Is There A General Consensus: Meprolight vs. Eotech?

[TrappedinCalifornia]

I ran into one of the Meprolight optics not long ago and have been curious since. There seemed to be 'mixed' reviews of the Meprolight, depending on the version and the source of the reviews. Is it highly dependent on the individual and there expectations or is there a general consensus?

Sootch seems to like 'em...



Beyond that, the 'complaints' seem to be centered on the 'plastic,' the size of the unit, and 'only 3,000 hrs.'

I'm not all that familiar with the Meprolight stuff, thus the curiosity.

[HKAllTheThings]

I've never been impressed with Israeli-made stuff.

[Munny$hot]

I have an M21 and that thing is a beast of an optic. IMHO anything fielded by the IDF is built to perform. There is a YT vid of a guy torture testing a M21 by dunking it in water, removing it, throwing it down range, remounting it several times, showing the excellent return to zero capabilities as well as durability of the M21.

https://youtu.be/ZazQ-iU69Ag

[CaliphobiaRick]

4MOA dot seems absurd for a rifle. I like my EoTech with the 1MOA dot.

[Munny$hot]

The M21 has different reticles which include a circle dot, triangle and X. If you wanted a precision point which is something a RDS was not designed for you can use the tip of the triangle. IMHO a short @ 1000 hr battery life in a combat optic is obsurd. The M21 has 2 power sources tritium and ambient light with an optional battery powered illuminator.

[CaliphobiaRick]

The M21 has different reticles which include a circle dot, triangle and X. If you wanted a precision point which is something a RDS was not designed for you can use the tip of the triangle. IMHO a short @ 1000 hr battery life in a combat optic is obsurd. The M21 has 2 power sources tritium and ambient light with an optional battery powered illuminator.

EOTech is amazing under nods. If you don't have nods I'd get the T2, COMP M5, or even this I guess. For night vision however the Eotech is beast.

[Munny$hot]

EOTech is amazing under nods. If you don't have nods I'd get the T2, COMP M5, or even this I guess. For night vision however the Eotech is beast.

I prefer Aimpoint Comp series to Eotech with NODs due to the quick adjust on the fly rotary switch vs pushing buttons. For passive aiming a M21 will work, but it will bloom without the use of an IR illuminator. As long as you're not staring into it for long periods of time your tube will be fine. The reticle of the Eotech with it's use of dots are too distracting for me, short battery life, battery parasitic drain even when off never made it an option for me to consider. Although I'd prefer the size and weight of the T1 the dot is more of a smear for me and is expatriated when used with a magnifier. The 2MOA PRO or the 4MOA Comps work best for my eyes.

[CaliphobiaRick]

There is not parasitic battery drain on the EOTech. I think you're thinking of the Vortex Huey. And Vortex supposedly fixed that with the gen 2.

[Munny$hot]

There is not parasitic battery drain on the EOTech. I think you're thinking of the Vortex Huey. And Vortex supposedly fixed that with the gen 2.

Apparently this Customer Service manager from Eotech didn't get the memo:

From Eotech:

Hello XXXXXXXX

6 mo is normal battery life when a battery
is left in the sight. There is a slight draw in the off or sleep mode
as there is a microprocessor that operates the laser. You can remove
the battery during long term storage without losing zero which is
mechanical and not electronic.


Sincerely,
Mike Kroll
Customer Service Manager
EOTech- An L-3 Communications Company
1201 E. Ellsworth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: 734 572 2176
Fax: 734 741 8221
E-mail: michael.kroll@L-3com.com

[CaliphobiaRick]

Weird, mine is going on 3 years and still bright.
Also if it was actually 6 months I'd get rid of it. That would be too much of a PITA.

[Munny$hot]

Weird, mine is going on 3 years and still bright.
Also if it was actually 6 months I'd get rid of it. That would be too much of a PITA.

I'm kinda at a loss with you not being aware of the battery drain issue as it has been beaten to death on gun forums for years and comes up with multiple results on Google.
Battery drain on an Eotech is the main reason why you see so many people dumping them and going with the T2. From my understanding the Eotech eats up batteries due to it being a laser based reticle vs a LED like an Aimpoint. Aimpoints also never turn off even in the lowest setting, but since it's LED based the power consumption is negatable. While I do like L3 some of their products like the APTIAL/PEQ also have a parasitic drain and their Filmless tubes also not known for long battery life.

OP: any reason you are only considering an Eotech and the Meprolight Pro? There are a lot of other great options out there.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

...OP: any reason you are only considering an Eotech and the Meprolight Pro? There are a lot of other great options out there.

I didn't say I was considering either.

As I indicated, I ran into a Meprolight not too long ago, didn't know much about them, and became curious enough to look them up and wonder how they stacked up against what I perceived as their direct competitor - Eotech.

Personally, I like the Aimpoint M4s and the Trijicon ACOG 4x32; but, were I in the market, I'd blanch a bit at the pricing for both. $900 - $1,500 depending on source, tax, etc. is a bit more than I'd want to spend these days on an optic for an AR-style rifle, no matter how good (overall or comparatively) the optic.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

So... I take it from the above exchange that there is no consensus.

[tacticalcity]

Between the two EoTech hands down. That said on an Israeli made rifle or clone the Meprolight would be cool. My dad had one on his Tavor.

[Ki6vsm]

4MOA dot seems absurd for a rifle. I like my EoTech with the 1MOA dot.

Don't own an EoTech but I know what you mean; a friend has one. The 1 MOA dot makes an excellent aiming point for longer distances. Other companies adopted a similar type reticle (Holosun for example) but they use a 2 MOA dot in the center of the 68? MOA ring. In that situation, even 2 MOA is unnecessarily large.