Expensive scopes fog too!

[DeerandbearhoG]

Whats the deal? I have a Leupold VXIII on my rifle and a zeiss conquest on my muzzleloader , both claim to completely waterproof and "nightrogen purged" to prevent fogging, however on openeing day, my 400$ zeiss fogged up in the rain, even with the scopecoat on it, and It took my 400$ leupold an hour to unfog after I left it in the car all night in 20 deg weather.

Is this normal? I would expect the glass on scopes of this price to stay clear , I feel ripped off. I shoulda kept my 200$ busnell 3200 with rain guard, it never fogged or blurred in the rain.

[bronko22000]

Did it fog up internally or was it just condensation on the outside of the lens?
Fogging outside the lenses is normal dur to temp change. Yeah, rainguard helps. But you can buy some anti-fog stuff to put on your lenses. Scopedope is good. Or you can ask any optomitrist for some anti-fog solution.

[Pawildman]

Sounds like you just hit a streak of bad luck.....I've owned Leupolds mainly for MANY years and have never had one of them fog up. The only scope that ever did that for me was a 4X12 Redfield many years ago....
As far as the Zeiss goes, that sounds totally out of character for them too. Send them back.

[DeerandbearhoG]

ORIGINAL: bronko22000

Did it fog up internally or was it just condensation on the outside of the lens?
Fogging outside the lenses is normal dur to temp change. Yeah, rainguard helps. But you can buy some anti-fog stuff to put on your lenses. Scopedope is good. Or you can ask any optomitrist for some anti-fog solution.

No, it did not fog internally but the leupold was so cold ,from being in the truck all night, it had to warm up before it stopped fogging on the outside.

As far as the ziess goes, I think any scope in that weather would have fogged but Im gonna leave it in the truck overnight too, to see what happens.

I'll look into some scopedope , thanks

[Pawildman]

ORIGINAL: DeerandbearhoG

No, it did not fog internally but the leupold was so cold ,from being in the truck all night, it had to warm up before it stopped fogging on the outside.

As far as the ziess goes, I think any scope in that weather would have fogged but Im gonna leave it in the truck overnight too, to see what happens.

I'll look into some scopedope , thanks

I figured when you said they fogged up, you meant internal fogging. What you have is condensation....something totally different. That is absolutely no fault of the scope itself, and can be expected at times of quick temp. changes.

[Doe Dumper]

Another no-no to avoid is keeping your hand/arm away from the end of the scope while hunting in the rain. Anything is prone to condensation...like the others said..when its on the inside is where the problem begins.

[DeerandbearhoG]

Thanks guys, I guess Im being a little hard on my scopes. I just dont remember any of my other scopes doing this. Usually if I see some condensation, I wipe it off and its clear again, but the leupold kept fogging after I brought it inside and wipedt he lense, annoyed me a little. Its definatly on the outside though, cause after it warmed up, it was perfectly clear.

[bronko22000]

That's only because the scope was cold and you brought it into the warm house. It will continue to collect condensation until both the scope and the room are about the same temperature.

[mauser06]

common practice in many PA deer camps is to leave rifles outside in the woodshed or similar...safe and secure of course...

just for the temp change reason..80 degree camp to 20 degrees outside your going to have issues....

even when im home i leave my rifle safely in the unheated garage when its rifle season.

[Hunting the North]

When a manufacturer claims that a scope is fog proof, they mean internal fogging.