Rifle Scopes ARES ETR vs Tract Toric UHD Glass.

[Scottyman]

As far as resolution, clarity and contrast, which of these has the better image and eyebox? Unfortunately, I am a glass snob as I appreciate the beauty of a great image.
Looking for a scope in the $1200-ish range.
Would the much cheaper Arken EP-4 be competitive?
Are their scopes in this price range or under that are optically equal or superior and also mechanically reliable?

 

[Glassaholic]

I cannot speak to the Ares or Arken as I have not seen it, but the Arken seems to be getting good reviews from the community. You mention you are a "glass snob" and "appreciate the beauty of a great image" however keep in mind much of this is subjective. I can appreciate the beauty of a great woman, but my preference may be towards brunettes while yours may be for blondes, I like vanilla ice cream while you prefer chocolate and so forth.

To be honest, in the $1200ish range, you are going to be settling for some compromises in glass, most of these scopes exhibit fairly significant CA (Chromatic Aberration) , Vortex PST II is probably the best at controlling CA at this price point; however, some other scopes do better with overall resolution an example of these would be the Bushnell LRHS/LRTS series and the Tract Toric 4-20 but as mentioned these scopes have fairly heavy CA with the Bushnell doing slightly better than the Tract, but I prefer the Toric's new PRS tree reticle over the G3. The Tract has locking turrets if that makes a difference.

Here is a link to a review I did of the Tract and compared to some other scopes: http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2354

 

[Scottyman]

Good review.
Hey, I like blonds, brunettes, vanilla, chocolate and everything in between. I don't like Hillary or limburger cheese. Most of us can agree on -- and that TT and Minox ZP likely have the best glass which can be quantified if not by general consensus. Could it be that most of the perceived subjectivism is a result of manufacture variations, lot inconsistencies or just marketing? Who likes CA? Who likes distortion...?
I'm curious how the Toric's CA compares to the Athlon Ares ETR and maybe step up a little bit to include the Cronos BTR. ?

 

[Glassaholic]

Could it be that most of the perceived subjectivism is a result of manufacture variations, lot inconsistencies or just marketing? Who likes CA? Who likes distortion...?

I do believe that sample variation can play a big part, I also believe that the "I looked through my buddies scope and thought it was terrible" is not the best way to evaluate a scope. That diopter plays a big part in setting up the scope to your eye, so be wary of looking through someone else's scope that was setup for their eyes because it may not be the Goldilocks setting for you. I have also seen some pretty wacked out diopters before and can tell you it does make a world of difference to get that dialed in properly. The traditional - set mag to max and parallax to infinity and look at the sky and adjust the diopter until the reticle is clear I think has thrown many people off. My eyes are getting old but they still focus very fast and I've always found a large range where that reticle looks clear so I've adopted a "fine tuning" method of the diopter at different ranges and parallax settings to ensure that the image has the best clarity it can while still cancelling out parallax.

 

[TxDerek]

I cannot speak for the other scope, but I can for the Athlon ares etr. Incredible glass for the money. My wife and I use to run NF and vortex razors on just about everything we owned until we were introduced to Athlon. We couldn't justify paying way more for glass that is just as quality. It's easily as good as the vortex scopes, if not better and gave NF a solid run for the money. It's obviously not as nice as an atacr or beast, but it also costs 1k. I love them. I have 5 ares etrs. Great scopes.

 

[steve123]

I haven't looked through a Arken yet but the ETR is ridiculously nice for the $.

I like using that 30x on top, I ended up there more often than I thought I would have going in but I was suspicious that I'd be that way. Have and not need, than need and not have.

 

[Ken Burton]

I have the Ares BTR and I'm not impressed after 15 on the mag, but before that it's not bad but gets really small very quick

 

[Big Bo]

I have 2 or3 Ares BTR`s, glass is good, NOT $2000 glass. I also have a Cronus BTR on a 6.5CM. Love the Glass on the Cronus. The glass on the Athlon Ares ETR is supposed to be the same as on the Cronus. I will have to get one. I am very happy with ALL of my ATHLON scopes, be they Ares, Midas Tac or Cronus. $2000 glass, NO, not on the Ares BTR, or Midas Tac. If any of you know who puts $2000 glass on a sub $850 scope, LET ME KNOW.

 

[FormerFarmer]

The glass on the Athlon Ares ETR is supposed to be the same as on the Cronus.

The glass on the Ares ETR is Chinese glass. The glass on the Cronus BTR is Japan (LOW) glass. They are both listed on the Athlon website as being UHD glass, but they are not the same.

 

[Big Bo]

Bummer damnit.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Eoddave27]

I have a Tract Toric HD and an Ares ETR. While the Ares is a very nice scope for the money the Tract is a nicer scope in every respect in my opinion. The only reason I can see to go with the Ares is if you need the additional magnification or elevation the 34mm tube gives you. I bought one Toric and was so impressed I turned around and bought another within a month.

 

[disla82]

I have a Tract Toric HD and an Ares ETR. While the Ares is a very nice scope for the money the Tract is a nicer scope in every respect in my opinion. The only reason I can see to go with the Ares is if you need the additional magnification or elevation the 34mm tube gives you. I bought one Toric and was so impressed I turned around and bought another within a month.

Nothing to do with this converstaion. Just wanted to give a shout out to a fellow EOD Tech.

 

[Vamike9]

As far as resolution, clarity and contrast, which of these has the better image and eyebox? Unfortunately, I am a glass snob as I appreciate the beauty of a great image.
Looking for a scope in the $1200-ish range.
Would the much cheaper Arken EP-4 be competitive?
Are their scopes in this price range or under that are optically equal or superior and also mechanically reliable?

I can tell you that you will not be let down by the Athlon ARES ETR glass, at least not compared to other optics in that price range...

 

[Vamike9]

You can probably get "open box specials" on the athlon for 900-950$ if you call around. That's 3-400$ less than the tract.

Bulldog Firearms BNIB great price

 

[Scottyman]

Can't find any Athlons at BF.

 

[Underaverage]

Can't find any Athlons at BF.

Give Spartan Precision Arms (Melissa, TX) a call and talk to Marc. Just google them and their website pops right up. I have a BNIB Ares ETR (Mil/Mil; APRS1 reticle) on the way and I paid $880 shipped for it. Can't beat that price.

 

[sanpedroranch]

I’m really curious to get behind a toric. Everything about it seems like it punches basically into the next weight class from what I’ve read. Haven’t seen any used ones for sale yet so that says something to me.

 

[littlepod]

I am waiting on the 4.5-30x56 but I believe that will be 1600-1700$. I love my Ares ETR and I look through it quite often at 30x and it's very pleasant. But I was going to bump up and it feels like the Tract hits above its price quite a bit.

 

[Scottyman]

I have a Tract Toric HD and an Ares ETR. While the Ares is a very nice scope for the money the Tract is a nicer scope in every respect in my opinion. The only reason I can see to go with the Ares is if you need the additional magnification or elevation the 34mm tube gives you. I bought one Toric and was so impressed I turned around and bought another within a month.

How's the field of view and eyebox between the two from low to highest power? Any distortion at their lowest or highest setting? I've read the Toric UHD has a lot of CA. Worse than the ETR?

 

[Eoddave27]

Where did you read that the Tract has a lot of CA? I would be really interested to see who is saying that. I can tell you the Tract has less CA than the Steiner, Bushnell, Weaver Tactical, Crimson Trace and just about any other scope in the $1-2k price range. O own or have owned them all. If you crank the power all the way up and move your eye from the center of the eyebox you will see some CA but that is going to be the case with most optics in this price range. Personally I get sick of people asking how the glass is. Any scope in this price range is going to have decent glass and the Tract is better than most. You aren’t going to buy a $1200 Optic and get TT or ZCO glass But the glass is outstanding for the price and will hang wilts much more expensive optics. The eye box is also great. I really noticed the difference when I shot a match with my ETR. I had some issues getting a good sight picture in some positions. I never had that issue with the Tract. I’ve also had issues with the Parallax in the ETR being very finicky. The Tract parallax is not. I could go on and on but the Athlon is just out classed by the Tract in every way in my opinion. A closer comparison will be against the Cronos or Razor. I can say the Tract has proved to be a dependable rugged scope for me. I have beat the hell out of both of mine for two years. I’ve probably shot 30 matches and taken the rifles to the range every week for two years. They are on rimfire scopes so they get dialed a whole lot. I’m not gentle with my rifles either. I put these in a double rifle soft bag and toss them in the back of the truck. They have been dropped, bounced of barricades and about anything else you can imagine. One of the scopes is on my 11 yo sons rifles and if an optic can survive him that is saying something.

One other thing I will add about this company is their customer service is second to none. After I bought my first optic I had a question, not a problem, just a question. I emailed customer service and had a reply from one of the owners of the company within minutes. On top of that I walked up to these guys at a trade show and the owners shook my hand and knew exactly who I was just from our email correspondence. You will not get that kind of personal CS from any of these bigger companies.

 

[Goathead1096]

Where did you read that the Tract has a lot of CA? I would be really interested to see who is saying that. I can tell you the Tract has less CA than the Steiner, Bushnell, Weaver Tactical, Crimson Trace and just about any other scope in the $1-2k price range. O own or have owned them all. If you crank the power all the way up and move your eye from the center of the eyebox you will see some CA but that is going to be the case with most optics in this price range. Personally I get sick of people asking how the glass is. Any scope in this price range is going to have decent glass and the Tract is better than most. You aren’t going to buy a $1200 Optic and get TT or ZCO glass But the glass is outstanding for the price and will hang wilts much more expensive optics. The eye box is also great. I really noticed the difference when I shot a match with my ETR. I had some issues getting a good sight picture in some positions. I never had that issue with the Tract. I’ve also had issues with the Parallax in the ETR being very finicky. The Tract parallax is not. I could go on and on but the Athlon is just out classed by the Tract in every way in my opinion. A closer comparison will be against the Cronos or Razor. I can say the Tract has proved to be a dependable rugged scope for me. I have beat the hell out of both of mine for two years. I’ve probably shot 30 matches and taken the rifles to the range every week for two years. They are on rimfire scopes so they get dialed a whole lot. I’m not gentle with my rifles either. I put these in a double rifle soft bag and toss them in the back of the truck. They have been dropped, bounced of barricades and about anything else you can imagine. One of the scopes is on my 11 yo sons rifles and if an optic can survive him that is saying something.

One other thing I will add about this company is their customer service is second to none. After I bought my first optic I had a question, not a problem, just a question. I emailed customer service and had a reply from one of the owners of the company within minutes. On top of that I walked up to these guys at a trade show and the owners shook my hand and knew exactly who I was just from our email correspondence. You will not get that kind of personal CS from any of these bigger companies.

My experience with the two scopes mirrors this comparison. The ETR is a fantastic scope, but the Tract outshines it every way except total elevation.

 

[chickon1]

Where did you read that the Tract has a lot of CA? I would be really interested to see who is saying that. I can tell you the Tract has less CA than the Steiner, Bushnell, Weaver Tactical, Crimson Trace and just about any other scope in the $1-2k price range. O own or have owned them all. If you crank the power all the way up and move your eye from the center of the eyebox you will see some CA but that is going to be the case with most optics in this price range. Personally I get sick of people asking how the glass is. Any scope in this price range is going to have decent glass and the Tract is better than most. You aren’t going to buy a $1200 Optic and get TT or ZCO glass But the glass is outstanding for the price and will hang wilts much more expensive optics. The eye box is also great. I really noticed the difference when I shot a match with my ETR. I had some issues getting a good sight picture in some positions. I never had that issue with the Tract. I’ve also had issues with the Parallax in the ETR being very finicky. The Tract parallax is not. I could go on and on but the Athlon is just out classed by the Tract in every way in my opinion. A closer comparison will be against the Cronos or Razor. I can say the Tract has proved to be a dependable rugged scope for me. I have beat the hell out of both of mine for two years. I’ve probably shot 30 matches and taken the rifles to the range every week for two years. They are on rimfire scopes so they get dialed a whole lot. I’m not gentle with my rifles either. I put these in a double rifle soft bag and toss them in the back of the truck. They have been dropped, bounced of barricades and about anything else you can imagine. One of the scopes is on my 11 yo sons rifles and if an optic can survive him that is saying something.

One other thing I will add about this company is their customer service is second to none. After I bought my first optic I had a question, not a problem, just a question. I emailed customer service and had a reply from one of the owners of the company within minutes. On top of that I walked up to these guys at a trade show and the owners shook my hand and knew exactly who I was just from our email correspondence. You will not get that kind of personal CS from any of these bigger companies.

Same here.. I have never seen any CA in any decent scope really. I had a cheap Nikon that had no CA in it. I don't think people even know what CA is. Mostly what I see in all scopes at the higher Mag ranges is Spherical Aberration or COMA with some loss of resolution.

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[Scottyman]

Where did you read that the Tract has a lot of CA? I would be really interested to see who is saying that. I can tell you the Tract has less CA than the Steiner, Bushnell, Weaver Tactical, Crimson Trace and just about any other scope in the $1-2k price range. O own or have owned them all. If you crank the power all the way up and move your eye from the center of the eyebox you will see some CA but that is going to be the case with most optics in this price range. Personally I get sick of people asking how the glass is. Any scope in this price range is going to have decent glass and the Tract is better than most. You aren’t going to buy a $1200 Optic and get TT or ZCO glass But the glass is outstanding for the price and will hang wilts much more expensive optics. The eye box is also great. I really noticed the difference when I shot a match with my ETR. I had some issues getting a good sight picture in some positions. I never had that issue with the Tract. I’ve also had issues with the Parallax in the ETR being very finicky. The Tract parallax is not. I could go on and on but the Athlon is just out classed by the Tract in every way in my opinion. A closer comparison will be against the Cronos or Razor. I can say the Tract has proved to be a dependable rugged scope for me. I have beat the hell out of both of mine for two years. I’ve probably shot 30 matches and taken the rifles to the range every week for two years. They are on rimfire scopes so they get dialed a whole lot. I’m not gentle with my rifles either. I put these in a double rifle soft bag and toss them in the back of the truck. They have been dropped, bounced of barricades and about anything else you can imagine. One of the scopes is on my 11 yo sons rifles and if an optic can survive him that is saying something.

One other thing I will add about this company is their customer service is second to none. After I bought my first optic I had a question, not a problem, just a question. I emailed customer service and had a reply from one of the owners of the company within minutes. On top of that I walked up to these guys at a trade show and the owners shook my hand and knew exactly who I was just from our email correspondence. You will not get that kind of personal CS from any of these bigger companies.

That would be a great comparison. The Cronos BTR vs Toric UHD. Asking about glass quality is perfectly legit when comparing scopes, given the mechanicals are close or equal. "Decent" can be very subjective. Some have less distortion at the low X range and some have more at the high range. CA really bothers my eyes. I had a Kahles 624i with a high degree of CA that my eyes found very unpleasant. It's all a balancing act within certain price ranges and what's more important to you. I like a relatively large forgiving field of view with minimal CA, high contrast, sharp and little to no distortion edge to edge. If I can't find that in this price range I will inch up to the next level of optics if need be or force myself to compromise. Cronus BTR < = > Toric UHD?

 

[Eoddave27]

I’ve had a few really irritating questions about glass quality over the last few days and it just hit a nerve. Someone asked me about a mid priced optic and I recommended a nice mid priced optic around $800. The person immediately asked if the glass would even be good enough to see and hit a target at 600 yards. Never mind this person has never been able to hit a target at 600 yards using a rifle with a scope costing 3x that. So many new shooters seem to get so wrapped up in asking “how is the glass” and most have no clue what they are really asking and couldn’t tell you the difference if they did. I’ll get off my soapbox now ?

 

[chickon1]

That would be a great comparison. The Cronos BTR vs Toric UHD. Asking about glass quality is perfectly legit when comparing scopes, given the mechanicals are close or equal. "Decent" can be very subjective. Some have less distortion at the low X range and some have more at the high range. CA really bothers my eyes. I had a Kahles 624i with a high degree of CA that my eyes found very unpleasant. It's all a balancing act within certain price ranges and what's more important to you. I like a relatively large forgiving field of view with minimal CA, high contrast, sharp and little to no distortion edge to edge. If I can't find that in this price range I will inch up to the next level of optics if need be or force myself to compromise. Cronus BTR < = > Toric UHD?

The only way you will find a scope you like is actually doing the field work. Many of these you can't find in stores. Gun ranges or competitions is where I do most of my "research". I try to ask people if I can look through their scope, no one ever says no.. because we are all in that same boat..Asking other people's opinion, you rarely get the info you are looking for unless it's a quality control issues or customer service.

 

[thehun]

Not sure why Bushnell's don't get reviewed as much as others...but man...the LRTS scopes are about perfect optically as well as mechanically...it is the least suspect to CA from all the optics I have tried the last couple of years with great color and resolution...which included models from NF, Leupold, Meopta, Vortex, Tango6, Trijicon etc...

LRTS is also one of the few scopes where I can accurately run the knobs without having to look up...I keep saying...Bushnell did some vudu on the LRTS models...they nailed it...reticle is simple yet effective...

 

[Eoddave27]

I wonder if the LRTS and the DMRii have the same glass? The DMRii is nice for the price but nowhere near as nice as a Razor or Tango 6 glass. My biggest gripe with my DMR is the magnification ring is crazy hard to turn. If you are on the gun and want to crank the magnification up a little it isn’t happening without grabbing the scope with one hand and wrenching on the magnification throw leaver with the other. I honestly don’t think I could even turn the magnification lever without the throw lever.

 

[thehun]

I can tell you from experience...LRTS has better glass than the DMRII...I sold my DMRII after looking through the LRTS...for one the DMRII had more CA than the LRTS...resolution was noticeably more on the LRTS vs DMRII...heck...I prefer the LRTS over a NF NXS...

 

[Scottyman]

I cannot speak to the Ares or Arken as I have not seen it, but the Arken seems to be getting good reviews from the community. You mention you are a "glass snob" and "appreciate the beauty of a great image" however keep in mind much of this is subjective. I can appreciate the beauty of a great woman, but my preference may be towards brunettes while yours may be for blondes, I like vanilla ice cream while you prefer chocolate and so forth.

To be honest, in the $1200ish range, you are going to be settling for some compromises in glass, most of these scopes exhibit fairly significant CA (Chromatic Aberration) , Vortex PST II is probably the best at controlling CA at this price point; however, some other scopes do better with overall resolution an example of these would be the Bushnell LRHS/LRTS series and the Tract Toric 4-20 but as mentioned these scopes have fairly heavy CA with the Bushnell doing slightly better than the Tract, but I prefer the Toric's new PRS tree reticle over the G3. The Tract has locking turrets if that makes a difference.

Here is a link to a review I did of the Tract and compared to some other scopes: http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2354

There's a pic of the scope at 4X in your review in which the there appears to be quite a bit of distortion around the edges extending maybe a third of the way into the image. Is that what you saw with your eyes or is that a result of the camera?
I'm considering preordering the soon to be released Toric 4.5-30X56 or just get the Cronus BTR.

 

[Glassaholic]

There's a pic of the scope at 4X in your review in which the there appears to be quite a bit of distortion around the edges extending maybe a third of the way into the image. Is that what you saw with your eyes or is that a result of the camera?
I'm considering preordering the soon to be released Toric 4.5-30X56 or just get the Cronus BTR.

Above those images I have the disclaimer

Image disclaimer, the below through the scope images are to give an idea for how the reticle looks only, please do not use through the scope images as an indication of IQ, the image is always sharper to the naked eye than it is for a camera due to lens, focus, position, vibration, etc.

I try to do that whenever I post a review, unless you can get your camera/lens perfectly aligned you are going to see something off somewhere, unlike camera lenses rifles scopes aren't designed for DSLR's or really any other optical system, it is designed for the human eye. I do not recall seeing significant edge distortion in Toric at 4x, certainly not to the level it appears in the image. Current users (I have since sold mine) could better answer this question.

 

[Goathead1096]

There's a pic of the scope at 4X in your review in which the there appears to be quite a bit of distortion around the edges extending maybe a third of the way into the image. Is that what you saw with your eyes or is that a result of the camera?
I'm considering preordering the soon to be released Toric 4.5-30X56 or just get the Cronus BTR.

It's the camera. Actual image is great, and consistent through the fov.

 

[velocidad247]

Where did you read that the Tract has a lot of CA? I would be really interested to see who is saying that. I can tell you the Tract has less CA than the Steiner, Bushnell, Weaver Tactical, Crimson Trace and just about any other scope in the $1-2k price range. O own or have owned them all. If you crank the power all the way up and move your eye from the center of the eyebox you will see some CA but that is going to be the case with most optics in this price range. Personally I get sick of people asking how the glass is. Any scope in this price range is going to have decent glass and the Tract is better than most. You aren’t going to buy a $1200 Optic and get TT or ZCO glass But the glass is outstanding for the price and will hang wilts much more expensive optics. The eye box is also great. I really noticed the difference when I shot a match with my ETR. I had some issues getting a good sight picture in some positions. I never had that issue with the Tract. I’ve also had issues with the Parallax in the ETR being very finicky. The Tract parallax is not. I could go on and on but the Athlon is just out classed by the Tract in every way in my opinion. A closer comparison will be against the Cronos or Razor. I can say the Tract has proved to be a dependable rugged scope for me. I have beat the hell out of both of mine for two years. I’ve probably shot 30 matches and taken the rifles to the range every week for two years. They are on rimfire scopes so they get dialed a whole lot. I’m not gentle with my rifles either. I put these in a double rifle soft bag and toss them in the back of the truck. They have been dropped, bounced of barricades and about anything else you can imagine. One of the scopes is on my 11 yo sons rifles and if an optic can survive him that is saying something.

One other thing I will add about this company is their customer service is second to none. After I bought my first optic I had a question, not a problem, just a question. I emailed customer service and had a reply from one of the owners of the company within minutes. On top of that I walked up to these guys at a trade show and the owners shook my hand and knew exactly who I was just from our email correspondence. You will not get that kind of personal CS from any of these bigger companies.

This is an old thread but it's still relevant when researching information. I've been looking at several scopes (Toric LR, Ares ETR, XTR III, T6Xi & Razor HD LHT) and this post was helpful, thanks.

Here is a link to a review I did of the Tract and compared to some other scopes: http://opticsthoughts.com/?p=2354

Thanks for the review/comparison.

 

[MrBlond]

That would be a great comparison. The Cronos BTR vs Toric UHD. Asking about glass quality is perfectly legit when comparing scopes, given the mechanicals are close or equal.

Are the mechanicals the same though. I haven’t seen a lot of tracking tests but the few I have seen indicate some very expensive scopes need to improve their tracking.

 

[Tikkaguy]

Out of the low scopes built on that Cronus chasis. I like the delta Stryker the best, the delta javelin is built on the etr chasis, but again a little nicer and better turrets. They aren’t as popular in the us. But I see sell well in the Europe. They tend to use the existing chasis and optimize the design. I like them. Just my humble opinion