Very welcoming and helpful. I arrived at South West Optics unannounced as I was staying nearby on holiday. The showroom was in a secure building and I was guided to the sales area. I had previously vi... See more
Company replied
While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more
To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more
Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Fantastic offer on Hawke 8 x 42 APO. Very quick delivery but Royal Mail let everyone down by just leaving the parcel sitting by my front door. Very frustrating to report that I could not get the... See more
Company replied
Thoroughly recommend South West Optics if buying online. Spoke on numerous occasions with Russell re binocular choice both for my daughter and myself. After much discussion the choice was whittled d... See more
Company replied
I've just purchased a spotting scope and tripod from South West Optics. I was guided through my purchase patiently, helpfully and expertly by Russell over several phone calls. I can't recommend their... See more
Company replied
Company details
Written by the company
South West Optics is the ultimate destination for nature enthusiasts. Home to the widest selection of Binoculars and Spotting Scopes in the UK. Located in Torquay, Devon, South West Optics was established in 1996 by Steve Rogers an avid bird watcher and optical specialist. Since Steve's recent retirement, the business has been purchased by 4Wildlife Limited who have a clear vision of becoming one of the leading names in the UK's wildlife scene, catering specifically to the needs of bird watchers and nature lovers. SW Optics is an official main UK dealer of renowned brands such as Swarovski Optik, Carl Zeiss, Leica, Kowa, HIKMICRO, Hawke Optics, Opticron, Vector Optics, Athlon, Vortex Optics, Delta Optics, Manfrotto- and many more! We bring you the best and most trusted names in the industry. We ensure a diverse range of options to suit your specific needs. Our wide selection extends beyond binoculars to thermal and night vision optics as well as spotting scopes. We enable you to explore and appreciate the beauty of nature with clarity and precision in all light conditions.
Contact info
Nicholson Road, TQ2 7TD, Torquay, United Kingdom
- 01872 263444
- sales@swoptics.co.uk
- swoptics.co.uk
4.9
Excellent
636 reviews
Asks customers to review
This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative
How this company uses Trustpilot
See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
A Superb showroom plenty of parking and…
A Superb showroom plenty of parking and Mgr Russell was so helpful and professional initially by telephone and subsequently at SW Optics. I purchased Swarovski binoculars with plenty of stock to choose from plus he completed the warranty for me aswell as providing a competitive price beating online competitors. Thankyou Ken in Plymouth
16 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for your wonderful review, Ken. We pride ourselves on offering competitive prices and exceptional service, and we're so glad Russell took great care of you from phone call to purchase.
Quick and easy process
I ordered a pair of Leica binoculars on Tuesday evening, and chose to pay over 18 months. The whole process was very quick, and my payment plan was set up the following day. My order was dispatched as soon as everything had been sorted. I received my new binoculars today….approximately one and a half days after placing my order. I received several texts/emails with all the delivery information, and was kept well informed. My order arrived well packaged. The whole process was quick and easy. I am very happy that I chose SWoptics to make my purchase.Thanks
18 June 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from South West Optics
What a brilliant review to read. Thank you so much. Leica makes truly exceptional optics, and we’re so glad our team and delivery partners got them safely to your door in just a day and a half. Enjoy your new binoculars, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything else
Thoroughly recommend South West Optics…
Thoroughly recommend South West Optics if buying online. Spoke on numerous occasions with Russell re binocular choice both for my daughter and myself. After much discussion the choice was whittled down Kowa Prominar 10.44 X45 or GPO 10X42 ED and HD, the GPO's won out on price and weight.
Both my daughter and I are truly impressed with the optical quality.
Full marks to Russell and South West Optics.
11 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
We appreciate you choosing South West Optics, Finding the perfect balance of weight, price, and optical quality can be a journey, and we're so glad Russell could help guide you to the perfect pair.
I have purchased several times recently…
I have purchased several times recently and several times in the past. My order has always arrived quickly and order details and delivery information has been sent.
12 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for your continued loyalty, We’re thrilled to hear that our fast delivery and clear communication consistently meet your expectations.
Ease of use of the website
Ease of use of the website, and a quick tracked delivery, great. :)
12 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for the review Edwin!
Helpfull advice over the phone
Helpfull advice over the phone, simple order process on line, arrived promptly.
12 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for the review Malcolm!
Communication and delivery was very…
Communication and delivery was very good. Need to spend sometime getting used to
11 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thanks Linda!
Great all round service.
Stock available, good price, easy to order and rapid delivery.
Product - as it says on the tin, nice quality feel
10 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you Paul!
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for your review!
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you Alan!
First time using this company but…
First time using this company but certainly won’t be the last. Product was great value, delivery charges were more than reasonable (I was below the free delivery threshold) and delivery was very fast, ordered Monday evening arrived Wednesday morning.
All round brilliant company to deal with and I would have no hesitation in recommending.
8 June 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for the review Barry!
Ordered yesterday delivered today
Ordered yesterday delivered today. Perfect binoculars for bird watching.
11 June 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you Ian!
Great experience
Great experience. very helpful on the phone and sent the scope the next day and was with me the day after that. Very efficient and product was exactly as described. thanks for your help
4 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you so much for the fantastic review, We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed our phone support and received your scope so quickly. Enjoy your new gear.
A good company to buy from
I have used southwest optics before, they were great, so went back to buy my wife some binoculars, and again they came up trumps.
4 June 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you so much for coming back to us. We’re thrilled we could come up trumps again, and we hope your wife loves her new binoculars
Top service
Russell is very helpful and very friendly. The service is first class and speedy. They have the best prices too.
27 May 2026
Reply from South West Optics
We appreciate your support, Providing top tier service at the best prices is exactly what we aim for, and Russell will be delighted by your shoutout.
Unfortunately order was delayed or lost…
Unfortunately order was delayed or lost due to stock turnover issues despite payment. Fine when they were alerted and received quickly at that point but no contact received from company to say there was a delay. However may have been a longer wait if I didn’t contact after over two weeks to draw attention to the order.
28 May 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and for your fair 3-star rating, despite the frustration this order caused you.
Please accept our sincere apologies. Keeping a customer in the dark for over two weeks is absolutely not how we do business. We pride ourselves on proactive communication, and we completely agree that you shouldn't have had to chase us to get the ball rolling.
To provide some context, your order coincided with a major upgrade to our stock and order control system. While this transition will improve our service long-term, we hit some severe teething issues during the switchover. Unfortunately, your order was caught in that system gap, causing the delay to go unnoticed on our end until you rightfully brought it to our attention.
We are glad our team was able to resolve the issue swiftly and get your items delivered quickly once alerted. However, we know we missed the mark on the initial communication. We’ve since ironed out these system bugs to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
We truly appreciate your patience and grace—feedback like yours genuinely helps us improve. If there is anything else we can do to make amends, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly at sales@swoptics.co.uk or 01803 269886.
Wülf Nova spotting scope
As usual, superb service from SWO. I ordered the Wülf Nova 20-60x80 spotting scope out of curiosity on the performance, given the conversation with Russell about it. It is absolutely superb in value to performance. It's very light weight and easy to grab and go. The optics are outstanding for the money. I feel you would have to spend substantially more in order to see a viable optic upgrade. I feel anyone into their optics should have one of these as a superb value back up that stays in the car/van etc to take everywhere. It's shocked me what it delivers for the money. For anyone reading, I'm a photographer that only buys flagship performance lenses. My bino's are currently the GPO passion ED 10x42 bought from SWO and I had the zeiss victory pocket 10x25. I have experience with nice optics, the Wülf Nova is an easy buy. Cheers SWO for uploading the youtube overview that alerted me to it
21 May 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for the fantastic 5 star review! We are delighted to hear that the Wülf Nova 20-60x80 spotting scope exceeded your expectations, especially given your background with high end photography and premium binoculars like the GPO Passion EDs.
We pride ourselves on offering great value alongside expert advice, so it's wonderful to know Russell's insights and our YouTube content helped you make the right choice.
Thanks for choosing SWO!
Well packaged and polite delivery!
21 May 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thanks so much for the 5 star review! We’re thrilled to hear your order arrived safely and that our team took great care of you.
Great service
Great service and price!
Russell was a pleasure to deal with and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend South West Optics to other people.
27 May 2026
Reply from South West Optics
Thank you for sharing your experience and recommending South West Optics Paul, . We are delighted that Russell provided you with such excellent service.
The Trustpilot Experience
Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.
We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.
Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.
Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.
Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.
Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.