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Zen Ray Update |
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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Posted: February/18/2011 at 21:41 |
As many on the forum know, I have been putting a pair of Zen Ray ZEN ED 10X43 binoculars through rigorous use for two years now. This series of bins, and their successors (the ED2) have been discussed here and on other forums ad nauseum. My first post on this site was a comparison between the ZEN ED and the Meopta Meostar, where the ZENs compared favorably, given their price advantage.
In a nutshell, the ZEN ED provides a alpha-competitive view in a $400 build. My major concerns were the internal "halo" type glare I noticed surrounding the FOV during certain viewing conditions, and the durability of the design. Two years later the Zens held up pretty well. The only issues I had were: 1. There was some wear and loosening of the armoring on the neckstrap mounts. 2. The logo badge on the focus wheel loosened a bit. 3. The ring marked "ED LENS" and "PHASE COATED" loosened and could spin around the barrel. 4. The glue securing the right rubber eyecup to the underlying metal eyecup lost its bond, and the rubber lost its purchase. The bins were in otherwise excellent shape, and still had a crystal clear and tack sharp view (albeit with the annoying halo glare). Collimation continued to be spot-on. These bins saw serious use. I belly crawled for antelope, scaled cliffs for mulies, and summited peaks for mountain goats. The ZENs really performed beyond expectation. Here we are in the off-season, and I decided to e-mail Zen Ray about my above mentioned minor issues. I received a response within 24 hours from Charles, and he confirmed my issues were easy fixes they could remedy for me. Then he went above and beyond. Charles stated a redesign to the ED2 series included a "complicated" fix to the glare issue. Charles then made me a more-than-generous trade-in offer on my ZEN EDs for a new pair of ZEN ED2s. I was a bit shocked, and quickly accepted the offer. So here I am waiting on a new pair of ZEN ED2s, and can't wait to check out the improvements, as the ED1s were no slouches! I wanted to relay this experience to the OT. At a time where several big name optics companies are running their customers through a CS gauntlet, others, including Zen Ray, are really taking care of their customers. Thank you Charles and Zen Ray! |
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-Matt
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300S&W
Optics God Joined: January/27/2008 Location: Burlington,WV Status: Offline Points: 10592 |
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!!!!!!
I haven't used mine (7x36 ED2) in the field at all yet but it's GOOD to know I've got GREAT c/s back up if needed. The first impression given by people who have looked through mine is WOW.
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"I ain't got time to bleed!"
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lucytuma
Optics Jedi Knight Joined: November/25/2007 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 5389 |
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Thanks for the positive report Matt, good for Zen Ray for being proactive.
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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." - Thomas Jefferson
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muddy
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/09/2011 Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Nice to hear the C/S is good. Where did you have this surgically implanted?
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muddy
Optics GrassHopper Joined: January/09/2011 Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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I can't post pictures it seems? How many posts do I need before the golden horseshoe I linked shows up?
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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muddy,
It takes 50 posts to post pics. Apparently you found my lucky horseshoe? |
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-Matt
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Bitterroot Bulls
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: May/07/2009 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 3416 |
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I received my new ED2s today. I need some more time with them, but one thing is for certain: That annoying halo-type glare is G...O...N...E. Awesome.
There are a few other differences, and several of my minor gripes from the ED1 have been addressed. |
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-Matt
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spf2
Optics Apprentice Joined: February/02/2007 Status: Offline Points: 169 |
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I thought only 7x36 ZEN ED2 received the latest glare fix treatment. It looks like Zen-Ray has done this across the board. Great
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