Athlon Spotting Scope

[Ringo7978]

I have been in the market for a spotting scope for quite some time and have been reading a ton of reviews both here at Snipershide and elsewhere. In my research here I stumbled across Doug's (@gr8fuldoug ) post and took up an offer to give his shop a call for advice. I spoke with Joel who, was fantastic to work, about everything spotting scopes - intended purpose, budget, etc. And we narrowed it down to Hawke and Athlon. We hung up and I went ahead and attempted to further research Athlon but failed to find much info. I bit the bullet and called Joel back and placed an order for the Ares 15-45 scope. This was last Thursday, and I had the scope to my door on Saturday! I took it out this weekend to the range and was blown away! I don't have much to compare it to, but the quality and clarity were more than I expected. I hooked up my iphone and was getting some good stills and videos of my son's shots.

Based on the limited info I found on the Ares scope, I wanted to throw an offer out there if anyone here has any questions I can answer, or would like some sample images, I would be happy to help.

Also, Thanks to Joel at Cameraland. I feel he went above and beyond with helping me in my decision with no sales pressure at all! Plus free and quick shipping was a nice added bonus.

 

[Shootindave]

I got the Athlon Talos 20-60-80 recently. It was on sale for $150. I am going to have to give it a little more time, but I am not all that impressed. At 100 yards it is almost as easy to see my 6.5MM hits through my 16X SWFA. However, I was able to see .223 hits at 100 yards through it, which helps with shooting AR red dot guns. I will see how it does at 200 yards with 6.5mm/30Cal holes before I give up on it. If nothing else, it is good for 22 holes at 100 yards, so it will serve a purpose.

I am willing to bet by going to their higher level line, with better lenses, you got your moneys worth.

 

[Ringo7978]

Considering the price difference between the Ares and Talos I would expect a difference in clarity. I was shooting 6.5 creedmoor at 100, 200 and 600 this weekend. At 200 I had no issues at all seeing my impacts. At 600, I only took a couple of shots on steel, but was able to see the impacts there too. I wont be going beyond 600, so this is enough scope for me.

Another thing I forgot to comment on is their support. I sent a note to Athlon support and got a very quick response. I was trying to figure out how to remove the eye piece (which the instructions did not mention..) and he gave me instructions, but I still had issues. He followed up with a video he quickly recorded to show me what to expect. That's the customer service I like to see! I hope this company sticks around a while in case I need to use the lifetime warranty.

 

[Shootindave]

They do word their warranty aggressively in the packaging to make it seem like they back their products. They know they are competing against Vortex in these price points, so it's not like they have another option really.

 

[gopherslayer]

I got the Athlon Talos 20-60-80 recently. It was on sale for $150. I am going to have to give it a little more time, but I am not all that impressed. At 100 yards it is almost as easy to see my 6.5MM hits through my 16X SWFA. However, I was able to see .223 hits at 100 yards through it, which helps with shooting AR red dot guns. I will see how it does at 200 yards with 6.5mm/30Cal holes before I give up on it. If nothing else, it is good for 22 holes at 100 yards, so it will serve a purpose.

I am willing to bet by going to their higher level line, with better lenses, you got your moneys worth.

for $150 I’d have skipped the Talos. You really can’t expect much for that price.

I have been in the market for a spotting scope for quite some time and have been reading a ton of reviews both here at Snipershide and elsewhere. In my research here I stumbled across Doug's (@gr8fuldoug ) post and took up an offer to give his shop a call for advice. I spoke with Joel who, was fantastic to work, about everything spotting scopes - intended purpose, budget, etc. And we narrowed it down to Hawke and Athlon. We hung up and I went ahead and attempted to further research Athlon but failed to find much info. I bit the bullet and called Joel back and placed an order for the Ares 15-45 scope. This was last Thursday, and I had the scope to my door on Saturday! I took it out this weekend to the range and was blown away! I don't have much to compare it to, but the quality and clarity were more than I expected. I hooked up my iphone and was getting some good stills and videos of my son's shots.

Based on the limited info I found on the Ares scope, I wanted to throw an offer out there if anyone here has any questions I can answer, or would like some sample images, I would be happy to help.

Also, Thanks to Joel at Cameraland. I feel he went above and beyond with helping me in my decision with no sales pressure at all! Plus free and quick shipping was a nice added bonus.

A couple more bucks and you could have had the open box Cronus. I’m really liking my Cronus. Very clear and colors are pretty natural. I haven’t noticed any CA yet.

 

[Ringo7978]

I went back and forth on the open box Cronus, but ultimately decided to save a few bucks and go with a smaller package. Not an easy decision though.

 

[gopherslayer]

I’m doing he same thing with binoculars at the moment. I can say that my friend has a Razor and the Cronus is brighter and clearer.

 

[flatland1]

I'm sitting here with a couple of mid-range spotters I wish I hadn't bought before finally trying an Athlon Cronus 20-60x86. I had a bunch of Cabela's Club bucks a few years ago, and spent them on a Vanguard Endeavor HD 20-60x82 spotter. It's not junk, but neither does it focus as sharply as I'd hoped. Two years later, I ordered in a Celestron Regal M2 20-60x80ED spotter, along with their 27x LER eyepiece so I could use it while shooting NRA HiPower matches. I still feel the Celestron is superior to the Vanguard, and believe it's at least as good as, and perhaps a bit better than my Kowa 661 angled w/LER eyepiece. But after doing a side-by-side with the Regal M2 & Athlon Cronus on tripods, I've convinced myself that the Cronus' image is sharper than that of the Celestron. As far as color rendition & contrast are concerned, it's not been that easy for me to see the difference between the two, but my eye doc says I'm getting closer to the point where Medicare would pay for cataract surgery, which makes me think I'm a lousy source for an opinion on color & contrast. At any rate, Doug at Cameraland had several of the Athlon Cronus scopes at just under $1000, which makes them a very good value.