With that in mind, what do you feel the Vortex 1-10 offers that the other scopes you mention do not (beyond the obvious 10x high end mag, I guess)
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Has anyone used both a PST gen 2 1-6 and a Razor? Is the Razor really worth 2.5x more?
I think it just does the best job of combining usability at 1x and 6x or higher. Since that gun is my "longer ranged" focused gun I prefer the FFP reticle for the ability to use it at any magnification, but it also gives up VERY little at 1x especially with the illumination on. I cross shopped the Nightforce ATACR 1-8, but never haven't shot with it. I picked the Razor for the extra magnification, lower cost, and finer aiming point. For a 5.56 gun I really don't need more magnification than 10x, so being able to have that along with the 1x performance of the 1-6 model was pretty appealing.
For my use, I wasn't comparing the Razor 1-10 directly with the Kahles and Razor though. If I was the primary use case was going to be 1x running and gunning type use I would prefer to go with a SFP reticle and something that weighs a little less. Ultimately those options got beat out by the RDS + magnifier and not the Razor 1-10 since I would use them for different purposes. That said, the only place I feel like the Razor 1-10 really loses out at 1x is with no illumination so you really aren't giving up much with that choice if the extra few ounces doesn't bother you.
The PST gen 2 is certainly the better value. The Razor is a little bit "flatter" on 1x with better FOV and a little clearer. The Razor also has a longer track record from a durability standpoint, but I haven't heard of many problems with the PST Gen 2s. That said, I still have the Razor Gen IIE and I sold the PST, so . . .
Durability would be the biggest reason to upgrade from the PST line for me. That said, I just got a PST 3-15x44 in from Europtic (on sale for $600) and they can build a really build scope in the Phillipines... my only concerns re:durability come from reading too much Snipershide, where seemingly every scope manages to break eventually.
I was really curious to try the Meopta Optika6 3-18 as SportsOptics have the MRAD FFP in stock for ~$650 after their discount but I don't have a gun I can justify buying it for :P
I did briefly consider the PST II for the 16" AR but it would be a porker with an offset dot. I do appreciate that the gun handles very well with the PST 1-6 on it, even with bipod. Wouldn't want any replacement optic(s) to be substantially heavier.