I did get to check it out while there. But to be honest, it was inside the convention center, so I really could not tell much at all. I was told that they expect 3300 yards under good conditions. They brought up the fact of the slightly larger than usual objective (28mm IIRC), and that the glass and 8x power was chosen specifically to allow this to be used as an observation device. It did seem like very nice glass, but again, bright lights and indoors, so it's hard to say for sure. I don't care for it's form factor, but I will say it felt good in the hand to me, even though it does not really fit in my preferred equipment profile.
The display was like I was looking through a Leica...same reticle, displays 'ehr' etc. I would guess that this, at least, is one area they worked with Leica on. I would not be surprised to find that glass was sourced from Leica either, but again, making that assessment would require better conditions than 'store lighting', and no one would confirm that for me.
I tried to get more information about their work with Leica from a couple different sources but got nothing but a smile. Got one other to try, but as I suspected, no one wants to share.
The unit felt solid and quality, the tripod mount was brass inserted in the plastic housing, so it will last. Ranging was like other RF's in terms of speed. But it was definitely not 'challenging' conditions.
Unfortunately, that's about all I can say about it, nothing really you probably did not know already perhaps. There just was not much I could gather from handling the unit there at the convention.
Overall, I would have to say that unless the ranging performance is super exceptional, which it may very well be, they are going to have a tough time of it considering Sig's releases. I was there half an hour after Sig released their new stuff, and Sig was hopping while the Vec X rep looked lonely sitting there with his two units for demo. It definitely felt like the new Sigs took the wind out of their sails a bit, but again, it was right after Sig's release announcement.
For me personally, and assuming the Sig works in the field as it did in the demo I got, I can't see any reason to go that direction. Again, that would change if the Sig breaks down all the time, or if the Vec x ranges at a different level than they told me. But from a workflow perspective, Sig takes it that last step where Vec X left just a bit on the table....making Sig's workflow, to me, superior. And I don't mean the integration with the scope, this to me is very cool from a tech perspective, but not something I am interested in having personally. I mean that it all flows back into the RF...two way communication. And all that in a form factor I like at a price more people can afford.
The only other consideration would be glass performance between the two. Vec X may have an edge there over the Sig, I don't know.
The other wild card is Leica. They have stuff in the works. I know some about it, but not enough details to make a comparison, workflow wise, to these units. But their stuff should be out (should have already been out) hopefully soon. We'll see what they come up with , I hope it matches the Sig's workflow with the ranging of the newer binos, and at a price that is competitive.
All in all, I would say this is a good year for RF's. We have a fantastic array of choices that integrate tools together to streamline workflows and accurate outputs. And the fact that there is competition will hopefully keep price bloat to a minimum.
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