Vortex Viper PST Gen II 1-6x vs Razor HD Gen II 1-6x: Initial Thoughts and Observations

[@volkssturm9694]

agree 100%, there is no REAL need to get the RAZOR , except knowing that you have "the best" the difference truly is not noticeable . I have primary arms's NOVA 1-6 which is 300$ and is almost the same as the PST gen 2....but the NOVA 's red dot is way brighter than the PST. It's remarkable how good Chinese HD glass has gotten, and I don't care it was made in China whatsoever.

[@SlimeSquare]

Very good reviews. Glad I found your channel.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Thanks for the views and feedback. Welcome to the channel!

[@seanlawrence972]

Great breakdown, debated both awhile back myself. Went with the viper, love it.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Appreciate the feedback!

[@kevingridermissionair8020]

90% of(with witch I agree), with more than 50% savings! No Brainer! I went with Viper...very pleased!!!

[@ridehi8083]

nice job on your review. I appreciate you sharing your perspective. Imo, dollar for dollar, i think PST is a better buy. and I agree, if only 1, its gonna be the Razor. thanks 🤙

[@NEEZY69]

Thanks for the info! Just subbed!

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Thanks for the sub!

[@mattsterpiecenjmaflva9956]

Love it, great review! I have 3 PST II’s and love them. Can get on sale for $450 too. Great stuff!!!

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Thanks for the view and feedback!

[@angelflores1441]

On sale where?? I am now on the hunt for one

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

@@angelflores1441 you can get demo versions from Euro Optics for $500. And they're like new. That's where I got mine

[@paulyp9853]

First thing is that I want to thank you for the review. I guess the natural comparison is between the Viper and Razor - both Gen 2 1-6x. I have both and the Razor is a better optic. The Viper is very good and will serve you well, but the Razor is a better optic. Eye relief, eye box, and its clearer at the high magnifications. Again not bashing the Viper it’s a great optic, but its not the Razor - no shame in that. It punches above its weight class ---very true, but not the far up. Comparison through a camera then downloaded to the internet does not do the comparison justice in my opinion. Again I have both and the Razor has better glass. Now if you throw in term “for the money”. That is adding the theory of diminishing returns. We can apply that to anything cant we? When using diminishing returns the cheaper item usually seems the better move. Someone from Vortex said that the Viper is 85% of the Razor for 50% of the money. Brilliant strategy. Why? People who can and want to will pay the premium for that extra 15%, and people who don’t want to or cant feel they are not missing much and spending less. Brilliant. Do you really think someone that gets paid upon company sales is going say anything publicly to hurt either line? Cmon. I have both a T2 and a Romeo 5. The T2 with a mount is between $8-900. The Romeo 5 is $100. Now is the T2 9x better than the Romeo. No its not. Is the Romeo 50% of the T2 for 12% of the cost? Maybe. The Romeo 5 is the better buy by this math. Maybe it is but it is not nearly the better optic. We can do this all day with anything…cars, appliances,….anything.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Very good points! Thank you for the feedback

[@1olddirtroad]

Both iterations of those scopes have been put to the test and are rugged and reliable. For someone who cannot afford the superior Razor because of budget concerns ie officers with famalies will be well served by the PST Viper Gen II. The Razor has capabilities that 98% of glass out there doesn't. It's up to the user to decide if it's worth it to them. I will add the Metro Nashville Police Officer who shot and killed the Gender Pretender Murderer certainly thought it was for Him. It's a personal choice but I won't buy Any Chinese Optic and if it cost more then I personally will pay the extra monet for what I need it for. There is a Reason why Primary Arms Premium line of scopes aren't made in China.

[@twoguncorcoran4733]

The PST is all anyone really needs imo.. I have the 1-6 and it competes with stuff in the $800 price range like some of the trijicon products ... Flat out kills anything below $600 in glass quality ... Simple crosshair-dot reticle that other brands are catching onto... Vortex warranty is overall better than trijicon but probably wouldn't need it with either. Great video.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Thanks for the views and feedback!

[@chiya2006]

Given the choice, would go for the leupold , or vortex with similar options. Including price comparisons?. I’m looking to get one and caught in between Vortex & Leupold

[@rphash49]

I've owned both and I can't tell a difference with the glass. The only reason I now run a razor and I sold the viper is because I was able to get the razor on sale for $999. The big pro for me on the razor is how the bezel disappears. I "feel" quicker transitioning between targets. For me $450 vs $1200 is not worth it but if you can score a razor on sale for sub $1k then absolutely

[@dv8322]

I spent a decent amount of time with both the Razor and the PST and I couldn't really tell any difference with the glass either. I was able to look through them both on the same day both inside and outside in the bright sun. I would look through one and then the other and go back and forth and if anything, the glass might have been a little better on the PST. The field of view thing also seems like kind of an illusion. You think you have a wider field of view with the Razor because of the thin housing but you really don't. I think specs say you get 2 feet wider FOV on the Razor at max. magnification but I didn't see it. Anyway, I saved $800 and got the PST and couldn't be happier.

[@userone1465]

Where did you get it for $999?

[@TexasFireMedic]

Same here , I sold my Aimpoint comp5 to fund my razor Gen 2 e 1-6 purchase. Was able to get it $992 shipped with the throw lever from RKB ARMORY

[@fakename287]

Woah where'd you get a viper for $450? It's 700 on their own website

[@TexasFireMedic]

@@fakename287 focus camera , eurooptic

[@braverzero3709]

Super helpful video. The pics of the side by side were very illuminating (lol); hard to justify the razor when you see content like this. I could buy 2 PSTs for the price of one razor, both with mounts and throw levers. That’s hard to conceptualize. Where are my $800 extra dollars going??

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

It is very hard to figure that out. Maybe it'll show itself more during strings of fire on a course? When I get that chance I'll have another follow up video. Thanks for the feedback!

[@fortyfiveseventy2994]

Maybe something about the internals. I run a razor on a scar 17. Been fine so far. Would the viper hold up.. maybe thats the 10-15%

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

@@fortyfiveseventy2994 I've heard that more than once. That the Viper is not as durable as the Razor

[@ryanp6072]

I can get these all day long for 400 bucks being that I work in the industry- definitely thinking about buying the viper after watching this video.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

It definitely punches way above it's price point. And that's at market value. DEFINITELY worth $400, easy

[@rudolphferdinand3634]

In a video lineup, after your video is a video I, saw two years ago comparing both scopes, he sold the Razor model but kept the PST. (Tactical Accountants). Additionally: Tract optics: I talked with them a while back about the glass that Tract installs, and yes there is better glass out there he (John) told me 'German Schott Ultra/HD' glass... diminishing return on how much that you will be able to see. Tract optics chooses this level of glass quality. Plus I have all models of the Vortex PST line.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

I believe that I saw that one also, and even though it made a great case for the Viper over the PST, I still ended up springing for the Razor. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@signkutter9218]

I have looked through both side by side...and the Razor is more compact and seemingly a bit lighter...it is a tiny bit brighter at 6x...and the dot is brighter...but nothing worth the 8 0r 900 dollar jump. The PST is MUCH better bang for the buck

[@2amichaelj]

The glass clarity on 1x looks pretty similar. Where the Razor shines is the 6x and brightness settings imo. I just picked up a Razor gen 2e MOA for $1,000 shipped to my door with a vortex cantilever mount included which I'll sell for $50 or so to get a throw lever. I found my Viper PST gen 2s for $500 brand new too so the Razor is double the price. I'm not sure it's worth double for the feature set but I can say Japanese glass compared to Philippines glass there's a big difference to me.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

I agree with that!

[@gunner76]

Where did you find a Razor gen 2e for $1000?

[@pescad0]

They need to re-design the illum knob on the razor. I sent one back 3-4 times including it being replaced, because eventually the illum would start to flicker or go out entirely from a short in the knob circuitry. Could have the thing locked in and just turn the dot on and off by touching the illum turret. I mean it's an unreal scope but that just turned me off them completely, despite the amazing disappearing ocular housing. And the warranty is no doubt excellent but I wasted probably 1k rounds just trying to keep one with reliable illumination.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Dangggg man, that really sucks!

[@ignaciogodinez8217]

Do u guys recommend a 0moa mount or a 20moa mount? For the razor hd

[@46dgarrison]

The PST glass is pretty darn nice. The turrets and controls make the PST feel like cheap garbage unfortunately. Sold mine. Buying the Razor 1-6

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

Yeah I moved mine to my S&W M&P 15-22

[@branjeff]

What brightness did you have the razor at? I’m debating about going to the razor

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

I had it at max brightness, but it didn't translate well in the pics. It is definitely daylight bright, even in full Florida sun

[@davelpz3340]

I have the PST, and at 6-7 it is daylight bright. I aimed at damn near the sun and I could see the dot bright and clear! Loads better than my Primary Arms scopes I’ve had in the past.

[@regulardudegungearreviewsh3132]

@@davelpz3340 the Viper is definitely a hell of a scope for the money

[@summertime2433]

Just go with the Viper. You're getting a scope that's comparable to scopes in the $1k range and it comes with an unconditional lifetime warranty. And with the money you're saving you can buy over 1k rounds of ammo or spend it on training class or a nice sidearm.

[@frankopanklaric]

Uhm, why is the razor double the price again? Those comparison perspectives do not make a case for that.

[@danielh5397]

Look through both in person and you’ll know why

[@primarymachine5893]

@@danielh5397 Nah, you’ll still be scratching your head asking why it’s over 2X more expensive. What he said in his video is absolutely spot on: The Viper is 90% of what the Razer is. The Razer it’s absolutely better, but it’s not mind blowingly better.

[@geektarded]

I have both and the differences are so negligible that I have no preference over which one I shoot. I honestly can’t tell the difference in glass quality. If I had it to do over I would have not bought the razor.

[@volkssturm9694]

absolutely true. I have them both, the RAZOR's glass and overall performance over the Pst gen 2 is almost imperceptible .If you want best value, Primary ams has the NOVA now which is red dot bright and 95% of what the PST gen 2 is. Truly amazing how good "budget" optics have gotten in the past couple of years.