Durability difference in variable scopes

[ethib]

I keep going back and forth thinking about variable or fixed scope for my ar 762x39. Might do something like the burris 5x with a fastfire reflex on it or variable in the 2-7x range.
Everyone says durability goes to a fixed scope, but are these variable scope brands all basically similar for durability when looking in the $300-500 ball park? burris, leupold, bushnell, nikon, vortex, primary arms, barska, zeiss

Obviously I don't want to throw my rifle across a field, but I'd like to be able to know I can without destroying everything.

[NordicDave]

Durability goes with reputation.

There is a reason why Zeiss, Leupold, and other top brands are respected by the military and serious hunters.

The gap between fixed and variable has shrunk considerably if you are talking about the top brands. There is still a slight brightness edge to fixed power as compared to same magnification max power on a variable.

Special care is needed with Nikon and other brands with a wide price range. Nikon sells pretty nice glass, but they also sell crap. In the mid-price points is very hard to tell by reading the catalogs or even looking through them in stores. It's not until you drop it the first time or shoot it while until issues develop.

-NordicDave

[ScottsBad]

I've been pondering this more and more.

It is hard to find information about which brands and price ranges are the most durable. There is more info on the customer service side, but finding out what will hold up is really hard.

I guess you can count on the expensive Mil/LEO scopes to be better built, but I have no evidence to support that. It could be that some of the top brands have become very good with respect to durability, but again I'm just speculating.

Fixed verses variable, again there seems to be little data on the newer designs. I personally, never depend entirely on a scope, I always have to have iron backup sights. And I hope I don't damage the scope.

Some of the Aimpoint red dots are pretty dang tough, but I've heard less about the scopes.

Maybe someone else in the industry can chime in.

[ethib]

What other brands do you consider to be at the top? it seems from reading comments that zeiss and leupold are top, tier 2 bushnell, burris, nikon, primary arms
Scott- Yea there is very little info, they all seem to like to put rugged in their descriptions. Its almost as bad as "tactical"