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Yeah I agreed to that point above, the problem is that for every setting above eight, you’re literally cutting the battery life in half. Everyone uses 50k/multiple years of battery life as a selling point, but at setting 10 it’s less than two years according to Aimpoint. And that’s not even in their manual, I had to email them to get those numbers. Again, the battery life is an advantage over Eotech, but not to the extent everyone makes it out to be.
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That’s not how I do it, I just leave it on a brighter setting and change the battery more often. But since everyone makes it seem like they’ll run forever and only the 50k battery life in setting eight was in the manual when I got mine, I picked up my gun a few times and found that the dot was dead because I had it on a higher setting and had no way of knowing what to expect out of the battery.
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Is this an issue considering it sounds like most people here are changing batteries annually? I’d still prefer to change the battery once a year instead of once a month or two.
It’s been discussed here before but EoTechs and Aimpoints serve different roles. EoTechs are great for proactive missions such as pre-planned military and LE CQB in a team environment. You just got a warno that your team is hitting a house in two hours and you expect the entire operation to last no more than three hours? Your employer provides a limitless supply of batteries and it’s your SOP to pop in a fresh one for every mission? EoTech rocks for that. The automatic shut off doesn’t matter. The battery life doesn’t matter. The heavier weight doesn’t matter.
Aimpoints are better for reactive missions such as private citizen home defense and LE use as a patrol carbine. The dot on the rifle needs to stay on all the time because you never know when you’ll need to use it. Someone kicked your front door in and your alarm is ringing? You grab your rifle, which you likely keep cruiser ready, and rack a round in. Maybe you have time to turn on the dot. Maybe you don’t. You’re a patrol officer riding around in a patrol car for 8-12 hours at a time and don’t pull your rifle out at every call? When you run into a situation where you need your rifle, the dot better be on already. Active shooter? Reported in progress bank robbery? Perimeter setup or tracking for an armed, violent subject? I wouldn’t want to have to mess with my optic on top of everything else going on.
My posts only represent my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of any employer, past or present. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.
Again. My point is that the battery likely won’t last for as many years as is commonly believed, REGARDLESS OF WHAT EOTECH OR ANY OTHER OPTIC DOES. If you replace batteries annually, it may not be a problem, but if you leave it on setting 11, it won’t even last a year.
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The logic behind my choices basically aligns with what @DanM laid out above.
For the HD/bag gun defensive 300blk PDW, I use a Aimpoint T-2. Being in a defensive role, deployment would almost certainly be reactive. Key factors for choice: reliable dot, on 24/7. I change the battery yearly.
For a 11.5" 5.56 pistol, I use an EoTech EXPS3-0. It's something I would go get if I knew trouble was coming. Deployment would almost certainly be proactive. Key factors for choice: increased SA from big clear window and reticle that's friendly to my aging eyes. I change batteries when the reticle starts flashing.
Tried not to make it too complicated. Chose optics that best suit those roles for me.
Last edited by StraitR; 07-10-2020 at 09:47 PM.
This ^^^.
I say this having been responsible for over 100 M4s with EoTechs which now all wear H-1s.
@DanM's reactive vs proactive analogy is spot on.
I leave my work H-1 on 8 as a default and change the battery annually.
That is still 10k to 12k hours vs 1200 hours out of even the best of the EOTechs. More importantly, for my uses, unlike the EoTech I don't have to turn it on every time I need it and it doesn't intentionally turn itself off if I'm sitting in a car for 12 hours pissing in a gatorade bottle waiting for someone who merits an M-4 level attention.
Heat kills batteries, like when they spend most of their time in vehicles in Texas heat... hence annual battery changes on the H-1s.. However that affects EoTech Batteries too.
We've had a handful of H-1's and LRP mounts fail but 3/4 of the H-1 issues we've seen are user induced via failure to fully tighten the battery cap or failure to change the battery annually.
I’ve never seen anyone write that, or heard anyone say it.
The battery life, when referenced, is ALWAYS in relationship to the competition. And no matter how you slice it, the Aimpoint battery life is exponentially better than the competition. And, at just about any realistic “leave it on” setting, the Aimpoint will last long enough, left on, that you can measure the battery life with a calendar not a stopwatch.
I’m getting kinda old. I know what rum I like (zacapa for ice, brugal for coke), what beer I like (PBR), what cigars I like (Liga Pravda no 9)... and I don’t really have time for things other than Colt ARs, Glock handguns, beretta shotguns, Aimpoint optics, and Surefire lights. I can Dick around with something like a PSA 9mm upper with a holosun optic on it for my PCC matches, but even that’s already become tiresome after one match full of malfunctions (the upper, not the optic, yet).
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