BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

2 years ago i purchased burris landmark 10x42 roof prism binoculars. even though the add claims water proof it seems i bought a new set just as they were changing over to a new improved model. my binos were in a wet and humid enviroment and got water drops on the inner glass. they tell me the old version was only weather resistant but at the time i ordered the glass under the new description. the order house i got them from cant help me so i sent them back to BURRIS. THEY SAID I WAS OUT OF LUCK BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAVE A 1 YEAR WARRANTY. i told them i only used the binos a total of 2 times and that at 169$ they should have at least performed a little better.i asked them if they could be taken apart and fixed and cleaned and they told me they dont do that . i know i didnt buy real high quality but you can be sure that i will never buy BURRIS or any other cheap glass! i own tasco stuff that have been around for years and much cheaper than those BURRIS piece of junk with no problems. i got them back today. anyone want to buy a cheap set of glass![:@]

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

Wow man, that surprises me. All the stories I have heard about Burris are always good. I own some Burris scopes but no binos, and they have all done fine. Wish you lived close to Greeley, we could take them back and say hey, fix these or feel the wrath of angry hunters!

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

That really sucks and I' m surprised that in this day and age, with so much at stake, that they wouldn' t fix them for you.

I have two pair of Nikon binoculars so I don' t need to ever buy more, but you can bet I' ll relay your story to others and tell them not to buy Burris.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

thing is i would have paid to have them fixed. i dont get it! this is there bottom line imported model but i would have thought they would make good. i was being honest with them too. i only used them on a caribou hunt and they only came out of the case twice. i wanted to keep them in good shape for years to come so i never used them for day to day deer hunting. i keep a cheap set of tascos for my dashboard set. now i know why people value there leupolds after this. the good news is that i now have a new set for my truck dash. i just have to ignore the spots in the glass. i was so mad that im still considering ordering a new set and doing the old switch-a -roo so eventually BURRIS is gonna get these back anyway!:D

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

I have two or three pair of cheap Bushnell and Tasco Binos. They may not be the high end stuff but after many years of rattleing around behind the seat and in the back of the jeep they are still working fine. I have looked through some really top grade Ger4man optics and while they are a little more clear, I can' t see anything through them that I can' t see through the Bushnells for 1/10 th the price. I just won' t pay more than 40 or 50 bucks for Binos I can' t see the difference. Of course I only have one eye so I could split a pair with someone.:D

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

I agree with you JamesB, I have had Bushnell binoculars for years and they' ve done just fine.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

I had such positive experiences with the Burris scopes that I owned I would not have thought that Burris would have treated you that way. Considering what is at stake you would think that unless there were signs of " apparent" abuse that they would have resolved the problem and insured a " satisfied customer" ! When people are happy with a product they generally tell a few friends and others....but when they are unhappy about a product they will tell " everyone" within earshot. It seems to me that Burris " blew this one" .

About fifteen to twenty years ago I bought a pair of (what I believed at that time) to be " upper end" binos from Burris. They were roof prisms and in the vicinity of $250. or so. I hunted in the NE United States at that time, mostly wooded, with some openings, (power lines, etc.), and was very satisfied with the optical quality. Though for the Whitetail hunting I was doing the glasses NEVER got a really good drenching. So I can' t speak about their " water proofness" . And if someone would have asked at that time......I would have said I was absolutely satisfied with the optical quality of those glasses. (For the way I used them....I was!)

In 1992 we moved to Alaska. I had an opportunity to use optics at distances I could " never have conceived of" in the NE where most of my previous experience had been. (And I don' t mean for looking at a power plant on an opposing Pennsylvania hillside.......I mean for trying to determine the " length of curl" on the ram " from the bottom of the mountain" as oppossed to " after you spent 3/4 of the day scaling the mountain" only to find out that none of the curls exceed 1/2. Or for trying to determine if that bull moose you are glassing has 4 brow tines instead of only 3 brow tines. Or is that a 50" or greater spread on that bull that is just inside timberline 2500 feet lower than you on the opposing hill side! (Yes, I also purchased a good waterproof spotting scope. But I prefer to do much of my glassing with the binos, much easier on my eyes!) After a few frustrating experiences with " less than great optics" I admitted to myself that there is a difference between " great" optics....and other optics.

I went to an outfitter located in Anchorage and looked through a variety of glasses. This particular outfitter would allow you to take the different glasses to the front door and look out across at the Chugach Mountains, (not across the store at some letters on the opposite wall). I took the opportunity to look at more than just a few pairs. (I actually had decided prior to this not to spend more than what a good pair of Leupolds or maybe Steiners would cost!) After nearly " two hours" of comparisons, (yes they tolerated me for that long), I bought a pair of 8X30' s from Swarovski. I COULD see a difference between those binos and the lesser binos. I could NOT however see a difference between the Swarovski' s and the more expensive Zeiss or Leica' s for instance. I am not saying that there is NOT a difference....I am just saying that I couldn' t tell any optical difference with my eyes at the level of quality. But I most certainly could tell a difference with the binos at the lower prices! (And to prove that the Swarovski' s were waterproof....the outfitters had a pair lying in a water filled 50 gallon aquarium tank.....and that was the pair that they told me to pull out of the water and look through them!)

I was going to retire from the U.S.Army in several months and knew that my disposable income might not allow me to purchase really good binos after I retired. Plus if memory serves me right...those binos which were in the upper $600' s. at that time, (1993), and they were on sale for $599. (or something like that). And even though they were more than I originally planned to spend....I bought them. I have never regretted it! They did make a difference in the expanses of Alaska....and friends that have looked through them back in Pennsylvania.....have admitted the difference as well. (One individual after looking from one PA hilltop to another...bought a pair for himself. At several hundred dollars more!)

I guess I finally realized that I use my binoculars much more than I use my rifles during every hunt. And for me at least....it made sense to spend as much on a good pair of binos as I would for a hunting rifle. One other thing I usually try to do is save at least 1/3 of what I have to spend for a scoped hunting rifle...for the scope! When I try to cut cost....I try not to do it with optics. Having done that, if a company treated me the way Burris treated you, I would ensure that every person I " EVER" talked to....would know about it!!!

By the way...I gave those Burris binos to a friend that hunts exclusively in Pennsylvania....and he is still very happy with them.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

I had a similiar experience with Burris Binos...bought a pair of 8x42 Porro Prism top of the line binos from them...what a piece of crap both optically and durability wise...

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

A (gun dealer) buddy has told me that he hates to sell Burris scopes because if there' s a need to get warranty repairs, they are the hardest to work with.

You' re doing the right thing...you get shafted, tell the world about it. Customers need education and this is one way to get educated.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

I was about ready to buy a Burris Compact rifle scope. I think I will go with another brand instead. I can tolerate a product that may need service but have no tolerance for anyone who won' t back thier products. I need a nice light weight scope for my new Ruger stainless 260.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

James, I have a Leupold 3 X 9 compact that I really like. It' s the lightest scope I could find and I can attest that Leupold does stand behind their product.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

just had to vent. anyway im looking at leupolds- nikons and bushnell legends for under 300$. is this raingaurd stuff just a new gimmick? or am i falling into the cheap optics trap again

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

Not wanting to be a smart a$$ or anything, but why spend $169 for something you only used twice in two years?

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

liquidorange,

Make sure when you purchase the binos they are clearly advertised in writing as " Waterproof" .....not weather (or water) resistant! If you purchase binos that are advertised as waterproof, and they leak...not caused by negligence....the company will have to make good their claim. (Assuming they are still in business....shades of Tasco.)

My other recommendation is to self determine how much use you get from your binoculars...and spend accordingly! It is seldom a mistake to buy quality, (and I am not referring to just buying a name). I know that companies such as Nikon and Pentax to name a couple make some really good waterproof optics for reasonable prices. (We are currently considering a pair of one of the above for my wife.)

I decided to spend what I did because I use my binos " all the time" . I am constantly glassing (even when in the woods) and few things " Erk" me worse than to see someone " oggling" me through a riflescope! Riflescopes are gun sights, used for aiming a firearm! Not meant for general glassing and/or identifying targets. I do not use my riflescope until after my " target" is identified. From the number of times I' ve seen someone peering at me through their scope....I' d guess that a huge number of other people don' t see it that way! I have told more than a few hunters to " please not point their rifle at me...unless they' d like the same" . Maybe not very subtle...but certainly to the point!!!

If you use your binos frequently...buy the best you possibly can afford! It is pretty much a " one time expenditure" , and seldom a mistake!

Best of luck with whatever you choose!

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

James B,

I have not had to use Burris' s service dept. so I can' t speak to their level of service. But I have owned a number of Burris compact riflescopes...specifically the Compact 2X7' s. Those scopes were mounted on rifles with intermediate recoil, (.30-06' s, .308' s, etc). They gave me great service. The adjustments were positive, they held zero, and the adjustments were " repeatable" . They were not as bright as a " fullsize" riflescope but that was a trade off I expected for their being compact. All in all I would have rated them along side of Leupold' s scopes.

I purchased them back in the early to mid 80' s and I don' t know if the quality has changed since....and like I said, I never used their service department! So that is an unknown quantity to me. (Having said all of that....I will say that I have used Leupold' s service department.....and know them to be very responsive and would rate them as excellent for service!)

Good luck with your new purchase!

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

to me 169$ was a big step up from what i have( tasco) and wanted to spend. this was the pair i wanted to keep in great shape and use only on special hunting trips.i usually go on a trip every other year for bear, deer, caribou ect.. hunting in the jungles of new jersey rarely afford more than a 50 yard shot so i see no need to carry extra weight and bring such fancy glass( 10x42) . to use them during archery would be a joke because because i hunt over some nasty thick trails. this was my binos for long range use. i do hunt the mountains of central pennsylvania and with the new antler point minimum i would have used them for that too. its no different than having a bird gun a deer gun skeet gun ect... one for different uses.if you check this model in the major catalogs it is listed as waterproof and fogproof. i purchased the old model but i know when i purchased them i read the new models description but they sent me the old version. i just didnt think that they should have gone bad that quick! they werent in a downpour or anything just a nast wet day. just shring my grief so others will learn. i have no doubt BURRIS makes some good stuff but its just how i was treated!

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

liquidorange,

I agree with you! I would be very " ticked off" if any service department treated me that way. And it would be the end of my business with such a company!

I think for the sake of satisfaction that I' d fire off either (or both) an e-mail to their corporate headquarters as well as a certified letter. I would state all relevant information and give them a final opportunity to make it right. ($169. is far too much to throw away.)

I would do the same for the " order house" . If they carry a product whose manufacturer will not stand behind its product they should take remedial action of some sort. If they refuse to assist you in rectifying the problem......make their name known as well.....and refuse to do business with them in the future!

Any other information I included in my earlier posts was only to state my feelings and experiences with optics in the past. It was in no way meant as a reflection on anything you stated....but rather to provide info towards making a decision on your " new binos" !

Once again, best of luck in finding a suitable resolution!

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

For the price and quality you will have to really search hard to find better than Bushnell legends. Bushnell will back them up too.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

thanks im gonna look into the legends. i wish i could take these apart on my own but i think there glued or something.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

Why don' t you try to de -humidify them yourself.I had a pair of binos do the same thing and I stuck them in pillow tied it up with string and put them in the drier for an hour or two and they came out good as new.The heat dried them right out.Try it,maybe it will work with your set too.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

thanks for the idea but the water drops are now dried up stains on the inside glass. thats why i cant understand why burris just couldnt take them apart and clean them for me.

RE: BURRIS binos boy i got taken!
 

Maybe having only one eye is the explanation for not being able to see the difference! I was once black bear hunting in Prince William Sound. I was using a pair of E. Leitz 7X50 " Marseptit" binoculars, and the guy with me was using a pair of 10X50' s he had purchased from Sears. Don' t know the brand, or even if they had a brand! I spotted a bear across the bay we were in, up on the side of a mountain about 5 miles away just above a snow patch on that far mountain. I said, " do you think we should cross the bay, and climb that mountain to try to intercept that bear there?" He said " what bear, where?" I spent the next five minutes trying to tell him where to look to see the bear. Finally, I handed him my 7-power binos, and he handed me his 10X ones. Sure enough, he could see the bear plain as day with the Leitz glasses, but I sure couldn' t see it with his 10X junk from Sears! I suspect his were in the Tasco class. I have used SOME Bushnells that had as good optics as the Leitz. However, they weren' t as tough mechanically. I still have my old Leitz 7X50' s which I bought new in 1956, and although beat up on the outside and missing some of the exterior covering material, (plastic??), they are as good as ever when it comes to seeing things!!

Optics are one field in which it pays to buy the best you can possibly afford. Binoculars are no place to try to save money.