Short Version:
Great glass and illumination. Intolerable, Chinese-esque scope turrets that require a ridiculous bent metal tool to slip and don't line up. I'll give it a C-.
Long Version:
I made the dire mistake of buying this at DVOR.com which I learned the hard way only refunds for a store credit... on DVOR.com (not usable at OpticsPlanet). I cannot believe how poorly-designed this "German optic" is. Why do the Germans screw something so simple up so often? Here's the scoop...
In search of a higher-quality optic for a Steyr rifle I've acquired, I first tried the Zeiss Conquest V4 with the capped turrets. It wasn't the most expensive one, but it was expensive for me. The second I unscrewed the turret cap, my stomach sank. On it, I saw that the tick marks only reach half way around the turret. I get that it's a hunting scope, but how much cost is saved doing that? So little it makes no effing sense to do. What if I need to make a big adjustment for a long distance shot that required a full turn? Nope... can't do it. No reason not to provide the tick marks all the way around... so I returned it to where I bought it from (Red Hawk Rifles). Full refund back to my card in a timely manner. No BS.
A while later, this rifle still without a scope, I come across a Noblex-Docter scope on DVOR and OpticsPlanet. It's made in Germany. Not a German name made somewhere else. Interesting. I do some research, can't find all that much. Do some research on the company, like what I see. But it's too expensive. A bit later, I see it discounted on DVOR so I snatch it up. It arrives today. I unscrew the turret caps and, again, my stomach sinks. What the phuq?!
The turrets a g'dam joke and whomever designed them needs a slap:
The glass is wonderful, and the illuminated dot is a triumph:
Now, I will give Noblex-Docter credit. They must have included some snazzy glass because I've compared it to every scope I have and a Leica Magnus that my neighbor just got and any difference to my eye is indiscernible in the 30 minutes I was eyeballing between the two outside at 8:30PM (so it was dark out). The teeny illuminated dot in my Noblex-Docter is the bees knees in that (lack of) light. It gets dim or really light and you don't have an excessive additional dial, which I've never liked on any scope. Instead you have a couple of buttons (dimmer or brighter) topped with the compartment for the 2032 battery, which ends up looking kind of cool... like someone parked the Starship Enterprise on top of my scope and painted it black.
But the turrets are so g'dam terrible and, for the MSRP and even the on-sale price, there are scopes that are far, far better overall. I'm returning it.
But wait, there's more:
DVOR.com only gives you a store credit. So unless they have some compassion, I'm basically spending the money anyway on something that overall ain't something I want my money spent on. Lesson learned the hard way. I never thought DVOR was a store credit only place. My fault for not checking before buying but I really had no indicator that I should have checked the return policy first since DVOR is OpticsPlanet. So... eff me... but I'm still not keeping it.
I know some of you are going to be dicks in the comments based upon the tone of my review, but do yourself a favor and don't buy a Noblex-Docter N5 unless ALL YOU WANT is nice glass and never, ever intend to use or slip the turrets. In 2020, or 2018 when this apparently was released, I think it's NOT too much to ask to also get an actually good, easy-to-use and accurate turret design with any scope that MSRPs for ~$1,200 and is normally sold for ~$940.
Here's some photos:
\
This is the bloody tool they expect you to finagle to slip the turret with...
You can see in the following photos the indicator mark is off center and the tick marks on the turret don't even line up consistently. Useless...
Great glass and illumination. Intolerable, Chinese-esque scope turrets that require a ridiculous bent metal tool to slip and don't line up. I'll give it a C-.
Long Version:
I made the dire mistake of buying this at DVOR.com which I learned the hard way only refunds for a store credit... on DVOR.com (not usable at OpticsPlanet). I cannot believe how poorly-designed this "German optic" is. Why do the Germans screw something so simple up so often? Here's the scoop...
In search of a higher-quality optic for a Steyr rifle I've acquired, I first tried the Zeiss Conquest V4 with the capped turrets. It wasn't the most expensive one, but it was expensive for me. The second I unscrewed the turret cap, my stomach sank. On it, I saw that the tick marks only reach half way around the turret. I get that it's a hunting scope, but how much cost is saved doing that? So little it makes no effing sense to do. What if I need to make a big adjustment for a long distance shot that required a full turn? Nope... can't do it. No reason not to provide the tick marks all the way around... so I returned it to where I bought it from (Red Hawk Rifles). Full refund back to my card in a timely manner. No BS.
A while later, this rifle still without a scope, I come across a Noblex-Docter scope on DVOR and OpticsPlanet. It's made in Germany. Not a German name made somewhere else. Interesting. I do some research, can't find all that much. Do some research on the company, like what I see. But it's too expensive. A bit later, I see it discounted on DVOR so I snatch it up. It arrives today. I unscrew the turret caps and, again, my stomach sinks. What the phuq?!
The turrets a g'dam joke and whomever designed them needs a slap:
- The mark on the scope itself that each tick mark is supposed to line up to is off-center from the center-line of the scope. Made in Germany, you say?
- About 40% of the tick marks don't end up aligning to visual center or the tick mark (that, again, is off-center). That shouldn't be hard to do... for Germans.
- You are required to slip the turret using a cheap wire tool that BARELY works (especially without scratching the turret which even the manual warns you against)... unless you have three hands. Who the flying fuck thought of that? I dropped the tool on the floor and spend 10 min trying to find it. Imagine dealing with this tool (see the picture below) at the range? Or in the field, god forbid. Who the hell let this out the door!?!? I can't believe it!
The glass is wonderful, and the illuminated dot is a triumph:
Now, I will give Noblex-Docter credit. They must have included some snazzy glass because I've compared it to every scope I have and a Leica Magnus that my neighbor just got and any difference to my eye is indiscernible in the 30 minutes I was eyeballing between the two outside at 8:30PM (so it was dark out). The teeny illuminated dot in my Noblex-Docter is the bees knees in that (lack of) light. It gets dim or really light and you don't have an excessive additional dial, which I've never liked on any scope. Instead you have a couple of buttons (dimmer or brighter) topped with the compartment for the 2032 battery, which ends up looking kind of cool... like someone parked the Starship Enterprise on top of my scope and painted it black.
But the turrets are so g'dam terrible and, for the MSRP and even the on-sale price, there are scopes that are far, far better overall. I'm returning it.
But wait, there's more:
DVOR.com only gives you a store credit. So unless they have some compassion, I'm basically spending the money anyway on something that overall ain't something I want my money spent on. Lesson learned the hard way. I never thought DVOR was a store credit only place. My fault for not checking before buying but I really had no indicator that I should have checked the return policy first since DVOR is OpticsPlanet. So... eff me... but I'm still not keeping it.
I know some of you are going to be dicks in the comments based upon the tone of my review, but do yourself a favor and don't buy a Noblex-Docter N5 unless ALL YOU WANT is nice glass and never, ever intend to use or slip the turrets. In 2020, or 2018 when this apparently was released, I think it's NOT too much to ask to also get an actually good, easy-to-use and accurate turret design with any scope that MSRPs for ~$1,200 and is normally sold for ~$940.
Here's some photos:
This is the bloody tool they expect you to finagle to slip the turret with...
You can see in the following photos the indicator mark is off center and the tick marks on the turret don't even line up consistently. Useless...
Last edited:
