Arken Optics - High Value Precision Scopes

[3MTA3]

I'll look through mine tomorrow during the daylight looking for that specifically. I haven't noticed it, but also wasn't looking critically for it. Some reviewers have said they saw distortion at the edges on max zoom, but I don't see any. I also haven't looked through it in tricky lighting, but in the Rex Reviews video it shows the 4-16 as holding up nicely looking almost into the sun.

What I see looks the same to me as in the Vortex vs Arken video in the first post above. That's not to say there isn't variability and maybe I got a "good one". Reading through some precision forums the consensus is that they get the jbo done and optically is 98% of a Steiner at a fraction of the cost.

@Ginocide Overcast today so I won't likely get to check to see how well it handles harsh lighting, but did look for chromatic aberration and found none at 6, 14, and 25x.

 

[3MTA3]

Lifetime warranty and guaranteed precision tracking.

I purchased it with the accessory kit that included a bubble level. The level they sent was for a 30mm tube and not the 34mm that fit the tube. I called the number and got a recording that said to sent email. Just great, I thought. That was on a Saturday. I sent the email and Monday morning got a notification that they were sending a replacement, which I got the following day. They let me keep the wrong one as well.

So far, so good. I haven't heard anything bad except that sometimes it takes a while for them to get back to you.
I wish I had know theta the Japanese glass version was coming back in stock and would have spent the extra Benjamin. but I'm not disappointed at all with the SH4.

@JRuby more on the warranty:

Warranty

We back all of our products with a Lifetime Guarantee.
If an ARKEN OPTICS product doesn't perform, we will take care of it! We only hope that you give us the chance to make good. We appreciate your business and we want to keep it. We believe in superior quality and craftsmanship, and we are confident that your ARKEN OPTICS products won't let you down.
No warranty cards to fill out, no receipts to hang on to, and they are fully transferable from one generation to the next. Simple as that!

Warranty thread on the Arken Forums:

Warranty | Arken Optics USA

We back all of our products with a Lifetime Guarantee. If an ARKEN OPTICS product doesn't perform, we will take care of it! We only hope that you give us the chance to make good. We appreciate your business and we want to keep it. We believe in superior quality and craftsmanship, and we are confiden

www.arkenopticsusa.com

They seem to be a bit hard to get a hold of on the phone but respond pretty quickly. I think their business is growing faster than their staff at this point.

 

[JRuby]

@JRuby more on the warranty:

Warranty

We back all of our products with a Lifetime Guarantee.
If an ARKEN OPTICS product doesn't perform, we will take care of it! We only hope that you give us the chance to make good. We appreciate your business and we want to keep it. We believe in superior quality and craftsmanship, and we are confident that your ARKEN OPTICS products won't let you down.
No warranty cards to fill out, no receipts to hang on to, and they are fully transferable from one generation to the next. Simple as that!

Warranty thread on the Arken Forums:

Warranty | Arken Optics USA

We back all of our products with a Lifetime Guarantee. If an ARKEN OPTICS product doesn't perform, we will take care of it! We only hope that you give us the chance to make good. We appreciate your business and we want to keep it. We believe in superior quality and craftsmanship, and we are confiden

www.arkenopticsusa.com

They seem to be a bit hard to get a hold of on the phone but respond pretty quickly. I think their business is growing faster than their staff at this point.

Arken to me look like they sell tactical rifle scopes based on thier website. For that purpose I would give them a try. When I purchase one in the future I will be highly critical of them and they had better have as good a warranty and support as Leupold or Vortex or it will be my last scope from them. So far to me the one drawback is that all thier tubes seem to be 34mm which I consider unnecessary.

 

[clanhanson]

Made in China with their top optics having Japanese glass, like many of their competitors. I'm curious myself, but the market is absolutely flooded. Maybe they'll be the next Vortex, that would be cool.

 

[Member 34319]

Put in an order for one of their EP5s after getting to look through one at the range. Might get a SH4 too for an AR I was looking for a compact scope for. Crazy good for the price point. Turrets were very nice. Hell, everything about it seemed really well made and thought through. Is it as clear as a Leupold Mark 6, no, but it's also only 560. Got a code to basically get the combo pack for free which includes a bunch of extra goodies. If I order the SH4 over something more compact, they offer a one piece 20 MOA mount that the code works for too.

 

[3MTA3]

Put in an order for one of their EP5s after getting to look through one at the range. Might get a SH4 too for an AR I was looking for a compact scope for. Crazy good for the price point. Turrets were very nice. Hell, everything about it seemed really well made and thought through. Is it as clear as a Leupold Mark 6, no, but it's also only 560. Got a code to basically get the combo pack for free which includes a bunch of extra goodies. If I order the SH4 over something more compact, they offer a one piece 20 MOA mount that the code works for too.

It still astonishes me how well made my SH4 is every time I handle it. Has I known how soon the EP5's would be available when I bout it I would have waited, but honestly it's just fine as is. It's definitely clear enough for my needs.

The mounts I bought from them were not the cantilevers ones, but they are worth far more than their price point. Had I see that they had the same ones in 30mm I'd have put them on the new 280 Ackley as well.

 

[powermad]

I'm glad I picked up my SH4 before the price hike.
$100 more now but still a great option.

The one piece mount is nice but I found that I like a taller scope mount.
I had it on a .5" riser and liked that so I went with a Midwest Industries 1.93" mount.
I don't need the 20 MOA mount as the scope has elevation for days and more than what I can use.