The Stunning New Vortex Razor HD 13-39x56 Spotting Scope

I’ve carried a lot of spotters in my time hunting, it’s a tool I rarely leave at home. These optics allow you to garner information about your quarry that is next to impossible with other equipment: age, trophy class, antlerless or not, etc. You can know much more about the animal you’re pursuing if you carry one.

That said, spotters are usually far from light, and they take up a considerable amount of room in your pack. Every hunt, I think about leaving it, especially on extended stays in the mountains where cutting ounces is of utmost importance. Nonetheless, my spotter always makes the cut.

For the 2023 season, and here not a moment too soon, Vortex released the newest iteration of the beloved Mini Razor—as it is colloquially known—11-33x50 spotter. This year’s release brings a bit more magnification and a larger objective lens with added light-gathering ability in the Razor HD 13-39x56. At its core, Vortex’s HD Optical System delivers a crisp, edge-to-edge image. It also offers a large field of view—169 feet at 13X and 89 feet at 39X—that makes it easy to glass large areas with increased detail.

At first glance, you can say “it’s cute” as its tiny demeanor doesn’t scream “effective” because both models are under 12-inches long. Those initial impressions are quickly shot down when you pick it up and feel the minimal weight of 28.6 and 29.5 ounces on the angled and straight models respectively. The base of is Arca-Swiss compatible and fits most tripods without the need of adding a plate. Okay, it’s light, it’s small enough to pack without taking up room, but does it offer the hunter the appropriate viewing capabilities to be that go-to tool on hunts?

My first look through the glass was at Vortex’s factory in Wisconsin on a heavily overcast day amidst spurts of rain and snow. Glassing buildings over a mile away told me all I needed to know, as the colors popped, signs and writing on buildings was easily viewable. It offered comfortable viewing and great light transfer, even in less-than-ideal conditions.

IN THE FIELD

This spotter was a perfect fit for hunting red stag and fallow deer in New Zealand. The North Island reminded me much of the Western landscapes that I know and love—with a little bit of Middle Earth mixed in of course. The steep draws and canyons were littered with dense timber that held a surprising amount of game. Glassing across canyon and picking apart timber with the Mini Razor was made easy and the extra magnification offered above 12x50 binoculars made locating and confirming animals much easier.

On a glassing point overlooking broken meadows and timber, I pulled the Mini Razor from my pack and was able to get more detail about the fallow deer we spotted through binoculars. The platform was comfortable and nimble. The helical focus wheel offered easy adjustment to fine tune the image. The field of view offered from the spotter made it easy to view a wide swath of terrain. Even in lowlight scenarios, the glass still delivered a vibrant and clear image.

Over the course of the trip, I had multiple opportunities to put the scope to the test. Looking through the scope at multiple animals yielded the same result: a clear image that allowed us to discern trophy quality and age of the animals—which was a big part of the management of the species in the area.

PACKABILITY

As previously mentioned, these new spotters are small and lightweight. Packing a spotter is a labor of love. The extra glass can provide a better experience and hopefully success on a truly magnificent trophy. That also means more weight, limited room taken up in your pack and increased effort. When headed deep into the backcountry—or to a different continent—the space taken up by a spotter can mean leaving other essential gear at home.

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Putting the new put the new angled Mini Razor and the Summit SS-P Tripod into my luggage for New Zealand took up little room, and the weight was minimal. I had plenty of room to pack needed items and my luggage remained under the 50-pound standard required by the airline. Once in country, the tripod and spotter stored handily in my pack. Besides saving room, I noticed it carried easily and didn’t throw off the balance of the pack.

Packability also comes with tradeoffs, though. While the glass delivers great viewing capabilities, the small size and low magnification will limit this spotter to certain uses. Tighter terrain and broken timber throughout Western landscapes, or on hunts where specific size of species doesn’t dictate a punched tag, is where this spotter will shine. For those who are heading wide-open country and are trusting the trophy quality—or even legality in some cases like sheep hunting—this spotter probably won’t offer the appropriate magnification needed to comfortably make those choices.

Vortex revamped the Mini Razor and gave it some needed upgrades, and the new model is going to be a game changer for anyone looking to carry a spotter to better their hunts this fall and not be weighed down by big glass. Both models of the Mini Razor will carry a price tag of $999. (vortex.com)