Holographic Optics: EOTech and Aimpoint

If you are looking for a holographic type sight for your rifle then one brand that is very much worthy of consideration is EOTech.  There are a lot of lower end contenders in this market but EOTech, as well as Aimpoint, are really the only two that have the degree of quality that those serious about the use of their weapon would be concerned with.  Although  Aimpoint and EOTech have their merritts I will talk about only EOTech's line of optics in this article.

Likely the  most evident quality of an EOTech that separates it from most lesser sights is it's unmatched ability for quick aiming.  Beyond being simply a benefit, the capacity to quickly get on a target is an utter requirement in a lot of applications.  Those in the military, police officers and hunters have all recognized the benefits of the EOTech in this domain. 

The EOTech's capability for fast aiming is allowed by two primary qualities:
- The reticle design:  A tiny but bright 1 MOA (minute of angle) center dot surrounded by a far larger 65 MOA circle is the standard reticle design, though many models offer other alternatives.   The larger circle is very visible even with a glimpse and allows the shooter to acquire close up targets quite quickly while the 1 MOA dot still allows for accurate aiming at  distant targets.
- The sight picture size:  Unlike more traditional scope designs, and even many other red dot type sights, the EOTech utilizes a wide accessible sight picture only a bit limited by the metal housing.

Most won't have a trying time finding an acceptable product from EOTech since their product line is comprised of of well over a dozen models of red dot sights, normally with several versions of each.  The battery employed by the units normally decides the large visible variations in design.  Almost all sights in the 510 variety, as in the commonly used 516, make use of AA batteries and are there fore the largest of the company's designs.  By comparison 550 series products including the 556 use a much smaller CR123 lithium battery providing for the optic to be markedly shorter.  By no small amount the shortest sights in EOTech's line of products are in the newest (spring '09) XPS series.  Models such as the XPS2 take advantage of the much smaller lithium battery. 

There are a few potential downsides to EOTech that some users occasionally mention.  While the battery life is estimated at a thousand hours for most models, this is still less by a noticeable margin than that of most Aimpoint brand red dot sights.  And while a thousand hours sounds like a long time, it can go by quicker than you would imagine for those whose weapon is being used every single day.  Another thing that is often mentioned in comparison with the Aimpoint is EOTech's propensity to more often malfunction in certain extreme environments or situations.  Again this is exceedingly rare and is only brought up when contrasting it to it's only other real competitor in quality but it is worth noting, particularly if you depend on your weapon on a daily basis.  Asking a hundred people, knowledgeable of this kind of optic, which of these brands they prefer would likely yield fifty responses for each.  This polarization of opinions is why I have chosen to stick mainly with highlighting the benefits of one brand while steering away from the popular arguments and while fully acknowledging the equal worth of the competitor.

While none of these are ideal, they give the consumer a good number of choices to pick from to best suit their requirements.