Eotech Red Dot is it worth it?

[The Annoyed Man]

Bottom line is that any of the better sight manufacturers can fill your need. It really boils down to personal preference and price point. I like my EOTech. I like my son's Aimpoint Micro a LOT. I like my ACOG probably most of all, but I could be reasonably happy with any of the three, the quality of my eyesight not figured in.

[MechAg94]

IMO, the EOTech has a better field of view and a smaller dot, but the newer AIMpoints have incredible battery life such that you can almost just leave them on all the time. Some AIMpoints also have 2X magnification. To me, it is a matter of preference and what your use is. Both will let you shoot out to a couple hundred yards.

If you have money to spend, obviously the Trijicon options are very good also. On the other side, both EOTech and AIMpoint will be a $300 to $400 and up depending on models and options.

[TheDude]

I have an XPS2 and like it. I prefer the reticle on the EOTechs over Aimpoints. However, I am going to buy an Aimpoint Pro as soon as I have the extra money purely because of battery life. Eotechs can't compare to Aimpoints on battery life. You can leave an Aimpoint Pro on for 3+ years and a CompM4 on for like 8 years. I leave my backup Irons folded up in case I forget to turn my Eotech on but I would rather just leave my RDS on all the time.

Get an ACOG, and batteries cease to be an issue. If you don't want magnification, then get a Trijicon Reflex. I totally get what you're saying about batteries, and that is why I got rid of my Burris AR-536 and bought an ACOG instead. For my eyes, I need the magnification, but I really wanted to get away from being tied down to a battery. I really do like my EOTech, but if I had to do it all over again, I'd buy the Trijicon Reflex for that reason.

Also, and I don't know if Trijicon is still making these but they are probably available, but you can get a Trijicon TriPower Reflex Sight which offers Tritium, battery, and fiberoptic power for the reticle. I don't know if they are any good or not, but their other products certainly are, so maybe these are too.

Oh the ACOGs are sweet for sure. I do like having a 1x option since my eyes are still working pretty good at age 32. Thanks to your post a while back about the 50 yard battle zero, I can reliably hit a man size target out to 200+ yards with my EoTech. I really like the Trijicon Acupoint 1-4x with the triangle reticle similar to the one on the ACOGs. The 1-6x VCOG looks very interesting also but it is battery powered and I am not sure about the battery life.

[LittleGun]

I like my Eotech because of its large field of view.

I debated getting something else that has a longer battery life, but field of view was more important to me than battery life.

[LSUTiger]

With an Eotech 512 and FSP you will get perfect (absolute) cowitness, add a yankee hill riser mount and get 1/3 cowitness. With the 517, I believe the riser mount is built in to give you 1/3 cowitness with FSP.

I have no issues with Eotech reticle but my Aimpoint Comp4s looks like a blob to me. I have to set the Aimpoint power just a little to low for my liking to get the blob to go away. Uncorrected vision can be an issued as well as corrected vision. It comes down to preference and my recommendation is to stick to something that uses AA batteries (Eotech512,517, Aimpoint Comp4s). The Eotechs start at $400 and the Comp4s around $700-800 and may require you buy an extra mount (suggest Larue).

Recently I discovered the LUCID HD-7 Gen 3 for $190. It is not a knock off but rather a low priced competitor quality optic from all the reviews I have read. I am seriously considering one for the price. It takes AA battery, has adjustable reticle and built in mount, is waterproof, holds zero, is shock proof and youtube test shows it to be drop tested satifactory and holds zero. I might give it a try.

[gguess66]

Think I am now leaning towards the Aimpoint, I like that it takes up less room on my rail. I am also looking at getting a Vortex 3x magnifier. Thoughts?

[C-dub]

Think I am now leaning towards the Aimpoint, I like that it takes up less room on my rail. I am also looking at getting a Vortex 3x magnifier. Thoughts?

There goes that extra space on your rail.

If you weren't adding the magnifier and going to stick with 1x and were concerned about space, I'd say stick with Eotech and get one with the transverse mounted battery like the EXPS2 or 3.

[Big Bronze Rim]

Think I am now leaning towards the Aimpoint, I like that it takes up less room on my rail. I am also looking at getting a Vortex 3x magnifier. Thoughts?

There goes that extra space on your rail.

If you weren't adding the magnifier and going to stick with 1x and were concerned about space, I'd say stick with Eotech and get one with the transverse mounted battery like the EXPS2 or 3.

Or you could use a cantilever mount for your Aimpoint like the LaRue LT129. It will free up a bit of space and let you run a magnifier if you are tight on rail space. Here is the way I have mine set up. I actually find I almost never use the magnifier, so I have it on a quick release mount as well.

[gguess66]

Think I am now leaning towards the Aimpoint, I like that it takes up less room on my rail. I am also looking at getting a Vortex 3x magnifier. Thoughts?

There goes that extra space on your rail.

If you weren't adding the magnifier and going to stick with 1x and were concerned about space, I'd say stick with Eotech and get one with the transverse mounted battery like the EXPS2 or 3.

I was going to put a magnifier on my AR to begin with. I think with the Eotech it doesn't look as good. Vain I guess

[gguess66]

Is night vision a must on the Eotechs i am looking also at the XPS2-2

[Big Bronze Rim]

Is night vision a must on the Eotechs i am looking also at the XPS2-2

Do you ever see yourself using any form of night vision behind the Eotech? The vast majority of people won't and therefore there is no need for it, so the XPS2, which I think is NOT compatible, would be just fine.

[Murindo]

Eotech's are highly reliable. If you shoot a lot and use your rifle for self defense or hunting, the Eotech is a good investment.

[rm9792]

I had the xps2 on a 5.56 SCAR and it was a great sight. Sold it for the Trijicon TA31 and wish I still had it for my AR.

[C-dub]

Is night vision a must on the Eotechs i am looking also at the XPS2-2

No, but if you can get a good deal on one that is below, at, or near enough to the EXPS2-2, then I would skip the night vision. My BIL did and has an EXPS3.