NOVUS PDS-1: an improved Chinese clone of the Russian 1P87 combat optic
- Thread starter Teppo87
- Start date
Most Russian optics are awful and having one on your gun is like owning a cringe weeb katana. Just get a holosun if you want to do the Russian operator cosplay.
Their electronic ones often seem to be. The conventional glass optics are/were pretty decent for the money. The Ukraine war has since inflated side mount optic prices to levels that make them less viable in comparison to Western Optics.
I just received my NOVUS PDS-1 in the mail today. While I have not taken it out to sight in and shoot yet, my initial impressions of the unit are good.
- It feels solid and well made - like an optic built for real firearms and not airsoft guns.
- The optic body is similar in size to an EOTECH 512/552.
- The optic body sports the same Russian Cyrillic markings found on genuine 1P87s, which is a nice touch.
- The finish on the optic body reminds me of what you see on HOLOSUN or PRIMARY ARMS optics.
- The glass is nice and clear with a light blue tint to it; not nearly as blue as on the MEPROLIGHT M21 or TRIJICON RX30/34 reflex sights, but just light enough to not distract the overall sight picture.
- The sight picture provides a window that is not as wide as that on an EOTECH but still gives a nice minimally obstructed field of view.
- I am impressed with the EOTECH-like circle-dot reticle which is very crisp and bright; comparable to those found on HOLOSUN optics. Even with my astigmatism which causes the dot on most red dot sights to look like a slightly elongated letter "Z" without my prescription eyeglasses on, the reticle on this prism optic does not distort much for me without my glasses. It's much more visible to me without my glasses on than it is for me when looking through an EOTECH, which tends to bloom and look very fuzzy.
- The brightness level of the reticle is the feature that I am most impressed with so far. The brightness adjustment dial turns with very positive and tactile clicks. It has 9 settings and turns clockwise as follows; OFF, 1 to 9 and OFF again. These units are advertised as having NV modes but unfortunately I cannot yet afford a NV unit worth the money to be able to provide an opinion on how well the NV modes on this unit performs (but hopefully someday soon!) On the highest brightness setting the reticle is as bright as an AIMPOINT PRO on its highest setting. I took the unit outside this afternoon to point it at a snowy field and I had no trouble seeing the reticle. This was a big relief for me because when I had a genuine 1P87, you could only just barely see the reticle on the highest brightness setting when aiming it at a snowy background.
I currently have this unit pared up with a PRIMARY ARMS 3x Micro Magnifier. When magnified, the reticle looks even better. I am looking forward to getting out and properly sighting in this unit to see how it performs during and after firing.
I will post my thoughts on it again as I get to play with it some more, but so far I am optimistic about this purchase. It makes me curious about trying out some of the other NOVUS PRECISION products.
Last edited:
It is not etched (though that would be a nice feature). You only see the circle dot reticle when the unit is turned on. The magnifier you see in the photos is the Primary Arms Micro 3x Magnifier (Pegasus) which has a rangefinder etched on the magnifier lens.
Thank you. So it’s not a prism sight then?
The manufacturer lists it as a prism sight.
Thank-you for the kind words and review!
