Originally Posted by
Augee
As others have alluded to, the EOTech provides the best light transmission of any RDS I've tried so far, due to both the holographic technology used, which does not require the same types of lens coatings as projected LED dots, and bears more resemblance to a fighter aircraft's HUD than most other red dot sights available on the market.
Moreover, both the housing size and shape translate to better light transmission as well as field of view--not only is the EOTech's housing and protective outer hood thin, and designed to allow some light to pass through, the rectangular shape (as opposed to circular) means that more light can get "past" the optic housing due to asymmetry between the image intensifier's field of view and the optic. A circular FOV essentially creates a concentric "blockage" that ultimately prevents more light from reaching the image intensifier's objective lens, leading to a darker overall image--even if the optic housing is only "seen" as a blur or shadow, it is still blocking valuable light from reaching the user when placed between the target and shooter.
Night vision compatible EOTechs also not only have the convenient "NV" button that allows you to immediately switch between daylight brightness and passive NV use, but the buttons also "remember" the brightness settings, meaning you don't have to cycle through to find the "right" setting as much as you would on a rheostat dial.
Moreover, the NV-compatible EOTechs have ten brightness settings for NV use, as opposed to the 2-4 that are common on most other dot optics, allowing you to more precisely dial the brightness for your environment and intended use. Having shot passive for quite a while, depending on environment and conditions, I've needed to dial the brightness back to the "bottom" of the NV settings in extremely dark conditions, to actually needing to go into lower visible settings in brighter environments.
Our daylight optics often have 8-12 daylight brightness settings based on variability of conditions, I see no reason why our NV optics should not also. Four is less than ideal, and two pretty much only works for pistol applications.
Different optics have their own advantages and disadvantages, and I use a lot of other optics, including for passive NV use, including T1s and T2s depending on what my particular needs are for that rifle--I am far from saying that the EOTech is the only serviceable optic for passive aiming use.
However, if performance and capabilities for passive NV shooting are the sole consideration, EOTechs are still the best I've used by a wide margin.
~Augee