Athlon Helos With Stiff Illumination Dial

[Buck Wilde]

Got myself an Athlon Helos 2-12x42. The illumination dial was so tight out of the box, I thought it was stuck permanently. I can manage to turn it very slowly with both hands if I really try.

Has anyone else had this problem? I'm going to see if I can keep turning it until I loosen up, but it's so stiff, it won't be long before I get blisters.

 

[Taylorbok]

I'd talk to your dealer and see if they'll swap it out for you and they can send that one back for warranty.

 

[Buck Wilde]

Thanks for the reply.

I got a dishrag to protect my fingers, and I kept turning it. It is now possible to use the dial without pliers. Maybe it will keep loosening up.

I think if I were Athlon, I'd be checking this on the way out of the factory.

 

[Taylorbok]

Thanks for the reply.

I got a dishrag to protect my fingers, and I kept turning it. It is now possible to use the dial without pliers. Maybe it will keep loosening up.

I think if I were Athlon, I'd be checking this on the way out of the factory.

I'd guess those scopes are produced by another mfg in China. QC checks are typically a process you can opt in or out of when creating the build with a Chinese mfg. I'd guess that they skipped some or most of the checks on these scopes in favor of cost savings/ price point.

More expensive scopes will have more attention paid to them, if that's what you desire it's gonna cost you some extra cash.

 

[Buck Wilde]

At this point, I don't think it's a defect. I guess they expect you to work it loose yourself since you're not paying for a Nightforce.

Good enough! I would rather have the money. My other Athlons seem perfectly fine, so I'm sure this one will be, too. If not, they have a good reputation for backing up their product.

I wouldn't have considered it a problem if it had just been a little stiff, but it probably took me 20 minutes to get it to move at all, so I was afraid it never would.

 

[steve123]

Send it back because that's not something you edit/shouldn't accept for your hard earned money.

 

[Buck Wilde]

Athlon says:

Those can be super stiff sometimes out of the box, Sorry for the inconvenience of this. You can add some oil around the knob and work it back and forth. If you're still having issues please let me know

Best

Steve

 

[steve123]

Try it and if that doesn't cause the illume dial to "work in" then you know what to do.

 

[smcfarland]

Bought one a few weeks ago. The battery cap itself on illumination dial was STOOPID tight and thought was gonna break trying to get off and insert battery, but dial itself wasn’t too bad and has improved with use. No issues now. Likely just a qc issue. Everything else has been great on scope and am surprised how much I like it, especially for the price.