tl;dr - may be a couple legit non-Chinese red dot competitors.

A couple months ago a guy posted a thread about a couple new S. Korean red dots K-USA had started selling:

Core 2

Core 1

They're calling them the Core 1 & Core 2. The Core 1 is an Aimpoint M5s type (AAA batt) & the Core 2 is a T2 type.  I owned/own a few S. Korean optics & have had no issues.  I really liked the DI Optical RV-1 (pretty much an M4s competitor) and had a couple but when the price of AP Pro's kept dropping I went that route & saved a few ounces.  Those still have the best lens caps I've used outside of maybe Leupold's Alumina scope caps.

In Minecraft, I kept a DI Optical SP-1 (on the wife's rifle) and a Bushnell Mini Cannon (on a 9mm SBR - which my younger son was banging away with on a range trip this afternoon - he likes the different reticle choices).

A couple weeks ago I went back to look at 'em & K-USA had both on sale for $199; think that's $70 bucks off regular price.  I caved & ordered a Core 2.  The optic comes with a low mount since K-USA does cater to trash can guns (kidding - sort of!) & I already had an LRP base & A.R.M.S. riser in the parts bin so did not add the "high" mount (lower 1/3).  Ultimately I plan on doing a YouTube style torture test thing largely since the boys think "it'd be cool".

The optics are made by SU Optics and best I can tell are home branded "Actus + model".  K-USA makes it a thing to note these red dots are used by the S. Korean .mil.  I've only found pics of the Core 1 being used by ROK Marines but could believe both are being used in some capacity.

The specs for the Core 2 are very similar to Aimpoint T2 stuff, salt water spray & all .  The only difference I see is they place a time on depth rating (Core 2 - 82ft. for 30-min, Core 1 - 164ft. for 30-min).  Either is still well beyond anything I've seen for any Chinese optic.

Beyond that, until I get more time to pull the scope off the beater rifle, mount the Core 2 & throw it around at the range, here are my observations/actions to date.  Most of the deficiencies or quirks with most (but not the RV-1!) S. Korean (and Chinese) optics have been addressed.

-I threw it in the 8-ft. part of our neighborhood pool.  Actually for more like 45-min given the pizza guy showed up during said dunk test & I half-ass forgot.  Optic was still on with zero issues.  Next time we head down to the lake, I'll roll out 80-feet of string & go deeper.

-Temp. install on a 14.5" pencil carbine for live fire & all worked/works as expected, no issues.

-Comes with AP quality flip caps.  Weight vs. one of brother's T2's w/ just optic & caps was IIRC like .3 or .4 oz. heavier.

-Battery life is 50K hours for midrange (Core 1 is 65K hours).  This is hugely better as previous SK micro's were all in the 3-5K hour range.

-Mount type & height 100% matches Aimpoint Micro's.  Absolute mounts = absolute & lower 1/3 = yeah, lower 1/3.  This was an issue for previous SK red dots & I believe many current China dots as well).

-Illumination knob is awesome with 4 NV settings & 7 daylight.  Large & the raised rib sections make it easy to use quickly.  The battery cover is still too thin (e.g requires a tool but the slot is wider giving you more options - wonder if the KAC cap threads are the same...).

-As noted above, battery is on the illumination knob, not in a tray so no push buttons for operation or screw driver needed to change batteries as with previous SK optics.

-Adjustments are uncapped & recessed with simple slots.

-IMO the original SP-1 mount was the best stock mount.  That said, the low mount included with the Core 2 uses a recessed, pinned & c-clipped captive Torx screw properly sized for a 1913 rail & feels/looks like better quality than a Romeo 5 or PA micro stock mount.  

-Lenses are very clear with a slight blue tint notably towards the top much like recent production T2's.  

Next time K-USA runs another sale, I'll probably have to grab the Core 1.  I still have a few dots w/o a home but so far I'm very impressed.

Pics:

whats the warranty like?

Good question.  I did find the link below that talks about their use with the ROK guys & indicates 4-years but that’s manufacturer so not sure what K-USA supports stateside.  I’ll reach out to ‘em & post back.

https://www.tiroptic.fr/teamactus.en-us.php

Korean optics are gtg good find OP

DI Optical always put out awesome stuff also

The problem is usually importing and finding vendors or distributors to sell and carry them and support afterwards

https://diopticalusa.com/

By all accounts DIO’s US presence was a shit show.  Though it was/is largely good stuff if a bit behind the times and/or quirky.  I really liked the RV-1 & still like and use the two others I kept.  The Actus/Core 1/2 address everything functional (I guess unless you want or need reticle choices) so we’ll see on the support stuff.

Wish we could cut out the middle man and not have KUSA's logo on it.

Bushnell really fucked up. They were importing a RV-1 Variant for awhile. Hopefully KUSA does a better job marketing these

Agreed

Figured I'd post this.

Heres another Korean Optic by DI Optical. Only $125

It's 1 of the Bushnell imports. IIRc they had a full size one, and this one is the "Micro"
https://www.natchezss.com/bh-red-dot-tac-optics-mini-cannon-multi-4-ret-hi-rise-box-5l-0120-1110-bhbt71xrdx

Attached File

Attached File


Seems very close to the SP1 Optics they sold. Sadly 3000-5000 hour battery life. But has multi reticles. The circle dot isn't that huge though. For scale its the size of the circle dot on a Holosun 507k. I wanna say these are milspec however and they are only $125 and made in South Korea. Once they are sold out, they are gone. Also don't expect a real warranty.

They do fit T1 mounts.

DISCOUNT - PROMOTION
-$8.91
DISCOUNT CODE
5FR230911

I did Aluminum Black the logo on mine in the pic.  Normally don’t care but it was H U G E.

Those are two I kept.  Well worth the price for either IME.  The Actus stuff appears to kick it all up a notch (sans the multi-reticle thing I guess).

I emailed K-USA re: warranty & will post their response.

The core 1 is only 8 oz? Very tempted.