Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 Angled Spotting Scope

I bought this scope for spotting Bald Eagles along the Mississippi River in Southern Minnesota. I had previously been using a pair of binoculars and wanted a scope with a higher power. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. The clarity is good and focusing is easy. I feel this scope is a good value for the money.

Now that I have had several different opportunities so use this scope I need to correct my original review. This scope is fine until you try to zoom in. It is not a scope that you can crank up to 60 and get a clear image. It only has a single stage focus knob, (no coarse and fine adjustment) so you can only get so much out of it; however I don't think this is a focus problem. The focus knob works, and you can tell it is focusing, but it just won't produce a clear image on higher magnification. I guess you can't really expect to get amazing quality out of an entry level product, but you should at least get what is advertised. Anything over 40 power is pointless with this scope. The eye relief is non existent, and you have to have your eye touching the glass to even see though it on anything above 20 x. Once I can find the sweet spot It is clear, up to about 30 x. I guess it might be worth 230.00 bucks but I think I will return it, and save for a higher end scope. I really like Vortex but this scope is only good on the lower magnification range. The build quality, and fit and finish of the product are great.

This scope is worth twice the retail price. It has good clarity, and focus though the entire zoom range. It seems to gather light well. Its light weight, and just like all other Vortex products I have owned quality is top notch (especially for the price)!

I bought my Vortex on January 2, 2013 and received it in about 5 days. I also ordered the Vanguard Tripod as the scope does not come with a tripod. I took them to the range the very next weekend and I was totally amazed at how great the setup worked for me. I intend to use the scope primarily for range use. During my time at the range I was able to sight in targets at 50 & 100 yds at 20X and 40X with ease. I did not have to take the scope to 60X as the lower magnifications worked great. Last weekend my wife and I took the scope out to a park on Lake Houston and I was totally blown away at how well the scope worked. We spotted birds and other wildlife at least 400 yds away, airplanes on descent to George Bush IAH a couple of miles away and houses on the other side of the lake that are at least 3-4 miles across the lake. I shopped all over the internet for this scope and read all the reviews - THEY ARE ALL TRUE! This is a great scope and Eagle Optics had the lowest price. Thanks Eagle Optics and thanks Vortex for making such a great product.

My friend and I bought this scope at a birding show in May of 2012. Both scopes have held out very well. Only complaint from both of us is the blurry field of view at high power. I wear eye glasses and he doesn't, but we both have the same problem. At normal low or medium power, it is fine. But zoom up on a bird, forget it. You get what you pay for I guess. Will put up with it for another year or two to get my money's worth, then it's on to a higher quality 80mm scope.

I got the Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 Angled Spotting Scope for Christmas. I use it for birding and so far it has performed well. It is a great scope for the price, but dont expect to be able to get on to those super far off sea birds like your friends with the Swarovski scopes can. Lighting is decent at 60x but it can be hard to focus at that distance. The only other negative I have found is that the tripod mount on the scope comes loose very easily, but maybe this is my own fault. I would recommend this scope to anyone who wants a good birding scope, but doesn't have the money to purchase a high end spotting scope.

My son and I are relatively new "birders" and on my salary we couldn't afford a top-end scope. I read the reviews of the Vortex Nomad 20-60 x 60 angled spotting scope and found them helpful, so we got the scope as a family Christmas present.

We were surprised to find it to be a really excellent scope. It is very lightweight and easy to carry in the field even with a tripod. It's a great entry-level scope. I've viewed some birds with fellow birders really expensive scopes and yet I find the Nomad to be a good birding companion for my family.

Eagle Optics is a great company and we will do business with them again.

Really like the compact size and weight. Very slight blurring around edges at high magnification. Still getting used to the angled eyepiece. Using with Vanguard MARS 1OS table top tripod.
Would recommend this to anyone that needs a good scope at a reasonable price.

I found the Vortex Nomad to be a good buy for those of us looking for a low priced medium to short distance spotting scope. I find the optics to be bright and clear at low power with light and definition decreasing at the top end of the power scale. The top mounted focus adjustment is extremely sensitive, which necessitates the use of a good tripod otherwise it is very difficult to reach proper focus. If I were looking for a long range spotting scope for hunting in the open west or Alaska I would step up in quality and perhaps look at Vortex top-end models.
I use my scope on a tripod and have it focused on a deer carcass 160 yards away. Recently I was able to watch a coyote feeding at four in the morning with only the full moon as a light source, which I thought was incredible for a spotting scope in this price range.
The Vortex Nomad meets all expectations I have for a scope in this price range and performs very well.

As a recreational shooter on a budget making his first attempts at ranges beyond 300 yds, I recently realized my need for a spotting scope capable of resolving 30 caliber bullet holes out to 500 and even 800 yds.
After a good deal of research I concluded that, while there is no replacement for good glass, the Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 was likely the best of the budget spotting scopes. I hoped it would live up to the hype...
On good clear days this scope is capable of ID'ing hits on paper at 800 yds but requires a steady tripod and patient adjustment of the focus (all scopes need good support but higher end scopes often include a fine focus nob to compliment the macro focus nob).
In lower light and at the highest magnification the loss of light transmission is quite noticeable but tolerable.
The protective see-through carry case is clearly of low quality and is annoying to manipulate but is functional and durable.
Any eye piece cap would have been a nice feature but I am certain a Butler Creek cap is available to fill this void.
In general this scope out performs its price-point and you can't beat the warranty.

Vortex Nomad 20-60 x 60 Spotting Scope (Angled)
I won’t dive into the technical specifications here, as that information can be found on Vortex’s website, Eagle Optics, and other places in more depth than what I would write. So I will focus on my personal assessment of this scope instead.
First off, this is only the second scope that I’ve owned, so I don’t have a lot to compare to, but from a birders stand-point (birding is what I primarily use it for), it is a nice scope. As of this review, I’ve had it about a week, but I have had a chance to do some basic trial runs with it. At 20x magnification, objects appear about as they really are, no brighter and no darker. As it’s zoomed in to 60x, the view does get darker, which is its main detraction, but it’s not too bad. Aside from brightness, the view is very clear. All of the moving parts move smoothly, and is easy to use. The case that it comes with isn’t top of the line, but I’m still glad to have it, and it serves my purposes well, so I often use it in the field and while not in use; though the scope would also be fine without it, as it seems to be a rugged piece of equipment, with rubber armor and waterproofing. In addition, the grand warranty alone should make this scope an option for everybody. My first scope was straight bodied, and I must say that I prefer the angled so far. Overall, Vortex has again made some nice gear, and I’m pleased with this scope. I would recommend it.
If you’re used to top-of-the-line brands like Swarovski, I wouldn’t be very surprised if you were not impressed with this scope, but if you’re looking for an affordable, tough, and lightweight scope that you can use for most anything (as I was), this is probably just what you’re looking for.

I decided to upgrade to the Vortex Nomad Scope from my low-end Alpen Scope. I really wanted a Swarovski scope but wasn't quite ready to chip in that much money so decided to get a mid-range scope. I am thrilled with the quality of the Vortex Nomad 20-60x60 Angled Spotting Scope, now that I've been birding with it for about a month! I am an avid hawk watcher at the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch and the angled body makes it easy to "look up"! The image is clear, even at 60 power and it is great for identifying distant raptors as well as many other birds. The focus nob is easy to adjust and the view-through case that comes with the scope is awesome. No, it's not a Swarovski, Zeiss, or Kowa but for the money you can't beat it!

I decided to upgrade to Vortex Nomad from my lower-end Alpen scope. Sure, it is not the Swarovski that is my ultimate goal to get but for someone looking to buy a good quality scope but isn't ready to chip in the big money needed for a Swarovski, this scope is for you! The quality, image brightness, color accuracy, and level of clarity even at 60 power is spectacular. I watched a Red-tailed Hawk .5-1 mile away soaring in this spotting scope and at 60 power I could see the wind riffle it's feathers, very impressive and awesome. The view-through case is wonderful (a luxurious thing that I did not have with my Alpen) and the caps stay on (I had a problem with caps falling off with my Alpen!). One of the few very minor things that I would change would be making the front lens cap easier to put on (it is somewhat hard to), but that is a very minor problem compared to the wonderfulness of the scope. I can't wait to take my Nomad with me to Glacier National Park in Montana and my local hawk watch, Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch this summer and fall as well as many other places in the future!

This is my first spotting scope and I'm very pleased with the overall functionality. It's light weight, easy to focus and meets my needs as a beginning birder. I especially like the angled viewer. I did purchase the universal camera adaptor also and have used it for digiscoping a few times; am getting better at focusing with my point-and-shoot Olympus camera. For the price, I believe this is very good value. Would recommend it to those who want a good scope at a reasonable price. Also would highly recommend the Eagle Optics customer service people who were very helpful with my purchases.

I bought this scope after a friend bought the same model and found it excellent for their needs. I have no regrets.

First off, let's be clear about what this scope isn't. It isn't a replacement for a high-end Swarovski or Leica or Kowa scope. There's no way a budget scope like this can match those names for quality or durability.

That said, here's what this scope IS: a VERY good value for the money. The image is clear and sharp. The focus is good, though perhaps a bit on the stiff side. The materials and construction seem good considering their very light weight. When mated with a lightweight field tripod, this is a scope I can carry in the field without getting tired -- even as I'm also carrying a dSLR camera with a 300mm lens on it.

If you want a best-possible-quality, carry-anywhere, do-anything, in-any-weather kind of scope, well then, this isn't the scope for you. If you're on a tight budget and want a low-priced field scope that nevertheless delivers very good performance, then look no further. The Vortex Nomad will do you just fine.

The clarity of the scope is awesome. Very easy to use.

Have only used spotting scope a few at the range, easy to set up and use. Very clear and easy to adj. at low power. Will check back later after a mule deer hunt in Colorado.

I bought this as a gift for my cousin and he absolutely loved it. As a buyer, I should say the customer service from eagle optics were extremely helpful to me.