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Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Review

A great pair, but some other models in the same price range have slightly better brightness
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Price:  $269 List | $219.99 at Backcountry
Pros:  Good clarity, decent brightness, great close focus range and field of view
Cons:  Stiff middle hinge, slightly on the heavy side for an 8x42
Manufacturer:   Vortex
By Max Mutter and Steven Tata  ⋅  Jul 4, 2018
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79
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#7 of 16
  • Clarity - 25% 8
  • Brightness - 20% 7
  • Ease of Adjustment - 15% 7
  • Construction Quality - 15% 8
  • Comfort - 10% 8
  • Close Focus Range - 7.5% 9
  • Field of View - 7.5% 10

Our Verdict

The Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Offers great clarity and good brightness for a sub $300 pair of binoculars. However, the similarly priced Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 offers just as much clarity and more brightness, making these bins a better choice for most people shopping with a $300 budget. In fact, the only reason to get the Vortex Diamondback over the Monarch 5 is the shorter close focus range and wider field of view. While these things may make a difference if you're going insect watching or scouting distant landscapes, most people won't notice limitations in close focus range in day to day use. Therefore, we would recommend the Monarch 5 over the Vortex Diamondback for the vast majority of people.


Compare to Similar Products

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Awards  Top Pick Award  Editors' Choice Award  
Price $219.99 at Backcountry$2,659.00 at Amazon$2,400 List$474.00 at Amazon$496.83 at Amazon
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Pros Good clarity, decent brightness, great close focus range and field of viewIncredible clarity, brightness, comfort, and construction qualityExcellent clarity and brightness, great construction quality, quite comfortableVery clear and bright, easy to adjust, comfortable and qualityHigh quality construction, very comfortable to use, great clarity
Cons Stiff middle hinge, slightly on the heavy side for an 8x42Prohibitively expensiveVery expensiveOn the expensive sideHeavy for backpacking or carrying long distances
Bottom Line A great pair, but some other models in the same price range have slightly better brightnessThe best all around bins that we tested, but they also carry a high price tagHigh-end bins that are nearly as good as the Swarovskis, but not quiteJust about the best clarity/brightness you can get without a quadruple digit price tagGood optical quality, but not the best in the price range
Rating Categories Vortex Diamondback 8x42 Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Zeiss Victory HT 10x42 Vortex Viper HD 8x42 Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 10x42
Clarity (25%)
10
0
8
10
0
10
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
8
Brightness (20%)
10
0
7
10
0
10
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
8
Ease Of Adjustment (15%)
10
0
7
10
0
10
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
9
Construction Quality (15%)
10
0
8
10
0
10
10
0
8
10
0
10
10
0
10
Comfort (10%)
10
0
8
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
10
10
0
10
Close Focus Range (7.5%)
10
0
9
10
0
9
10
0
8
10
0
8
10
0
7
Field Of View (7.5%)
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
9
Specs Vortex Diamondback... Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Zeiss Victory HT... Vortex Viper HD 8x42 Nikon Monarch 7...
Glass type ED HD HD HD ED
Multi - Coating FMC FMC FMC FMC FMC
Magnification 8 8.5 10 8 10
Field of View ft/yards 420/1000 399/1000 330/1000 409/1000 351/1000
Close Focus 4.5ft 4.9ft 6.2ft 6.5ft 8.2ft
Eye Relief 18mm 20mm 16mm 18mm 16.4mm
Prism Roof Roof Roof Roof Roof
Waterproof/Fogproof? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Size (length x width) 5.9 x 5.6 in 6.3 x 4.8 in 6.3 x 5 in 5.8 x 5.3 in 5.6 x 5.1 in
Weight 25.2 oz 29.5 oz 28.4 oz 24.2 oz 26.3 oz

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Vortex Diamondback 8x42 is a great pair of bins, but they are slightly outperformed by other models in the same price range. This makes them a great buy if you can find them on sale, but probably not the best choice if you're buying them at list price.

The Diamondback in its natural habitat.
The Diamondback in its natural habitat.

Performance Comparison


The Vortex Diamondback 8x42 performed quite well in our testing, moving towards the top of our leaderboard. However, it wasn't able to beat out all of the models in its price range, so it missed out on an award.

Clarity


For all intents and purposes the Vortex Diamondback 8x42 is clear enough. The glass is of a high enough quality that in most conditions it feels like you're looking at a high definition image. You can notice some slight blurring around the edges, which makes the image noticeably less vibrant and engrossing than what the absolute top tier models can produce, but it is still crystal clear where it really counts. In our testing we had no trouble picking out the minute markings of our model birds with these bins. This performance earned the Diamondback 8x42 a score of 8 out of 10.

The Diamondback is just as clear but not quite as bright as the similarly priced Nikon Monarch 5.
The Diamondback is just as clear but not quite as bright as the similarly priced Nikon Monarch 5.

When compared to other models in this price range the Diamondback 8x42's clarity is even with that of the Nikon Monarch 5, and has significantly less edge blurring than the Athlon Midas 8x42.

Brightness


We would consider the Diamondback 8x42 almost bright enough for any situation. Most people will find these bins plenty bright enough for 95% of situations. the one time you might be less than pleased would be very early morning or very late afternoon on a particularly overcast day. On those days the birds (or whatever you're looking at) may lose some detail and start looking more like silhouettes. This warranted a score of 7 out of 10 in our brightness testing.

The Diamondback is fairly comfortable to hold.
The Diamondback is fairly comfortable to hold.

This is one significant area where the Diamondback 8x42 falls short of its main competition, the Nikon Monarch 5 8x42. The Monarch 5 has that extra critical boost of brightness that provides decent looking images, even on the dreariest of days.

Ease of Adustment


The Diamondback 8x42 is easy to adjust where it counts, but does have some small difficulties, earning it a score of 7 out of 10. The focus knob has a smooth action that allows for easy and precise adjustment. The eyecups twist out and have three hard stops that accommodate most preferences (the competing Monarch 5 has four stops, which is slightly nicer). The diopter knob moves easily when being adjusted, but is stiff enough that it would be very hard to accidentally throw it out of wack. The only thing that is slightly hard to adjust is the main hinge, which dictates how far apart the eyepieces are. this hinge is a bit stiff, which is actually nice if the same person will be using the bins over and over, but it can be a bit of a drag if you're passing the bins around.

The smooth focus knob and easily adjustable eye cups.
The smooth focus knob and easily adjustable eye cups.

Construction Quality


Vortex is known for making quality bins at relatively low prices, and the Diamondback 8x42 is a prime example of this. From the rugged rubber to the smooth moving parts to the ED glass, everything about the bins feels high quality. The only bins we've come across with higher quality materials cost hundreds of dollars more. All this earned the Diamondback 8x42 a construction quality score of 8 out of 10. When compared to the main competition we would call the Diamondback 8x42's construction quality even with that of the Nikon Monarch 5 and noticeably better than the Athlon Midas.

The center hinge feels a bit stiff.
The center hinge feels a bit stiff.

Comfort


We found the Diamondback 8x42 to generally feel comfortable in hand, earning them a score of 8 out of 10. The rubber on the barrels is grippy but not sticky. There are to thumb indents on the bottom side of the barrel, lending a more ergonomic feel. We do wish that the thumb indents were a bit deeper, but they still allow for a comfortable hand position for all but those with very large hands. Overall the Nikon Monarch 5 feels slightly more ergonomic, but we certainly wouldn't count that as a point again the Diamondback 8x42.

The Diamondback's included case.
The Diamondback's included case.

Close Focus Range


The Diamondback 8x42 boasts a top notch close focus range of just 4.5 feet. That means most people will be able to focus on a lovely butterfly that decides to land on their shoes. This is also a closer range than pretty much all of the competition.


Field of View


The Diamondback 8x42 can also brag about its 420 foot field of view at 1000 yards. Again that is greater than the vast majority of the competition.

Value


Listing for $269, the Vortex Diamondback 8x42 certainly packs a lot of optical quality into a relatively affordable package. If you decide to go with these bins, it will be money well spent. However, if you can afford just another $10 the Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 has slightly better low light performance, and thus a better overall value for those shopping in the $300 range.

Conclusion


We love the Vortex Diamondback 8x42, but if you're shopping on a $300 budget we would give the Nikon Monarch 5 8x42 a slight edge over these binoculars. Both models are very similar, but the Nikon has better low light performance, giving it a slight leg up.


— Max Mutter and Steven Tata