I've been looking into buying a red dot for my AR, I always wanted an eotech xps3 but after some consideration I decided it wasn't going to be rugged enough. I know aimpoints have amazing reliability and have gone through house fires and still work etc. but I don't really want an aimpoint. I've looked into the MRO a bit and I was wondering if there's anybody with first hand experience that could share some insight. Thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCD9U2AmgyE

I have 6 MRO's sitting in my gunsafe and friends have 3 more. All have been 100% to date but we haven't abused them like they do in this video:

I had to back out of an EE deal because the MRO I was selling quit working. The little contact fingers for the battery like to snap off and it cause the battery to jitter around enough to cause the dot to turn off intermittently.

I went back to H1s after that.

Just my personal anecdote.

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Mine hasn't been TOO beaten up yet. It's fallen off my tailgate a couple times during shooting trips, but I HAVE taken it out in <15 degree HEAVY snowfall and a cold rain, both multiple times to shoot, and I was pleased that it performed very well in those adverse conditions. I am planning on doing some 100+ temp shooting trips this summer to test it out during high strings of fire.
I wouldn't say it's built like a tank like an aimpoint m4, but it does a dang good job of staying on and not failing under anything I put it through.

I'm interested in the Trijicon MRO too due to reading reviews that the dot is better for people with a slight astigmatism such as myself.

My only pause is I'm concerned it wont be as durable as an aimpoint.

Watch the entire MRO torture-test video posted above. At some point, increased durability becomes moot, like saying "my optic will withstand a 20Kt nuclear blast but yours will only withstand a 10Kt nuclear blast."
IMHO the Aimpoint CompMK4 & M4S are arguably the most rugged & durable RDS' currently available. However, that doesn't mean other available optics aren't nearly as rugged or aren't sufficiently rugged as to make no practical difference to users who don't jump out of helicopters for a living.

Except for fumble-fingered users who manage to bend/break the battery contact arms, I haven't heard of any ruggedness-related problems w/the MRO and I do like that the dot is less distorted w/my astigmatism than with Aimpoints.

Tomac

I can confirm that is the case for me. I had to wear glasses as a kid due to astigmatism, and as an adult every red dot or holographic sight I've used has been slightly to moderately flared, or has the starburst effect.

Not so with the MRO. When out shooting, the dot looks nice and crisp, with no flare or starburst at all. I currently own two MROs and will continue to purchase more if I need another red dot sight. It is literally the only one I have ever looked through that looks sharp and crisp to my eyes.

I can't make any claims as to how durable the MRO is. I don't torture test or abuse my stuff. I just take it out to the range, and put it back in the safe. The sight appears to be built very solidly, and I have no question that Trijicon will take care of you if you have issues with your MRO. Their customer service is excellent based on my dealings with them.

I'm aware of a Fed agency that demoed the MRO on a few different select-fire rifles (Mk16 and M4) over the course of several thousand rounds in single shots, controlled bursts and full mag dumps...  The guy I spoke with said the MRO was holding up well and appeared to be much more reliable than the EOtechs they were sending back - especially when it comes to their typical AOR (SW border).  I asked about the Aimpoint T1/2 - he said they'd be great, but couldn't really compare them to the MRO fairly due to the pricing.