At SHOT this year I had the chance to check out Vortex's new products.  Most impressive were the Viper and Razor tactical line.  Vortex has definitely hired someone with tactical end user experience to develop their new products.  The upper end lines are made in the Phillipines (Viper), and Japan (Razor). Their quality and features rival the best optics available, and are priced competitively.
But what caught my eye was the SPARC (Speed Point Aiming for Rapid Combat) red dot optic made in China.  I've been looking for a small, sturdy red dot that is affordable, for my range toys as well as serious use.
Optics Planet

Finding an optic that meets this criteria is like searching for the Holy Grail,  but I think I've found it.
Vortex SPARC

Preacherman MATT already posted a great review of the SPARC, focusing on it's durability so my review will highlight it's features and mounting on a variety of weapon systems.
Preacherman MATT's review

SPARC Features
-Waterproof and Shockproof
-Unlimited eye relief
-2 moa red dot
-10 intensity levels including a night vision mode
-1x magnification (2x magnifier included)
-Weighs 5.2 ounces
-3" long
-Obj. and Occ. lens diameter-22mm.

PreachermanMatt already proved the claim of waterproof and shockproof, I don't have much to add except that I mounted the SPARC on my Benelli Super Nova Tactical and shot 25 rds. of Fed. Tactical 00 buck. without an issue.

1st shot to confirm zero @ 25 yds.


Banging away until my shoulder hurt.


It held zero through out and never came loose on it's mount.


Next I mounted the SPARC on several different weapons, zeroed with a laser bore sighter, and shot them to evaluate the optic. All weapons shown in this review were shot with a SPARC and a minimum 50 rnds each, some more depending on mounting configuration.  They were shot from a standing position, rapid fire, and prone, slow fire.


This is what you get with the SPARC.

-SPARC optic
-2x magnifier(doubler)
-Bikini lens cover
-Spare battery
-Lens cloth
-2 Allen wrenches
-User manual
-Mounts ( 4 heights possible)

There is also a KillFlash ARD and 3x magnifier listed as available.  I was unable to find the 3x magnifier anywhere at this time, but when I do I'll update this review.

The SPARC is slightly larger than the Aimpoint T1, Sig MRD, etc., and smaller than the Aimpoint M2, Vortex StrikeFire, etc.

SRARC and Sig MRD




The clarity of the glass is comparable, but the 2 moa dot of the SPARC is much sharper and brighter.  The Sig MRD has no night vision capability.  The fit and finish is exactly the same on both and the mounts are perfectly interchangeable, leading me to believe they're both made in the same Chinese factory. This is common practice in the optics industry, where one Chinese factory will make product for many companies and brand it accordingly.

SPARC and StrikeFire

The control module appears the same on both, but it's much improved on the SPARC.  The tactile feel, pressure required to operate the control buttons, and ability to remain in their set position is much better.  The control module has 4 control buttons.  The power button is on the side, push once to power up, hold in for 3 seconds to shut down.  Earlier StrikeFires had a problem with inadvertant operation of this control, the problem has been remedied on the SPARC.  The brightness intensity levels are controlled by 2 buttons on the rear of the module. The upper increases brightness, the lower decreases brightness.  Night vision mode has 2 intensity levels and is operated with the center button.  When SPARC is turned on it returns to the previously set intensity level.


The clarity of the glass is also much improved over the 1st gen. Vortex StrikeFire I have, and the dot is much brighter in sunlight.  Although the SPARC only has a red dot unlike the StrikeFire's red/green dot.

The SPARC was easy to zero with positive 1 moa clicks, and the ability to flip over the adj. covers and use them to turn adj. dials.  The covers are attached to the optic with plastic covered wires (battery cover also).

 

The SPARC operates on (1) CR2354 battery with a claimed service life of 120 hrs. on max brightness.  There are 10 intensity levels, and 2 levels in night vision mode.  If the unit is left on it will automatically shut down after 6 hrs.

Clarity of glass and dot brightness
Sky/ARD

Sky

Wood line/ARD  

Wood line


After comparing the SPARC to My Aimpoint M3 for clarity I'd say the M3 is  better.  The SPARC appears to have a slight blue/gray tint to the glass, but the sight picture is clear out to the edges. The sight picture is slightly obstructed by the light diode unit at the bottom of the tube.  But considering the cost of the optic the clarity of the glass is better than expected.

The 2x doubler screws into the occular lens portion of the SPARC.  It reduces the field of view considerably, and limits eye relief turning the SPARC into a 2x scope. I'd prefer Vortex to dump the 2x  and use the money saved to improve the clarity of the glass on 1x, the primary use of this type of optic.  

Notice the reduced eye relief when the 2x doubler is in use.



The ARD simply screws into the end of the objective lens. As expected with any KillFlash it slightly dims and obscures the sight picture, not a big issue in the outdoors, but a problem in low light .

Compare the reflection with and without the KillFlash.



Overall I'm pretty impressed with the features Vortex has offered with the SPARC.  It's durable, compact, holds zero, bright in sunlight and is cost effective.  Not everyone can afford to spend $500 plus on an optic for every weapon they own, the SPARC is a great alternative IMHO.  Many small L.E. agencies require that officers  purchase their own carbines and optics.  The SPARC could fill the need for officers on a tight budget.

SPARC mounting  

Vortex provides SPARC with 4 mounting heights, from Extra-high (AR15 absolute co-witness) to Low(rifles with a dropped comb) by using a high and low mount along with a shim.


The optic interfaces to the mount with a groove machined into the optic's base and a matching stud on the mount.



Four small hex head screws screw through the mount into the optic base.  The Allen head wrench is provided, Vortex recommends using blue LocTite.

After you've selected the mount height for your weapon, and assembled it, slide it on the rail and tighten the the cross bolt at the base of the mount.
 


SCAR, Vortex high mount, absolute co-witness


Charging handle clearance, no issue


Sig556/Aurora sights, Vortex low mount, good co-witness


Charging handle clearance, no issue


V51, Vortex low mount, no co-witness



ADM mounts for SPARC

Vortex  provides a sturdy mount, but without a quick release capability.  American Defense Mfg. mounts address this issue nicely.  While at SHOT this year I noticed several Vortex optics displayed in ADM mounts.  When asked I was told that in the future Vortex and ADM will be working together to develop and market products together.  This makes sense as both companies are fairly close in Wisconsin.  ADM makes two mounts compatible with the SPARC.  The difference between the two is the overall height.
T1


CAS-V



More information on the ADM mounts found here.
Aimpoint T1 mount
Aimpoint CAS-V mount

Having previous experience with ADM mounts (Recon-X ) I decided to use them both on my SPARC (gives me a reason to buy another SPARC also).  All ADM products are milled from 6061 T6 aluminum and MilSpec hardcoat anodized.  The machining and fit are as good as any, and I really like their "auto-lock" system of rail attachment.

The ADM mount attaches to the SPARC in the same manner as the Vortex mounts, 4 Torx screws through the bottom of the mount into the base of the optic.

ADM also recommends using a threadlocker which is provided.

The tension on the rail is easy to adjust, push the locking lever towards the mount body and turn the slotted screw in to increase tension, or out to decrease.



The ADM locking lever/mount can be attached to either side of the optic to provide charging handle clearance for a variety of weapons


The ADM mounts use a square, solid cross bolt machined to perfectly index with an in spec. picatinney rail. This stops the mount from moving around during weapon recoil.  The Vortex mount uses a round cross bolt.

Another positive I've found when using the ADM mounts is that they don't mar the picatinney rail.  My Robinson XCR is easily marked by most mounts I've used.
XCR rail marred by MI mount.

XCR rail unmarred by ADM mount.


The XCR with ADM CAS-V mount and Titan Defense sights offered a perfect co-witness and no clearance problem for the charging handle.




The LMT MRP with ADM T1 and Samson/ARMS sights provide  lower 1/3  co-witness.





The main reason I bought the ADM CAS-V mount was to mount the SPARC on my wife's LMT carbine that has a VLTOR CAS-V rail.  I was disappointed with the sight picture/co-witness.  The mount is to high, placing the sights at the bottom of the tube where the light diode blocks the BUIS.  But I found other weapons/optic combos it will work with, and the Vortex mount works fine in this application.

In addition, the ADM mount with SPARC never failed to return to zero after removal and reinstallation.  I can't say this about some mounts I've used.

So in conclusion I would recommend the SPARC/ADM combination to anyone looking for a quality optic/mount set up for a reasonable price.  A SPARC and ADM mount can be had for $285 total.  Much less than a T1 with mount.  The Aimpoint has marginally better glass,  and a big name brand, but is it $300 plus dollars worth?  Only you can answer that.

Nice review.  I got to get one.  Any one have them cheaper than 199.00.  I get a discount at Midway because of my C&R but they are in MO and I have to pay tax.

$199.00 is the cheapest I've found.

    I got mine from OpticsPlanet with a 5% off coupon, and free shipping. They don't appear to have a coupon in effect right now, but you can always sign up for their newsletter.
They should have a new one in effect soon. Not a huge savings, but better than nothing.

    And for the record, the SPARC is a good little optic so far, IMHO. One thing I'd like to add is a note on the battery life. The battery life may only be 120 hours on the max setting,
but I haven't needed to bump the brightness above the first setting or two. Even in bright sunshine.
In actual use (at least in my experience), the battery life is MUCH more than 120 hours.
   
    At this point I'm just interested to see what the long term durability is like. I'm good at breaking shit.

Actually, OpticsPlanet does have a coupon code running right now. Its opiv5of, its been on top of both invoices i gotten from them months apart, so I'm apt to believe that its a long running coupon code. So, with the coupon that brings the price to $190 shipped.



 

glad to hear it holds zero on the benelli, thats what i planned on getting for mine

Excellent review, and plenty of good pictures on different models for guns.

Got to be a good cost atrentive to the Aimpoints.

If you are military/LE contact Scott at LibertyOptics.com for better pricing (less than $199)

Ha. Come to think of it, I never even looked at my invoice. Nothing came up on a Google search, so I figured there weren't any current codes. My mistake.

I was interested in the strike fire before. Now the sparc looks cool. Is there any diffences in eye relief between the too? Is the sight picture the same but just a smaller housing?
Thanks

Thanks for the review and all the pics, can't wait to get mine.


Ordered one from Optics Planet 2 days ago, used the 5% off coupon, $190 shipped. Although I checked on it today and it says holding for stock, so maybe out of stock right now, hopefully they get it shipped soon.

Blkt6-The SPARC is a much better RDS, same eye relief(unlimited), clearer glass, slightly smaller sight picture due to smaller tube size.

Awesome Review....thanks!  Just ordered one for myself.

Great review! How's it holding up?

Sportsman's Guide has these for $179 for Buyer's Club Members.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=642847

Blackbird97-It's holding up great, but I haven't thrashed it like PreachermanMATT did.

Does the SPARC have a glossy finish?

Nope. Matte finish...except the glass of course

Just bought a SPARC, really a great little optic. I also have a set of standard Troy BUIS's, just wondering what ADM mount you would recommend, the T1 or the CAS-V? Thanks much for your review!

Blachbird97-T1 mount if you want a co-witness with the Troy standard battle sights, CAS-V for the Troy micros.

Awesome, thanks firedog!

SPARC for $179.99  Just add it to your cart and you'll smile!

Palmetto State Armory is having a summer sale and almost everything is 10% off. And free shipping for orders over 200.

I bought the SPARC and a BAD lever(10% off that too) for 206.00 with free shipping. That's as much as a SPARC only from other places. ;)

Got mine last week and I couldn't be more please. Excelent value for the money. Ordered it on a Sunday - holiday weekend, from Primaey Arms and had it Wednesday. Very nice people to do buisness with. Looking at the 3X magnifier next.

Did everyone elses come with the Bikini lens cover?  

I got mine and it didn't.

They should.


Just buy two #4 butler creek Objective covers as they fit perfectly. I did that for mine.  Forget about the bikini cover.