If you are in the market for a spotting scope, you may have come across the Tract Toric UHD spotting scope. Tract Optics has been gaining notoriety in the optics world and for good reason. With a focus on producing high quality, high value optics that will perform well beyond their price point, Tract Optics brings you the Tract Toric Spotting scope. The Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 spotting scope gives you a TON of performance at a reasonable price.
Check out our MASSIVE SPOTTING SCOPE REVIEW where we lined up 19 of the best spotting scopes we could find and put them to the test- all side by side with volunteer testers, no brand loyalties (at least as much as humanly possible), many lighting conditions, and 14 guys ranking these things. What an awesome project to put together! This review is a product of over 2 years of work, research, and testing. You don’t want to miss this!
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Tract Optics: The New Kid On The Block
Tract Optics is a name in the optics world that has been gaining momentum for a few years now, and for good reason. Tract Optics offers a wide selection of rifle scopes, many sizes of binoculars, and more recently, the Tract Toric UHD Spotting scope. Most of the Tract Optics lineup feature SCHOTT HT (high transmission) glass, which aids in giving superior light transmission, clarity and low light performance. Tract Optics also offers a fantastic value in optics while still providing top-notch performance, build quality, and a great warranty that stands behind their products.
See The Tract Toric Spotting Scope In Video
The Testing: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope
Unfortunately for us, the Tract Toric UHD Spotting scope came out after our massive spotting scope review, so we weren’t able to put it side by side with the other 19 spotting scopes we tested, but thankfully we still had several of them hanging around to put the Tract Toric UHD spotting scope up next to for comparison purposes.
Looking for a binoculars? Check out our MASSIVE 26 BINOCULAR REVIEW where we put 26 of the best binoculars side by side!
In addition to putting the Toric UHD next to several other spotting scopes like the Kowa TSN 88A and the new Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2, we took this Tract Spotting scope on several hunting trips; in October for deer and later in the season for elk, along with some shed and wolf hunting too. This thing took some long rides in backpacks, down bumpy dirt roads in the truck, and down two-track trails in the 4-Wheeler in temps down to -12° F. It took a beating but wasn’t phased a bit.
The Specs: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope
The Tract Toric UHD Spotting scope won’t blow you away in the specs department, but that’s not what the folks at Tract Optics set out to do when they built the Tract Toric 27-55x80mm spotting scope. If you’ve ever looked at the SX-5 Leupold Santiam Spotting Scope or the Sig Sauer Oscar 8 spotting scope, you’ll likely see a resemblance in the physical features and specs. It appears to be built on a similar chassis and has the same 27-55×80 design. That said, you’ll get performance at or above either of those spotting scopes, at a lower price point.
Here are some of the specs of the Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 Spotting Scope:
| Feature | Specs |
|---|---|
| Magnification | 27x-5x |
| Objective Size | 80mm |
| Field of View @ 1000yds | 73ft - 105 ft |
| Eyepiece Angle | 45° |
| Weight | 67oz |
| Eye Relief | 16-17mm |
| Body Material | Aluminum/Polycarbonate |
| Dimensions | 15.5" x 3.5" |
| Glass | SCHOTT HT |
| Tripod Attachement | Yes - Threaded |
| Country of Origin | Japan |
| Current Price | $1,494 |
While nothing on that list will blow you away when scanning specs, considering the price point and performance, you get a TON of performance for the money. Probably the biggest thing that stands out to me when I look over the specs list is the use of SCHOTT HT glass.
Why is that important? Let’s take a look.
SCHOTT HT Glass: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope Review
So what’s the big deal with SCHOTT HT glass that Tract Optics uses? This is not glass that you typically see in an optic at the price point that the Tract Toric UHD spotting scope comes in at. Many of the bigger name, high-end optics manufacturers use SCHOTT HT glass, but you’ll pay a whole lot more.
The “HT” stands for “High Transmission,” which lends itself to better light transmission for better low light performance and fantastic color contrast, particularly in the blue and violet color spectrum, and also has superior image resolution quality. While that all sounds great, does it actually accomplish that in real life situations?
During our testing, we came to love the crisp, clear image the Tract Toric UHD spotting scope provide. Out on a mule deer hunt, we had this next to some other hunters who had Swarovski and Kowa spotting scopes in use. We put these side by side with them, and this Tract Toric UHD spotting scope held its own being a fraction of the cost. We’ll go into more detail on performance differences below, but the short answer is that we were impressed with the Tract Optics spotting scope.
The Eyepiece: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope Review
The Tract Toric UHD spotting scope features a multi-position click stop eyepiece that is very comfortable and offers nice, crisp clicks with very minimal play. The Tract Toric eyepiece is very comfortable and functions very well providing a very pleasant viewing experience. The multiple positions of the eyepiece has enough resistance to keep the eyepiece in place inside your pack, however we did notice just a little bit of play at each “stop.” Not a huge deal, but something we’d like to see tightened up. The eyepiece also has a nice, comfortable rubber coating.
We found the zoom mechanism to be a bit on the stiff side, and at times could move the spotting scope when trying to zoom in on an object to get a better look. While the mechanism is very smooth, we felt like less resistance would be a benefit and make things easier when needing to zoom in from the lower 27x up to the max of 55x.
Another thing we noticed in the Tract Toric UHD spotting scope is just how forgiving the eye box is. While this is a less talked about topic, it’s a big deal when glassing for longer periods of time. It is especially noticeable when put next to the Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2 spotting scope that we were testing. The Tract Toric UHD spotting scope is hands down more pleasant and more forgiving to look through.
Barrel Focus System: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope Review
The Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 Spotting Scope features a very nice barrel focus system that we found to be exceptionally smooth and easy to fine tune. Again it is a bit on the stiffer side, but it isn’t something that caused any issues.
As with all spotting scopes, we prefer a dual focus system rather than a barrel focus because the dual focus system like the Kowa TSN 88A introduces less vibration and movement, which we’ve found to aid in bringing an image in to fine focus, particularly at longer distances. That being said, a vast majority of spotting scopes on the market today have gone with a barrel focus system, and Tract Optics makes a good one.
The Tract Optics Toric 27-55×80 Spotting Scope is extremely well-built and looks incredibly sharp. The grip of the barrel focus is very comfortable, and there is no notable play that we noticed.
Weight & Body Construction
The Tract Toric UHD spotting scope features a fantastic rubber armor to protect your investment, and the grey color looks super sharp as well. You also get a very nice rotating collar to make downhill viewing easier if you use the angled version. It feels really well-built all the way around, and as mentioned above this Tract Toric spotting scope took a beating from us over last season’s use and came out unscathed.
Image Clarity/Low Light Performance
Although taking a picture with a phone while digiscoping never seems to do that actual image quality justice, the images above are of some elk bedded about 1000 yards away that I snapped during a spring scouting trip.
With the SCHOTT HT glass featured in the Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope, you get an extremely high quality image and very good low light performance. The image the Tract Toric gives you is nice and clear with exceptional image resolution and top-notch color contrast. The super crisp image and defined color contrast are areas where the Tract Toric spotting scope really stands out.
The low light performance of the Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope is very good, and while it didn’t quite keep up with the likes of the Kowa TSN 88A or the new Athlon Cronus UHD Gen2 86mm spotting scopes we were testing it next to, it’s not really a fair comparison given that the Toric has an 80mm objective while the Kowa and Athlon both had larger 86mm and 88mm objectives. Even at that, the Tract Toric UHD was no slouch next to those spotting scopes which is pretty amazing.
Edge-to-Edge Clarity
The edge-to-edge clarity of the Tract Toric UHD is an area that is about average. While the center of the image is fantastic, we found the outer 10-15% of the image suffers a bit from loss of clarity. While that’s certainly not uncommon in optics, suburb edge to edge clarity is something that allows you to use the full field of view in an optic. While the Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 isn’t bad, it could be better in this department.
We had it side by side with the less expensive Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2 spotting scope, and the Toric UHD didn’t quite perform on par with it in edge-to-edge clarity. With that being said, we much prefer the more forgiving eye box the Tract Toric UHD has to offer, as well as the overall user experience. The Athlon Cronus UHD Gen 2 gives you more of a tunnel feel and a smaller field of view.
The loss of clarity is only noticeable when at the minimum zoom of 27x, but while at the max zoom of 55x we didn’t notice any, which was surprising.
Chromatic Aberration
We did notice a little bit of chromatic aberration with the Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 Spotting Scope, but it was very minimal and less than most other spotting scopes at this price point. The edges of snowy banks transitioning to brown dirt, the outline of a tree leaf from 1000+ yards away, and the edges of a rock cliff were clear but did have a little of that haze around them. Again, it was very minimal but something we noticed during our testing.
Field of View
Throughout this Tract Toric UHD review, we noted that this tract spotting scope gives you an excellent field of view. It offers the exact same field of view as the Sig Oscar8 and the Leupold Santiam SX5 spotting scopes.
Here are the stats of the Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope vs. the others that we’ve tested:
- Tract Toric UHD: 73ft – 105 ft
- Athlon Cronus: 60 ft-117 ft
- Kowa TSN 883/773: 76 ft-138 ft
- Swarovski ATX 85: 68 ft-124 ft
- Meopta Meostar WA: 68.8 ft-146 ft
- Maven S1A: 83.3 ft-115.2 ft
- Sig Oscar8: 73 ft-105 ft
- Leupold Santium SX-5: 73 ft-105 ft
Now, keep in mind that each of these have slightly different low and high magnifications, so take that into consideration, but these are the manufacturer’s specs on each of them. Generally, the lower the magnification the bigger field of view, and the higher the magnification the smaller the field of view gets.
What We liked: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope Review
Overall we came away huge fans of the Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 spotting scope, particularly given the value you get. It is several hundred dollars less than others while out-performing them. For that reason alone, this spotting scope is a heck of a value.
We love the rubber armor, smooth focus wheel, and extremely forgiving eye box of this spotting scope. It is extremely pleasant to use and makes longer glassing sessions a breeze. We also love the build quality and the exceptional “Tract Trust Assurance Warranty” which guarantees the product whether you are the original owner or not.
- Smooth zoom mechanism
- Smooth barrel focus
- Build quality
- Relatively compact size
- Low light performance
- Image clarity
- Excellent warranty
- Great value
What We Didn’t Like: Tract Toric UHD Spotting Scope Review
The Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 Spotting Scope isn’t in the “Alpha Glass” category, so you can’t expect that kind of performance. With that, we noticed some loss of clarity around the edges of the field of view at lower magnifications that lessens as you go up to the maximum 55x magnification. Coming in at 67 ounces, we also aren’t a huge fan of the weight of this spotting scope.
By comparison, the larger 88mm Kowa TSN 88a comes in at just 65 ounces, but at a much more expensive price tag. That being said, the Toric is by no means heavy for an 80mm spotting scope, there are just some lighter options out there if weight is a big deal to you.
- Edge-to-edge clarity (at low magnification)
- Weight (67 oz)
Tract Optics Trust Assuance Warranty
Tract Optics backs all their optics with their “Tract Optics Trust Assurance” lifetime guarantee regardless if you are the original owner or not. No paperwork or registration to fill out, they simply stand behind their product. Tract Optics states that they don’t care where you bought it, they guarantee that it’ll perform. (Of course, intentional damage isn’t covered.) This is the kind of warranty I want standing behind my expensive optics purchase!
How The Tract Toric Spotting Scope Ranked
Image Clarity
Low Light Performance
Weight
Chromatic Aberration
Edge to Edge Clarity
Overall Value
Conclusion
The Tract Toric UHD 27-55×80 spotting scope left us impressed with the value you get in this spotter. While it’s not the best spotting scope you can buy, it most certainly is one of the best values in a spotting scope on the market. Excellent color contrast, incredible clarity, fantastic low light performance, and a warranty to back it all up, the Toric UHD 27-55×80 is absolutely one to consider if you are looking for a great performing spotting scope without paying Alpha Glass price.
When you are on a budget or if you simply don’t want to spend the extra money required for spotting scopes in the “Alpha Glass” category, you are going to have to compromise in some areas, it’s just a matter of where. However, with the Tract Optics Toric UHD 27-55×80 spotting scope, you don’t have to give up much, all while still getting excellent performance.
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Great review. Would you pick this or the Athlon Cronus G2? Is Tract’s warranty as good as Athlon or Vortex? If it falls off my UTV and lands on a rock and breaks, will they fix/replace it? Their warranty says its lifetime for manufacturer defects and specifies it will not cover intentional damage but what about accidental damage? Any idea?
Hey there, Dave! The folks at Tract definitely will take care of you, but as far as accidental damage like you described, you may want to give them a call and see how they would handle that since their warranty policy doesn’t specifically address that. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the reply.
What would be your top 3 recommendations for a 85mm spotter for up to like $1,700 or $1,800? It’s my first spotter. Would be used for deer/elk hunting in the west as well as spotting shots for groups, so big distances. Would be paired with 12×50 binos. Want something that’s easy to look through. When I’ve looked through spotters sometimes I feel like it’s difficult to get a clear picture. Maybe it just takes practice, though?
So between like Athlon Cronus G2, Vortex Razor, Vortex Viper, Leupold, etc what would be your top 3 recommendations? I am so torn between like the Cronus G2 and the Vortexes. In your big comparison review the Leupold SX-5 ranked #3 in your $1,500 – $2,500 category which seems odd since the cons listed were image clarity and edge to edge clarity. Is the clarity worse than the Vortex Razor, then?