Vortex SPARC fails submersion test.

[Seth247]

I bought a vortex sparc at sportsworld today after reading many good reviews including a torture test involving freezing and submersion.

I inspected the unit and like it alot. Finish is as good as to be expected. Adjustments all click firmly, dot is very bright, plenty bright for full sunshine even at setting number 4 of ten.

Since the optic is perported to be water proof and since I had seen a review with a submersion test, I decided to test mine as well to make sure i hadn't received a flawed unit. I submerged in 10" of water in a five gallon bucket. Unfortunately there were several drops of water inside when I removed it.

It is understandable that, especially at this price point, not every optic can be perfect. I still like the optic and hopefully the replacement will be sealed well.

I have contacted vortex warranty service and will send the optic in for replacement once I get a reply. The reputation this company has for service is very good. So I believe they will stand behind the product. Time will tell. I will do the same test on any replacement I receive, as I would on and aimpoint or any optic perported to be water proof.

Point is, don't forget to test your gear.

I wil update this thread when more info comes in.

 

[Euclid]

It failed in just 10" of water? Is this a design issue or did you get improperly fitted scope?

Heck, my cellphone can withstand 10" of water!

 

[Seth247]

I beleive it was a fluke. This company and these sight have a good reputation, I think I just got a badly fitted one. Even aimpoints can be flawed, any sight can, and at this price point I'm not terribly dissappointed. Hopefully the replacement will be sealed. the dot still worked and was still useable in an emergency.

Just Remember that if a sights not water proof, then it's not AirProof, and if it's not airproof it's not fogproof. I think it's a good idea to test any kind of sealed optic this way, to make sure you don't have fogging problems down the road.

 

[pen25]

It failed in just 10" of water? Is this a design issue or did you get improperly fitted scope?

Heck, my cellphone can withstand 10" of water!

id like to see that your cell will resist 10" of water and still work. that is unless yu have a motorola defy.

 

[BrandonM]

I have a cheap lg phone and sat in the kids pool forgetting it was in my swim shorts, about 18" of water. Once it dried out it was good to go.

 

[Seth247]

Yeah, phones usually don't have a high enough voltage to fry in water.

Keep in mind the dot still worked. I could dry it out and use it. But I want a sealed unit.

 

[Euclid]

id like to see that your cell will resist 10" of water and still work. that is unless yu have a motorola defy.

That was my attempt at hyperbole, but some people take statements a bit too seriously...

The point I was trying to make was that 10" of water isn't a particularly high bar and if it failed to maintain seal in a mere 10" of water then I would hope it's a fluke and not a design flaw.

 

[Seth247]

Well the optic is advertised as waterproof and fogproof so iether it's a fluke or false advertising. I hope the first.

 

[Seth247]

Received an email from vortex today at 9am(nice to have a prompt reply not one halfway through the day!) suggesting I try to return to the store if possible or give him my shipping address and he will email me a prepaid shipping label to return it to vortex. So I don't even have to pay to ship it there!

I replied to that email with my address and the suggestion that they test any replacement optic before sending it to me so we wouldn't have to pay fedex again if my bad luck struck again. I received a reply 30 minutes later stating that testing the replacement was allready the plan and he would get a shipping label to me today.

I am very happy with the promptness of email replys. I work nights and don't even get up until 1-2 pm, so it's really annoying when companies take for ever to reply cause it takes days sometimes to email back and forth. Or when they don't even reply at all... :cough Vltor cough:

As long as the replacement unit runs properly I will definitely be cosiderig vortex for my future optic needs.

 

[pen25]

understand but even though the phone may still work it will have problems. is the vortex advertised as water resistant or water proof? and at what depth? and i see that is answered in the next post. and i do believe its a fluke as i have seen the videos of submersion tests showing these things work fine. have read that there maybe some QC issues with vortex so testing them is what i would do like the OP has done. but from what i have also seen vortex is quick to replace and tells people t o return to place of purchase for replacement as they will back replacement 100% unless someone was blatant and say took a hammer to it.