Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I was shopping for a compact spotting scope for my son when I came across the Cabela's Krotos HD 15-45x65mm spotting scope.
It only had 2 reviews (both 5 stars) which said how clear it was without any comparison to high end optics, but I figured since Cabelas was finally having a big sale on the spotter, it has the Cabelas lifetime guarantee, and we have a Cabelas store here locally, I would take a gamble. If I didn't like it, I'd just take it to the store and get my money back.
Well let me tell you, this is one sweet little piece of glass. It stated it has ED glass and there's no doubt it does. Edge to edge, this little spotter delivers an image as sharp as a tack. I have a Meopta Meostar HD 20-70x82mm spotter I compared it to and the little Krotos definitely held its own. It wasn't quite on par with the Meopta, but it was very close on like power settings which surprised the hell out of me considering it utilizes an objective 17mm smaller than my 82mm Meopta.
The barrel mounted focus is tuned just right for bringing objects into clear focus at all ranges. Eye relief is phenomenal, as good as anything I've ever looked through. It is VERY compact compared to other 15-45x65 spotters. And the image produces very bright 'true' colors with no noticeable fringing or aberration that I could see. The brightness of the image in low light is much more than you would expect from a 65mm spotter. It's is hands down better than the Vortex Razor HD 16-48x65mm spotter I owned in the past that cost over twice what I paid for the Krotos.
Normal price on this little gem is $699. Cabelas has it on sale right now for $599 and had an extra 10% off the day I bought it so it only ran me a grand total of $540 with free shipping. At that price point, there isn't another spotter out there that's even playing on the same planet as the Cabelas Krotos HD. This thing performs way out of its league. I would put it up against any 65mm spotter costing $1K more than the Krotos any day. It's really that good.
They also make the Krotos in a 20-60x86mm version for $1099, but I have not looked through that version yet. Tho I'd be willing to bet it's just as nice, if not better due to a larger objective.
I don't know who makes this scope for Cabelas yet, tho I plan to find out in the near future. It looks similar to the new version of the Vortex Razor spotters, but its definitely a little different body style. Maybe Vortex makes it and they redesigned their glass to be much better then put it in a special body for Cableas? Im not sure... The new Razors come in a 22-48x65mm and a 27-60x85mm. And tho the newly designed Razor spotters look similar to the Krotos, the Razors are longer and weigh more, plus the larger version of the Razor has a different size objective. So Im still confused. Guess I need to call cabelas cuz our local optics 'helper' didn't have a clue.
Anyhow, if your in the market for a very compact spotter that delivers top tier images at a total bargain price, the Cabelas Krotos HD more than deserves a look.
It only had 2 reviews (both 5 stars) which said how clear it was without any comparison to high end optics, but I figured since Cabelas was finally having a big sale on the spotter, it has the Cabelas lifetime guarantee, and we have a Cabelas store here locally, I would take a gamble. If I didn't like it, I'd just take it to the store and get my money back.
Well let me tell you, this is one sweet little piece of glass. It stated it has ED glass and there's no doubt it does. Edge to edge, this little spotter delivers an image as sharp as a tack. I have a Meopta Meostar HD 20-70x82mm spotter I compared it to and the little Krotos definitely held its own. It wasn't quite on par with the Meopta, but it was very close on like power settings which surprised the hell out of me considering it utilizes an objective 17mm smaller than my 82mm Meopta.
The barrel mounted focus is tuned just right for bringing objects into clear focus at all ranges. Eye relief is phenomenal, as good as anything I've ever looked through. It is VERY compact compared to other 15-45x65 spotters. And the image produces very bright 'true' colors with no noticeable fringing or aberration that I could see. The brightness of the image in low light is much more than you would expect from a 65mm spotter. It's is hands down better than the Vortex Razor HD 16-48x65mm spotter I owned in the past that cost over twice what I paid for the Krotos.
Normal price on this little gem is $699. Cabelas has it on sale right now for $599 and had an extra 10% off the day I bought it so it only ran me a grand total of $540 with free shipping. At that price point, there isn't another spotter out there that's even playing on the same planet as the Cabelas Krotos HD. This thing performs way out of its league. I would put it up against any 65mm spotter costing $1K more than the Krotos any day. It's really that good.
They also make the Krotos in a 20-60x86mm version for $1099, but I have not looked through that version yet. Tho I'd be willing to bet it's just as nice, if not better due to a larger objective.
I don't know who makes this scope for Cabelas yet, tho I plan to find out in the near future. It looks similar to the new version of the Vortex Razor spotters, but its definitely a little different body style. Maybe Vortex makes it and they redesigned their glass to be much better then put it in a special body for Cableas? Im not sure... The new Razors come in a 22-48x65mm and a 27-60x85mm. And tho the newly designed Razor spotters look similar to the Krotos, the Razors are longer and weigh more, plus the larger version of the Razor has a different size objective. So Im still confused. Guess I need to call cabelas cuz our local optics 'helper' didn't have a clue.
Anyhow, if your in the market for a very compact spotter that delivers top tier images at a total bargain price, the Cabelas Krotos HD more than deserves a look.
