red dot features vs perceived quality/durability??

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nintendohunter

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I'm sitting here at my desk playing around with an Aimpoint H2 and a Bushnell TRS25. I've had the TRS for a long time, for occasional range duty it has proven quite reliable. To my eyes there's very very little difference in the quality of the dot itself between these two sights. I find the bottom 50% of the brightness settings on the Aimpoint basically useless for most applications. The optical clarity is much better on the H2 though, of course. Battery life and durability are also much better, though I haven't tested the latter myself.

Bushnell has a better design for the rotary power switch - it's bidirectional. Both maximum and minimum brightness settings are always one click from zero. I really appreciate that. I have an LPVO with every other rotary notch being an OFF position - the superb design of the bunch.

$1000 vs $100 red dot. :popCorn: yikes

So its got me thinking about trading away the H2 for something more midrange, like the Holosun 515GM. That one has shake-awake and an automatic sleep function, not to mention dual reticles - why couldn't Aimpoint do this at the $1000 pricepoint??

Anyone have any thoughts? Is it crazy to 'downgrade' from the venerable durability of a made-in-Sweden red dot for a Chinese Holosun with a better set of features at half the price? How much value do you put on the "should last me a lifetime" feature of the Aimpoint? :cool:
 
Well, you are not mentioning the aimpoints night vision compatibility (those lower levels of brightness), as well as its waterproof/shockproof ratings.

Granted you are not trusting your optic in life or death situations, go for the saving money. But its not apples to apples.
 
OP, those are fair questions, but frankly you're not using the Aimpoint for what it was designed for. The Aimpoint Micro is possibly the most rugged and reliable red dot optic available, at any price. For some applications, ultimate reliability is by far the most important feature. If that's not your application, then it's not for you. If you buy a pickup truck, it's nonsense to compare its fuel economy to a hatchback. If you buy a hatchback, it's nonsense to compare its hauling capacity to a pickup truck.


Just to address your points of concern about the Aimpoint:

As daver said, the lowest settings are for NVG. The switch design is the simplest possible - It is bombproof and is designed to give the least likelihood of failure. With the battery life it has, shake awake and sleep functions are both pointless, and both features add potential failure points. Multiple reticles also add a potential failure point.
 
Have you thought about a Trijicon reflex ? It is always on it is very well built , shrugs off pretty much any abuse that happens , not effected by heat or cold and no batteries.
 
I personally wouldn't trade down from an Aimpoint to something "lesser" if I already had one. When selling you will lose taxes, possibly some msrp, and have to pay more sales tax on a new Holosun.

That being said, an Aimpoint is probably not worth it for most people (target shooting) over a Holosun, Sig, Vortex, Etc. Duty use is a different story, but those brands aren't slouches either.
 
We used $100 bushnells in hunt camps for years and years and they never lost zero and got tossed around plenty. Heck I have one that has seen a lot of hours in the field that is now mounted on a turkey gun and does just fine. I am not typically a fan of cheap optics but those bushnell red dots really hold up!
 
To clear up confusion, H2 doesn't have NVG specific settings. That's a feature of the T2 specifically. Nevertheless, the first few brightness stops are probably fine for NV, considering I can barely see them with my naked eye.

I assume 99% of us here don't use our guns on 2 way ranges, but at the back of your head you dig the 'bombproof' aspect of high end hardware anyway. It's nice to know the optic SHOULD theoretically last a lifetime, and be able to get dragged through the mud should the need ever arise. I guess that's the dilemma!
 
nintendohunter said:
...H2 doesn't have NVG specific settings... Nevertheless, the first few brightness stops are probably fine for NV...

I assume 99% of us here don't use our guns on 2 way ranges, but at the back of your head you dig the 'bombproof' aspect of high end hardware anyway. It's nice to know the optic SHOULD theoretically last a lifetime, and be able to get dragged through the mud should the need ever arise. I guess that's the dilemma!
Click to expand...

As you observe, those lowest settings on the H2 probably work very well with NVG. I'm guessing they just don't market the H2 that way because they need a distinct upgraded feature list to make the T-series the only option for law enforcement and military contract buyers.

There are civilian applications where ultimate durability and reliability are clearly worth it for some people: Hunting dangerous game, protection from wildlife, and serious competition shooting all come to mind.

Also, some guys are just hard on equipment, and are willing to pay for the convenience of not ever having to worry about their optic. And some guys just like nice stuff, and the Aimpoint Micro is definitely in that category.

Personally, I don't think of top-tier optics as lifetime ownership items - Of course it should last, but if you're someone who can really benefit from this type of optic, I think you'd be looking hard at upgrading as optics tech advances.

If you don't have a use for the Aimpoint's field reliability, you'll absolutely get more practical value out of one of the more economical options - Especially if it has additional features you like, and a liberal warranty policy.
 
I just have a hard time settling on something. And I don't wanna have to re-zero new optics every other month.

I got the H2 to make the switch from a vortex 1-4 LPVO but clearly my mind isn't made up. If I consider adding a magnifier after, I'm not saving rail space or weight. lol so many choices ugh
 
nintendohunter said:
...I got the H2 to make the switch from a vortex 1-4 LPVO but clearly my mind isn't made up. If I consider adding a magnifier after, I'm not saving rail space or weight. lol so many choices ugh
Click to expand...

At least that one is really just a practical decision: Either the magnification is worth the extra space and weight to you or it isn't. I've always found magnifiers gimmicky for my applications, but everyone is different.

If the reliability of the Aimpoint doesn't speak for itself, I honestly don't think it's going to grow on you (but it's not impossible). Don't beat yourself up about it, sell it and buy the optic that allows you to start enjoying the features you will really see a benefit from.

Or if you can afford to, buy the new optic and keep the Aimpoint (at least for a while). Using them side by side may tell you something helpful.
 
I think I need to step away from this computer and burn my Visas because I'm upending my plans and window-shopping the Nightforce NX8 1-8 now. Ugh.
 
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