trijicon reflex, good or bad?

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twoguntim

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I'm thinking of finally buying optics for my ar. Is anyone running a Trijicon Reflex RX30A type optic on their ar? I like the clean lines, no bat, and large sight picture, but haven't actually handled one. Are they worth the $600+?

Before someone says "just buy a vortex for less then half the price", it's not for me. I don't like a lot of crap sticking out the sides and top, which the vortex is full of.

Other option would be the Eotech series. Most of my shooting is close range tactical carbine, so it will probably come down to these two optics.

thanks
 
If its anything like the sight that comes with the Tavor than I would say don't get it, the reticle disappears in bright sun light.

The good thing about it is that it dosen't use any batteries, but for that price you can get a AimPoint micro or Comp ML3 which are both good for battery lilfe.
 
I've got one... I bought it because I got a really good deal on it (~$300).

Anyway... It's good in most lighting conditions, as the more light comes into the top "light capture area" of the optic the dot gets brighter. During the day time it uses the top "light capture area" and uses fiber optics to light it... At night it uses a tritium lamp... At least that's my understanding...

At night/low light its great... During the morning/day time its good... However, I've found in the summer that there's this point when the sky sometimes gets red as the sun is setting and in certain environments it causes a reflection off many surfaces to cause the amber dot to start to fade away. You can still see it, but it can be hard to pick up. At least that's my experience and it's only like a 20-30 minute window that's an issue for me.

Another thing i LOVE about the RX30 is the field of view is very wide! Awesome. It's also nice that its 'Always On'... No buttons to fiddle with.

The fact it does not use battery's is nice, but they only warranty the Tritium Lamp for like 15 years. That's my only real complaint. Would I pay normal retail for an RX30 ($600)? Ehh, Probably not... It's almost the same price as an Aimpoint.



I still like my Aimpoint CompM4S more than the RX30...


As far as EOTech's go... For me when going from inside a shoot house to the bight sun, or inside a car to the sun, the redicle will often wash out. For me, the battery life is too low, I don't like that it's not 'Always On', I don't like buttons, I've seen too many fail. I'm just not a huge fan... But, I don't mind buying a new EOTech for ~$300, and for that price I'll rock it until it dies on me.



Just my $0.02
 
It may be okay in most situations, but its not going to work great in ALL lighting conditions. (for example, standing under a shooting bench roof, and looking to targets lit by the sun, it will probably wash out).

For the money you are spending, you ARE better off going with an Aimpoint. In the tritiums lifespan (12 years) you can buy 2-3 batteries for the Aimpoint (maybe 15 bucks total, which is less than the shipping back to Trijicon for a warranty refill on the tritium). BUT if the tritium in your sight dies (and is no longer under warranty), Trijicon has said its cheaper to buy a new one than refill the tritium...


Aimpoints have reached a reliability level that is EQUAL to tritium, and is FAR easier to completely re-new them a new battery, than to send your sight in...

Im still on my first battery with my T1 Micro and its been on for about 2 years solid now :)

You can go with an H1 (TSE has them for 633.15) and get THE most common coin cell batteries in existence (CR2032). Or go with an older ML2 or ML3 and a 30mm ring mount.
 
masterduckmaster said:
not sure about the reflex series. but i did shot one of my buddy's RMR series. i must say i was surprised by how bright it is under bright sun light.
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If there is direct sunlight on em, those suckers can get very bright. One thing I DO like about the 1-4 power ones (the TR24) is the ability to select how much fibre optic collector is exposed, and how bright it is. Those things are a lot better with the tritium since they have the etched retical.
 
I have one, I believe its a piece of s**t. Very robust, however the recticle is not useable in alot of varying light conditions. Compared to say an Aimpoint, what does this piece of junk really have to offer? Even the battery less half life of 5-6 years is about the battery life of some of the aimpoints now.

I would spend your money elsewhere.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Making a decision is proving to be far more difficult then I thought. I like the Aimpoint Mirco T1, but the unit price, and then a mount on top of that make it a huge investment. I'll keep thinking on this one.

thanks again
 
You dont need the pricier T1, its just for use with Night Vision. Get the cheaper H1 or better yet get the cheaper fullsize Aimpoint, its still quite small and cheap to.
 
twoguntim said:
Thanks for all the advice. Making a decision is proving to be far more difficult then I thought. I like the Aimpoint Mirco T1, but the unit price, and then a mount on top of that make it a huge investment. I'll keep thinking on this one.

thanks again
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You can always go with a cheap 3/4" spacer (the right height to get it to co-witness, not sure if absolute or lower 3rd. I know that combined the center line of the optic on a 3/4" riser will be 38-39mm) to get it to the right height, and buy a nice mount later on.

this guy at brownells is 44 bucks:

http://w w w.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=24621/Product/AR_15_M16_FLATTOP_RISER


This guy is even cheaper at 24 bucks:

http://w w w.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=48986/pid=23082/sku/SR_Flat_Top_Mount

Daniel Defense has a dedicated T1/H1 mount (non QR) for 65 bucks or so at brownells.


But look at it this way: If you're already spending 600 on the Reflex, or you can spend 630 (plus an extra 30 bucks for a cheap riser for the short term) you're really only spending an extra 50 bucks, for a MUCH better sight.

And you can save up for a while to get a nice QR mount (like an American Defense, or the Daniel Defense if you dont want a QR base)

One thing to keep in mind, an Aimpoint Micro is going to hold its value MUCH better than the Reflex will, because of the demand. If you want to sell the H1 and upgrade to a T1 (only reason I would recommend a T1 over an H1 is if you want to use night vision) then you are getting a lot more resale on it.

in my opinion the H1 is a great sight, especially now that its got a Matte type-3 finish (same as the T1) now instead of the glossy finish it used to have.
 
I don't know where your located, but if your near Ottawa, your more than welcome to borrow my trijicon reflex to try one out... It's just sitting in the gun room with a bunch of other optics doing nothing...

Cheers

Mike
 
USP said:
You dont need the pricier T1, its just for use with Night Vision. Get the cheaper H1 or better yet get the cheaper fullsize Aimpoint, its still quite small and cheap to.
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Yup... Unless your running NVG you don't need the T1... The H1 is better if you wont....

Also, the benefit of getting the H1 is actually there are less 'clicks' to go through to get your optic online.
 
NorCalDustin said:
Yup... Unless your running NVG you don't need the T1... The H1 is better if you wont....

Also, the benefit of getting the H1 is actually there are less 'clicks' to go through to get your optic online.
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I think the brightness of the LED is identical in both, its just that the T1 has more lens coatings to reflect the IR bandwidths so IR sights will pick it up (so they dont get burnt out with too much red light).. or something like that. There was an Optics guy on ARFcom that give a bunch of insight into the lens coatings.
and the T1 is water proof to like 30 meters instead of 5 or 10. but I dont think this is a big concern :p

But yeah the H1 is definitely the more practical one. I got a T1 because one day I'd love to have some NVG's :D
 
I prefer an actual etched reticle w/ illumination (i.e. AccuPoint). The 24mm I have used tends to wash out fairly easily in light, and there is no choice in reticle colour.

But given the choice between this and an H-1, I'd take my H-1 any day.
 
F22_RaptoR said:
I think the brightness of the LED is identical in both, its just that the T1 has more lens coatings to reflect the IR bandwidths so IR sights will pick it up (so they dont get burnt out with too much red light).. or something like that. There was an Optics guy on ARFcom that give a bunch of insight into the lens coatings.
and the T1 is water proof to like 30 meters instead of 5 or 10. but I dont think this is a big concern :p

But yeah the H1 is definitely the more practical one. I got a T1 because one day I'd love to have some NVG's :D
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What I meant was that... With the T1, Say your optic is turned off... You turn the knob, and first click through the night vision settings... then after like 5 or 7 clicks you get through the night vision brightness settings and into the normal.

Where as with the H1, say your optic is off... You turn the knob and the first click you will start to see the normal red dot.
 
NorCalDustin said:
What I meant was that... With the T1, Say your optic is turned off... You turn the knob, and first click through the night vision settings... then after like 5 or 7 clicks you get through the night vision brightness settings and into the normal.

Where as with the H1, say your optic is off... You turn the knob and the first click you will start to see the normal red dot.
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You sure? Like I said, the brightness on the T1 and the H1 should be identical, the only difference is in the lens coatings. (although I haven't actually handled an H1 to verify this - I did have an ML3 and the first 3-4 brightness settings weren't visible, same as the T1).

In any case, it doesn't matter since you dont turn them off anyways! :D

My T1 has been on for probably 2 years now (original battery) normally on setting 8/12
 
Update.

Alright, I've decided to go with the Aimpoint H1. You guys convinced me.

Thanks for the offer to try out a reflex sight Stormtrooper, but unfortunately I'm in not in your area. CGN can really be an fantastic resource when people are positive and helpful.

Now the second part - a rear buis.
 
F22_RaptoR said:
You sure? Like I said, the brightness on the T1 and the H1 should be identical, the only difference is in the lens coatings. (although I haven't actually handled an H1 to verify this - I did have an ML3 and the first 3-4 brightness settings weren't visible, same as the T1).

In any case, it doesn't matter since you dont turn them off anyways! :D

My T1 has been on for probably 2 years now (original battery) normally on setting 8/12
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The H1 has 13 brightnesses, the T1 has 4 Night vision settings + 8 daytime/low light settings + 1 for something else IIRC...


I do think you understand what i mean about the night vision where you had those settings that weren't visible... I dont know about the ML3, but at least the C3 & M3, they each had 10 settings... One has 4 NVD settings, and 6 normal; the other has 10 normal settings.... But there weren't like "blank clicks"...

I have no experience with the ML3 though and its been awhile since I've used a T1 or H1... Still At the end of the day... If you don't have NVD hardware, there's no point in having/paying tons more for a T1...

Locally the T-1's run ~$660, where as the H-1's run ~$480... Thats just one sampling of one area... But it's almost $200 more to have NVD capability's... CRAZY!


But! I digress.....
 
NorCalDustin said:
The H1 has 13 brightnesses, the T1 has 4 Night vision settings + 8 daytime/low light settings + 1 for something else IIRC...


I do think you understand what i mean about the night vision where you had those settings that weren't visible... I dont know about the ML3, but at least the C3 & M3, they each had 10 settings... One has 4 NVD settings, and 6 normal; the other has 10 normal settings.... But there weren't like "blank clicks"...

I have no experience with the ML3 though and its been awhile since I've used a T1 or H1... Still At the end of the day... If you don't have NVD hardware, there's no point in having/paying tons more for a T1...

Locally the T-1's run ~$660, where as the H-1's run ~$480... Thats just one sampling of one area... But it's almost $200 more to have NVD capability's... CRAZY!


But! I digress.....
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Yeah I think im pickin up what you're layin down :p :D
 
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