I cannot tell a difference between the T2 and the duty rds when it comes to looking through it. Everyone's eyes are different, so maybe someone else will be able to, but I could not.
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New Aimpoint Duty RDS
- Thread starter DeathBeforeDismount
- Start date
As far as the differences to make the price so much lower, the machining seems rougher and not as pretty on the exterior. And I guess we will see if there is actually a difference in battery life and how much of one exists. But other than that possibility, I don't see much difference at all, which is why I will probably stick to the duty rds in the future.
My best guess would be aimpoint has paid for the r&d and machines many times over for the aimpoint micro series, so they don't have to charge anywhere near as much as they would for an entirely new red dot product. Plus, everyone has seen the huge gain in market share that holosun has made largely based on price, ao they don't have much choice. It is actually similar to colt ar15 rifles, where they are often cheaper than brands that are nowhere near as durable and reliable these days .
My best guess would be aimpoint has paid for the r&d and machines many times over for the aimpoint micro series, so they don't have to charge anywhere near as much as they would for an entirely new red dot product. Plus, everyone has seen the huge gain in market share that holosun has made largely based on price, ao they don't have much choice. It is actually similar to colt ar15 rifles, where they are often cheaper than brands that are nowhere near as durable and reliable these days .
I like my T2 haven't had an occasion to look through this duty RDS thing yet.
As for the holosun fanboys, meh. I have one on my 43x because it actually fits the slide but the lenses are shit.
My Type 2 RMR is way better optically but Trijicon was smoking crack when they built the RMRcc so it doesn't fit any normal slide cut.
Glass matters, the HS are cheap but that describes price and glass. They're prone to a lot more issues with dirt, lint, blooming than I've seen with Trijicon and Aimpoint.
I'd probably buy an Acro for a a sealed emitter but I like a 6moa dot so
As for the holosun fanboys, meh. I have one on my 43x because it actually fits the slide but the lenses are shit.
My Type 2 RMR is way better optically but Trijicon was smoking crack when they built the RMRcc so it doesn't fit any normal slide cut.
Glass matters, the HS are cheap but that describes price and glass. They're prone to a lot more issues with dirt, lint, blooming than I've seen with Trijicon and Aimpoint.
I'd probably buy an Acro for a a sealed emitter but I like a 6moa dot so
The housing looks different from the T1, T2, c1, etc. because the Duty uses a forged body.
I looked through it again and if I am really trying hard to find it I can see a tiny bit of blue tint on the lens compared to a t2. But when properly just placing a dot on a target and looking at the target? I can't notice any difference. In fact, the red dot seemed a bit more clear on the duty rds because I have alight astigmatism!
This sounds reasonable. It's a pretty old design overall. My H1 has held up nicely to many many rounds of 5.56 with ZERO issues.
The PRO is better if you prefer a larger window and don't mind a heavier optic. Yes, it's ounces, but it also makes a difference at the end of a long day in terms of performance.
Doubt AP would put their name on it and call it "duty" unless it was pretty durable. Stupid way to flush their hard earned rep down the toilet.
Anyone else gotten one of these and have feedback? Trying to decide between the PRO and Duty. Like the size of the duty but I haven't been able to get my hands on one to check out.
I now have both. I love the quick release knob on the PRO but the knob is huge. The field of view is also nicer on the PRO. But if your looking for a compact red dot the rds shines over the PRO. I like the glass better on the PRO. I like the adjustment for brightness setting on the RDS better than the PRO. Very easy to adjust with left thumb while on the rifle.
The QR knob on the PRO does yank my chain a little. The PRO is just chonky which is my main complaint. But it would be going on a basic 16" gun with the main goal of just having a very reliable platform.
I don't necessarily need the size of the Duty but I do gravitate to the smaller form factor.
Have you noticed short battery life on your Duty? That's one thing I see a lot that the battery life sucks but anymore I can not tell if it's people parroting a Nuts are Fancy video or people sharing real world experience.
I haven’t owned them long enough to judge the battery life. Should be a lot of info on the PRO out there though. Many LE use those. The pro I believe is rated 30,000 hours vs 50,000 for rds.
On a 16” gun either will work. But the size difference is very noticeable
perhaps I need to call around again and see if any shops have gotten the duty in yet. .If you’re a first responder go through their website
No first responder discount for me. I'm mostly wanting to get my hands on and check out the Duty in person. Most of my local shops only stock the cheaper red dot optics.
They were the only ones who had one in stock when I bought mine. And I had to log in to see them in stock
I got mine from aimpoint directly when they came out. I had no idea that basically anyone with military service qualified. Aimpoint either just changed that policy or did not do a good enough job publicizing it because I bought multiple aimpoints at regular prices over the years!
And here I am, still wishing Aimpoint would make a green dot. A rep told there's no plans for such a thing.
A friend of mine got one so we installed it and hit the range. Here are my thoughts.
Battery Compartment: Surprised no one has mentioned this yet but the battery compartment is a bit of a nightmare. I have a few T2's and was expecting to pop the battery in, screw the cap on, and be done. However (and I know this because I called the Aimpoint Technical CS to make sure I wasn't mangling my buddy's battery compartment), "design compromises had to be made due to the design of the optic, resulting in the battery compartment being undersized." The battery doesn't have a positive "click" with the contacts like a T2, you have to work the battery in and get it so the stars align perfectly because the battery is held purely by contact tension, then you very, very gently screw the cap on. After the call with the rep, I tried for no less than 15 minutes to get to that utopic state where the battery wasn't popped out on one side of the contacts and was unsuccessful. I then lined the battery up, pressed down using my thumb then switched the tension to the battery cap, and then slid the cap over the battery before screwing the cap on. To say it was a pain would be an understatement.
Glass Tint: I did not notice any blue hue, the glass to me looked nearly identical to the T2. Yes I do have a Trijicon RMR Type 1 so I know what the blue hue looks like.
Brightness: Gets nuclear bright like all Aimpoints do, good to go. I believe we shot on setting 7 in bright sunlight and had no problems (Could have been setting 8).
Adjustment Buttons: Feel cheap and not durable to me. Hard to describe but that's the impression I get from them.
Adjustment Screws: Glad these are finally torx and not Aimpoint's infamous proprietary 2 hole design. They work well, positive clicks.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I essentially expected a T2 with half the battery life but the quality of the optic just isn't there for $500 for me. I'd rather spend ~$650 on a T2 and use one of the mounts I have in the parts box, I think that extra money for the T2 is well worth it. If this was a $350-$400 optic I could look past the flaws, but at that price I cannot. I was pretty excited to get a few of these and put them on "hand out rifles" but I will be going a different route now.
Hope this helps anyone who was on the fence.
Battery Compartment: Surprised no one has mentioned this yet but the battery compartment is a bit of a nightmare. I have a few T2's and was expecting to pop the battery in, screw the cap on, and be done. However (and I know this because I called the Aimpoint Technical CS to make sure I wasn't mangling my buddy's battery compartment), "design compromises had to be made due to the design of the optic, resulting in the battery compartment being undersized." The battery doesn't have a positive "click" with the contacts like a T2, you have to work the battery in and get it so the stars align perfectly because the battery is held purely by contact tension, then you very, very gently screw the cap on. After the call with the rep, I tried for no less than 15 minutes to get to that utopic state where the battery wasn't popped out on one side of the contacts and was unsuccessful. I then lined the battery up, pressed down using my thumb then switched the tension to the battery cap, and then slid the cap over the battery before screwing the cap on. To say it was a pain would be an understatement.
Glass Tint: I did not notice any blue hue, the glass to me looked nearly identical to the T2. Yes I do have a Trijicon RMR Type 1 so I know what the blue hue looks like.
Brightness: Gets nuclear bright like all Aimpoints do, good to go. I believe we shot on setting 7 in bright sunlight and had no problems (Could have been setting 8).
Adjustment Buttons: Feel cheap and not durable to me. Hard to describe but that's the impression I get from them.
Adjustment Screws: Glad these are finally torx and not Aimpoint's infamous proprietary 2 hole design. They work well, positive clicks.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I essentially expected a T2 with half the battery life but the quality of the optic just isn't there for $500 for me. I'd rather spend ~$650 on a T2 and use one of the mounts I have in the parts box, I think that extra money for the T2 is well worth it. If this was a $350-$400 optic I could look past the flaws, but at that price I cannot. I was pretty excited to get a few of these and put them on "hand out rifles" but I will be going a different route now.
Hope this helps anyone who was on the fence.
A friend of mine got one as well and... I'm not a fan.
IMO its wonky height is probably the most annoying thing about it, but yeah, the crappy battery compartment and buttons aren't far behind, if they were on a Holosun instead of an AImpoint guys would be calling their designs shit straight up, because they are. After trying one, I feel like the fanboys are giving Aimpoint a pass to a degree.
IMHO, for $500, one is far better off with an EOTech XPS2-1, or, one can just get a Holosun 430R (or 3) to use while they save a couple more bucks for a legit T2.
Interesting how it looks tinted in the review posted earlier. Mine isn't like that at all....
Also, I have had mine on continuously for about 7 months and the battery is still going strong. It is set three spots down from the brightest setting. I have my suspicions that aimpoint intentionally under valued the battery life in martketing to avoid tanking T2 sales, but I obviously can't prove that.
It may not last quite as long as a T2, but since I replace my batteries once a year it doesn't really matter as long as I can get a continuous year out of it. However, as some of the other replies show, not everyone likes this model compared to a T2. Different eyes and different brains can have totally different views, but it works for me.
I like it enough to have it on my bedside HD rifle, but that is just me.
It may not last quite as long as a T2, but since I replace my batteries once a year it doesn't really matter as long as I can get a continuous year out of it. However, as some of the other replies show, not everyone likes this model compared to a T2. Different eyes and different brains can have totally different views, but it works for me.
I like it enough to have it on my bedside HD rifle, but that is just me.
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Might help to turn the dot down to a usable level (still usable for night/dark) and turn it up when using on range.
I’m sure it would. Just giving update in the conditions of my use. I have it setup so it’s visible in the day. But not blinding at night. So if you had to grab quick you shouldn’t need to worry about setting the brightness. Your results may vary
Personally if it last a year I’m good with that. That’s when I’d change anyways. Just would rather it go much longer so it doesn’t crap out before a scheduled battery swap
How do people determine which color they prefer for optics?And here I am, still wishing Aimpoint would make a green dot. A rep told there's no plans for such a thing.
I like red for FO on pistol
green for pistol battery powered optic (6MOA dot over 3 or 2) no problem with circle dot or just the circle either, they all work okay
For ACOG, I can use red and green, arrow or horseshoe either works fine for my eyes
I can't figure out why.
I read about how we have twice as many receptors for red, that we pick up green easier- wavelength spectrum; red is in our brain as a priority, etc.
but it depends on what platform and as Sage Dynamics guy says, the laboratory keeps changing so it's difficult to really compare.
Green is easier to pick up by the eye but there have been peer reviewed studies that show green LED diodes will cause damage to the eye, more so than red but much less than blue.
When I contacted Aimpoint they couldn't tell me the material of the Duty RDS housing. Doing some digging and watching that Mr Guns n Gear review, looks like it is forged 6082 and that's like the UK/Europe equivalent to 6061. So nothing really special. They probably saved money by not machining the exterior like the H/T series and those are 6061.
I like my T2 haven't had an occasion to look through this duty RDS thing yet.
As for the holosun fanboys, meh. I have one on my 43x because it actually fits the slide but the lenses are shit.
My Type 2 RMR is way better optically but Trijicon was smoking crack when they built the RMRcc so it doesn't fit any normal slide cut.
Glass matters, the HS are cheap but that describes price and glass. They're prone to a lot more issues with dirt, lint, blooming than I've seen with Trijicon and Aimpoint.
I'd probably buy an Acro for a a sealed emitter but I like a 6moa dot so
Well the 407/507 Holosuns have terrible glass quality - lots of tint and distortion. About the same distortion as my RMR. The EPS Carry and SIG Romeo-X Compact, OTOH, is much better with far less distortion. But these are pistols sights.
My SIG Romeo 4T Pro looks just as good if not better than the T2. The T2 has a slight amount of tint, while there's nothing noticeable on the 4T Pro. 4T Pro is 7075 for the optic and mount.
I wish I understood why there is so much distortion. Given how great scopes can be made, I wonder what the speed bump is for pistol optics.
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