Lightweight vs Durable vs the one to rule them all

[Sgtvandy]

I have a Proof Research Glacier TI 6.5 PRC but originally scoped it with a Kahles K525I but as im shooting less and less and it has primarily turned into my hunting rifle im trying to lighten it up. I had a 5# rifle and put a 35oz scope on it and to me walking around or shooting it in the woods or back-county it feels top heavy.
I immediately went
Swaro Z5I 3.5 x 18 x44 weighing 15.9oz
Swaro Z6 3-18x50 weighing 21oz
NF NX8 MOAR 2.5-20 weighing 28.3
*Nightforce is to close to Kahles so kind of ruling that out.
Am I losing durability and glass issue quality going with lightweight?
Its been a give and take trying to find sweet spot.

 

[Rifletuner]

We are just about to put a Swaro Z5I 3.5 x 18 x44 BT on my son's 308win light weight hunting rifle for similar reasons. The Z5 a nice light weight option, BUT as it comes from the factory, it only has one rotation of the turret which gives you 13.5 MOA of elevation. I have removed the factory zero stop which gives us 2 rotations of elevation on the BT, and also added a custom turret from: https://www.customscopeturrets.com/ That way we should have enough elevation to comfortably get 700 plus yards out of the rifle.

 

[Just Macca]

Lightweight and the one to rule them all?
Tangent Theta M series 3-15x50 if you want FFP.

If SFP, I’d look at a Leica Magnus.

 

[chevy_man]

Weight doesn't equal strength.

Most of the weight is in the design. Sometimes the design didn't really have a weight limit (razor gen II), some are all about the weight (vx3).

Any reputable optics company designs and tests their scopes to take recoil and bumps.

Notice that the compact turrets, lower mag range, smaller objective, smaller body tube, all cut weight. If a 1" 3-12x44 will suffice, why carry the weight of a 34mm 5-25x56 with heavy turrets and illumination?
My primary deer rifle still wears a sightron sII 3-12x44 mil-dot because it's 13oz, never gets dialed, and is plenty good enough to see the target. It's been working for 20 years and several barrel changes now.

 

[Huckmeat]

Mark5 3-18

 

[Franko]

Just agonized over this exact decesion. I considered the TT 3-15 hunter, March 3-24, and Vortex LHT 4.5-22 for a do it all western hunting rifle. I didn't go with the March as I was worried that the reticle usability at low to mid range was going to be an issue due to the 8x erector ratio, the reputation for having a picky eyebox, and that the turrets didn't lock. I went with Vortex due to lightness, more magnification, and the difference in price ($1600 vs $4000). It was a close call and I figure if I can't stand the Vortex I can still sell it for a small loss and pony up for the TT...