Tenebraex Optics Covers

[ColinR]

I just bought a set of Tenebraex covers for an S & B PM2 x56 from Sporting Services at a delivered cost of £115.00!! I am so fed up with the Butler Creek front covers flying off - probably had 5 in the last few years, so despite the cost thought I'd try these Tenebraex covers. First impression is that they look bl**dy expensive for a couple of bits of plastic. Do they appear stronger, marginally at first sight. However, they fit a lot better. The front one screws into the thread on the optic shroud and opens and closes much more positively than the BC and feels good. The rear one attaches via three built in clips into a recess on the dioptre adjustment part of the rear lens and is a bit more difficult to open and close than the BC version and is a bit more bulky, but nonetheless a good positive fixture which once securely fitted can be rotated to an optimum position. The front one has no such positional option and randomly tightens into the lens thread.

Are they worth the difference at 5 times the price of a set of Butler Creeks, only time will tell, but at this juncture I think they are unjustifiably expensive for what they are. The function and fitting is clearly superior, but I cannot see that they will be that much stronger. Again time will tell.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has used these over any period of time with a view to what I might expect in terms of reliability.

[ovenpaa]

I have run the same set of BC's for many years now and never had a problem however the latest versions do not seem to have the same longevity. We have fitted Tenebraex covers in the past when asked to do so and I was always a bit wary of them. They are a lot more money to break!

These days I prefer bikini covers however it is difficult to find a decent set.

[ColinR]

It's strange you say that since I had Butler Creeks on both an AI 7.62 and an AI .338. So far I have never replaced the BC covers on the 7.62 even though it gets used a lot more than the .338. I guess over 4 years or so I have replaced the front BC on the .338 five times. I really cannot believe this is in any way calibre related??

[ovenpaa]

I would have not have thought it was down to calibre/recoil however the ones that have lasted for me are on AI with a PMII chambered in 7,62x51

It has got me thinking now....

[DaveT]

Butler creeks, in my view, are a good basic design that is poorly built......all they have to do is to make a robust hinge and I would pay twice as much.

As it is they are so fragile at the hinge that I only buy them for lack of an affordable alternative.

No way am I paying over £100 for plastic caps....taking the pizzle!

[Rab]

Personally over the years I've never had a problem with Butler Creeks, I have broken a couple of the objective flip up covers but that has always been down to me being careless.

[farmer7]

Butler Creeks seem to be pretty rubbish now, the older ones were pretty/very tough, I have a few pairs of old ones, probably 15 years old that are still going strong but the new ones seem to be made of a much more brittle, cheap, hard plastic, the older ones seem to have a bit of give.
Unless you see them as frequently replaced consumable I'd find an alternative now. There are plenty of threads on US forums about the loss of quality. A stalker friend has replaced his objective cover several in the past year and just snapped another two nights ago on opening.

[ovenpaa]

I was thinking about this last night. I have seen broken BC's but never owned them however all of mine are a few years old now, so either I am very careful which I cannot believe, or BC materials have changed. Is this a case of cheaper materials being used to reduce costs and/or manufacturing locations being moved.

[ColinR]

These Tenebraex covers do seem to be made of a softer more pliable plastic and they certainly seem to work OK, but I cannot see how they justify such a hike in price here in UK - much more reasonably priced in US at around $50 a set - so someone is doing quite well out of these. They are probably not worth the money, and even if they last a few years you'd have to buy quite a few BC's to make them viable. I am hoping they will at least save the inconvenience of retrieving covers that fly off into the grass at a most inappropriate moment, but the price still stings even if they are a total solution to the BC problem.

[tackb]

keep your eyes open for the new vortex covers that are being launched soon ! I saw them at the shot show and they are excellent !!!!