Rant: The $800 borescope I bought mostly collects dust while my $90 one does the real work

Henry Bell · 2026-10-10T10:05:04.380462+00:00

Everyone in the shop kept telling me you need the big money scope for engine work, so I dropped around $800 on a good one about 2 years ago. Here is the thing though, for 90 percent of what I actually do, the $90 cheap scope with the little screen gets the job done, and I can shove it in spots the expensive one won't fit without sweating about banging up the lens. The fancy one sits in the box unless someone is paying for a full inspection with photos, and even then I usually pull it out once a month at most. I am not saying the cheap ones are built as well, because they are not, and the picture quality is night and day if you need fine detail on a compressor blade. But for quick looks down a plug hole or checking a baffle, spending that extra $700 felt like buying a truck to go get groceries. So what is everyone else running for a mid range option, because I want something between these two without dropping another pile of money.

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Rant: The $800 borescope I bought mostly collects dust while my $90 one does the real work | Aircraft Mechanics - nhfree.com