VORTEX VIPER HD

Magnification: 20x-60x Objective diameter: 85mm Weight: 2.2kg A rugged, high-quality spotting scope that’s built to last, this is the heaviest scope on our list, and comes with Armortek coating. It promises “knockout colour fidelity, superb light transmission and edge-to-edge sharpness”. For this price, so it should! Uniquely, Vortex offers an unlimited life warranty on its scopes, so if you really are in this game for life, and you want the best, it might make a lot of sense.

Price: from around £900