactical ones). Yea, reticle ranging is a lost skill these days.
Supposedly they will fit in a flashbang pouch... But id rather not spend money on accessories for something that was relatively cheap to begin with. I think I'll just use it as is and use soap and water to clean the lenses from time to time.
I have some bino's that came with rubber objective covers that fit on the inside and would work with that style.... if the size was the same?
It would be an easy and inexpensive improvement for Vortex going forward that's for sure.
It would be an easy and inexpensive improvement for Vortex going forward that's for sure.
There really isn't anything that compares to the solo that I could find in my internet searches, if I could find a durable higher quality mono I would go for it, but the price/performance of the vortex is hard to beat
When hunting I carry mine around the neck with the lanyard and found a butler creek flip cap that fits the eyepiece perfectly, unfortunately I can't see a way of rigging one on the front but in my case it's always pointing down so the snow never really gets on the lens.
When hunting I carry mine around the neck with the lanyard and found a butler creek flip cap that fits the eyepiece perfectly, unfortunately I can't see a way of rigging one on the front but in my case it's always pointing down so the snow never really gets on the lens.
DaveMachine
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- That one place with a cowboy complex
Bought one late 2018 and used it for that hunting season. Definitely light and handy, with okay glass. When glassing all day, it made my eyes go buggy - I ended up having my one eye go fuzzy the last half of the day from fatigue. I wouldn't recommend if you spend a lot of time glassing but definitely a nice piece of kit if you glass a little bit throughout the day. With the mil reticle, it would have been a nice piece of kit for a soldier to have as it's nice and compact.
The Solo is ok, I’d prefer mine in 8X as I find the 10X a little jittery to look through for any length of time. It’s small, handy and works in a pinch but it won’t displace my binoculars when hunting, I keep mine in the car.
Patrick
Patrick
I bought an 8x Solo a couple years back (cheap on the EE) specifically to carry in the pocket of my coveralls when working on a remote jobsite, simply to have something handy in case some interesting critter or bird showed up (which happens a lot). It was my first experience with a monocular; it was okay for that purpose, simply because any compact binocular I had carried like that would quickly lost its collimation.
It's okay, but that's about it. Lots of eye fatigue when trying to do long-term observation with a monocular. Awkward to hold and focus. Optics are okay. It's held up well, but I can't see using it anywhere that I could manage a binocular instead.
Actually, I had a cheapo Steiner porro-prism binoc whose hinge broke. I sawed off the entire hinge mechanism; it was an individual-focus model so that was easy. I now have two completely functional monoculars, with focus that can be preset for anything from about 30 yards out. They still have their objective caps attached, and the shape is much nicer for one-hand holding than the straight-tube Solo.
It's okay, but that's about it. Lots of eye fatigue when trying to do long-term observation with a monocular. Awkward to hold and focus. Optics are okay. It's held up well, but I can't see using it anywhere that I could manage a binocular instead.
Actually, I had a cheapo Steiner porro-prism binoc whose hinge broke. I sawed off the entire hinge mechanism; it was an individual-focus model so that was easy. I now have two completely functional monoculars, with focus that can be preset for anything from about 30 yards out. They still have their objective caps attached, and the shape is much nicer for one-hand holding than the straight-tube Solo.
I've got a 8X Solo and 10X Recon HD. The 8X is handy, but the 10X is definitely a step up and works great on a tripod.
The 10X is for sale though if anyone is interested, went with 15X binos.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1836394-VORTEX-Recon-R-T-10X50-Tactical-Monocular-Price-Drop?p=15816193#post15816193
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