Man, I still get hung up on the optic. I keep wanting to like the low power variables but I haven't gotten behind one yet that I thought "wow, I could really make this work." The closest is the Leupold Mark 6, but I haven't shot one yet, just looked through. Even then, the FFP makes it pretty useless on 1X if the battery is gone. What's proven this to me, at least for now, is shooting 3gun. I'm WAAAAAY faster with an Aimpoint, even on a course of fire with 100yd targets than with a variable because the tradeoff of magnification is field of view. When you're shooting a multiple target array against the clock, you've got to see as much as possible so you don't get lost.
Maybe someone's found that magical unicorn or maybe my eyes just need to learn more.