Be aware, possible visual occlusion open emitter optics.

[TCinVA]

As he punched out after his intentional breath, he couldn't find the dot. He pulled back behind cover after realizing the dot was being impacted by the system being fogged from his breath.

I've seen this several times.

It's one of the reasons why I prefer an enclosed emitter optic. Even with the lenses fogged, the projection of the dot isn't impacted so you can still usually see a dot. When the emitter is open to the elements and the glass is open to the elements it's a lot easier for the projection of the dot to be interfered with.

I've mentioned this a few times elsewhere, only to experience hand waving and bullshit. It's not something you should stay up at night worrying over, but you should know it's a thing and take preventative measures understanding that even with as much prevention as you can do, it's still a thing you can run into.

[TCB]

Until you put in work in extremely challenging environmental conditions you don’t truly understand the limits of your gear.

[mmc45414]

Until you put in work in extremely challenging environmental conditions you don’t truly understand the limits of your gear.

I was at a three gun match once when it started raining buckets right before my turn, and the reticle on the EOtech was just fine, but you couldn't see a damn thing through it, for sure not unpainted steel plates at ~90yds. Ever since that day I have been meaning to mount offset peep sights, for gaming and potential zombies.

[Basher]

Until you put in work in extremely challenging environmental conditions you don’t truly understand the limits of your gear.

And this is just another reason I give for why competitions are beneficial. Not only do they validate training, but they can validate gear selection as well. Most of us choose to hit the range on calm, sunny days when we'll be nice an comfy (and I'm 110% guilty of this myself), but competitions offer at least some rigidity in the environment and conditions present (with some exceptions). I always tell people to shoot a few outside matches a year for this reason.

[Clusterfrack]

I just got back from a local USPSA match, with biblical rain. On the 4th target of a stage the rain was so heavy that water covered the emitter and the dot was projected in the wrong direction. It cost me quite a bit of time, and points. I really wish there was a large window closed emitter optic.

15A2C1D HF5.0

[GJM]

I would be curious how a 507 Comp in circle mode would have worked in this scenario?

[Clusterfrack]

I would be curious how a 507 Comp in circle mode would have worked in this scenario?

That's a really good question. Water flooded the housing around the emitter, causing the dot to appear very high in the window. It was not visible with a proper index. I'm guessing that the circle would have been affected similarly by the lens created by the water. But it might have been more obvious what was going on.

[TCinVA]

Things I've heard that your video nicely disproves:

- Bro, just shoot the gun and the water will clear out!
- It's a concealed carry gun, it's not like water is going to get in the emitter! (The fact that the gun is actually out of the holster when you need it seems to be lost on some folks)

[zcap]

Until you put in work in extremely challenging environmental conditions you don’t truly understand the limits of your gear.

100% this. Here are some things I learned from testing pistol RDS in water, rain, humidity, extreme temperature transitions, and sub zero cold.

1. Not all open emitters are equal. Some, eg the DPP, are extremely susceptible to minimal amounts of debris or water interfering with dot projection.

2. Spray on anti-foggers are generally not very effective as they leave only a very thin hydrophobic film. You can apply multiple coats to increase effectiveness, but paste is much more effective as you can quickly apply a thick layer and then thin it out until the dot is relatively sharp and you can see through the glass. A bright high quality emitter allows running with a thick hydrophobic layer and this has largely eliminated fogging under conditions that I have tested.

3. LPVOs and enclosed dots can also fog. Internal seals can be compromised after extended use, or even limited exposure to extreme temperatures. Once a seal is compromised these units can fog internally and occlude your irons with no quick remedy. Regardless of the tech, you need a backup sighting technique.

4. Enclosed pistol red dots often weigh upwards of 2x open emitter dots and that additional weight narrows the slides cycling window. Under standard range conditions this may not be noticeable, but combine that extra weight with another factor like below freezing temperatures and suddenly cycling issues can manifest. In other words, running a heavier enclosed red dot may require a lighter recoil spring to maintain the slide's cycling window.

[TCinVA]

Couple of years ago, out handling one of the occasional blizzards we get and checking in on some people who had the misfortune of a pretty bad case of COVID right as they were snowed in. I did some shoveling and running the snowthrower, so I was jacketless. Ended up sliding down their hill head first, pistol and holster ended up like a bucket collecting ice. Thought I'd have to shoot their methhead neighbor's rotweiller.

Glass was fogged to the point where I couldn't see sights. But I could make out the dot through the fogged rear lens. It was pretty much just a fuzzy occluded optic at that point. I've since shot in a fair bit of cold weather with the gun and verified I can absolutely shoot accurately with the rear lens fogged.

It's not a thing until it's a thing. It seems like much more of a thing once it's happened to you.