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Posted: 2/5/2009 9:45:10 AM EDT
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I hear complaints all the time about how the batteries don't last and I just wanted to share my experience.
I bought a Ref F 512 used on the EE for $300 shipped and I haven't had one issue with it. I've had the same standard AA batteries in it since I purchased it 6 months ago and I pull out my AR all the time and turn on the EOTECH and let it auto shut off all the time. At least 2 to 4 times a week I will run it for 4 hours and it still is kicking strong on the first set of AA's. I have a back up pair of AA's in my stock if need be but between the battery life I've experienced and the fact that it warns you when the batteries are below 25%, plus the fact I keep an extra pair, I don't think I'll ever have an issue with this optic and battery life for my useage. Just thought I'd share. |
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Oh, you can't tell the Aimpoint fanboys that. They want to leave their sight on 24/7 for 4 years straight. Anything else is just sub-standard. I see this fanboy stuff all the time and I don't really get it. This isn't Preschool. Not everything made is equally great. My 512 didn't suffer from battery drain. I had the same batteries for the 10 months I had it. But then again, why is that so great? What is the purpose of an optic that turns itself off all the time so the batteries don't drain? How does that benefit me? Wouldn't it be better if the optic just stayed on for five years and still didn't drain it's batteries? |
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Oh, you can't tell the Aimpoint fanboys that. They want to leave their sight on 24/7 for 4 years straight. Anything else is just sub-standard. See I could say the same thing to you. Is the any reason you need to have it on for 4 years straight? If something goes bump in the night, it's not hard to press one of the two highly raised buttons on the EOtech, it just isn't. And the fact that it warns you when the batteries are less then 25%, I honestly don't see having to turn on the Eotech as an issue. In the sandbox it may be a different story but anything less then that, I don't see what the fuss is when it comes to battery life and having to press one button. |
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Oh, you can't tell the Aimpoint fanboys that. They want to leave their sight on 24/7 for 4 years straight. Anything else is just sub-standard. I would say that being able to keep your optic on for 4 years straight is a pretty nice feature. No disagreement; it is a nice feature. However, the lack of that feature does not mean that the product is unworthy. I am perfectly happy to only turn on my EO Tech when I am using it, or when I may use it. I see no need for the sight to be on when it is sitting in my gun locker. I can turn on the sight in a single second if I need to. The EO Tech burns through batteries faster because of its design, the laser recticle burns more power than the diode for the Aimpoint. I like the EO Tech recticle better than the Aimpoint dot. The battery issue does not worry me. Now, the old EO Techs used to drain the batteries even while off, and I would have had an issue with that. Since the new ones seem to be corrected, that is a non-issue for me. |
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I give you T-1 vs. 552
Weight - T-1 is 3.7 oz 552 is 11.5 oz Size - T-1 2.4"x1.6"x1.4" 552 5"x1.8"x2.25" Submersible depth - T-1 80ft 552 30ft Temp range - T-1 -50-160 552 -40-150 Battery life - T-1 50,000 hrs 552 1,000 hrs Battery type - You probably already have AA's. You need lithium to get the above ratings. They can get pricy if you try to keep you site on. The T- batteries are harder to find. They last five years. Durability - Aimpoints are more durable than Eotechs. Batteries slamming into the contact springs on an Eotech is a bad design. Ergonomics - T-1 uses a large knob you can use with gloves. 552 has little buttons between the Eo and your Buis. Auto shut off - T-1 stays on until you turn it off (or five years later). Eotech turns off after four or eight hours. Mount - Used Larue for both. Both were great. You can mount Eotech to the rail for absolute cowitness for no extra money. Use Loctite in spite of what the manual says or your Eo will fall off (at least mine did) FOV - Doesn't exist, stop talking about it. Reticle - 4MOA(actually a little less) for the T-1 1MOA with a 65 MOA outer ring for the 552. I prefer the single dot. The big ring didn't do anything for me. It did look a whole hell of a lot cooler and seemed more accurate when shooting groups. I'm not more accurate with it, but it seemed like I would be. Price - $640 for T-1 in Larue $560 for the 552 in a Larue. A lot of the above doesn't apply to me. They are just hard numbers to illustrate an argument. I use the AR for my HD weapon. As such I want it on all the time. I also take it to classes and I want a sight that won't break. For me those combined with the above mean a T-1. If it was for range use I would be happy with either. |
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I give you T-1 vs. 552 Weight - T-1 is 3.7 oz 552 is 11.5 oz Size - T-1 2.4"x1.6"x1.4" 552 5"x1.8"x2.25" Submersible depth - T-1 80ft 552 30ft Temp range - T-1 -50-160 552 -40-150 Battery life - T-1 50,000 hrs 552 1,000 hrs Battery type - You probably already have AA's. You need lithium to get the above ratings. They can get pricy if you try to keep you site on. The T- batteries are harder to find. They last five years. Durability - Aimpoints are more durable than Eotechs. Batteries slamming into the contact springs on an Eotech is a bad design. Ergonomics - T-1 uses a large knob you can use with gloves. 552 has little buttons between the Eo and your Buis. Auto shut off - T-1 stays on until you turn it off (or five years later). Eotech turns off after four or eight hours. Mount - Used Larue for both. Both were great. You can mount Eotech to the rail for absolute cowitness for no extra money. Use Loctite in spite of what the manual says or your Eo will fall off (at least mine did) FOV - Doesn't exist, stop talking about it. Reticle - 4MOA(actually a little less) for the T-1 1MOA with a 65 MOA outer ring for the 552. I prefer the single dot. The big ring didn't do anything for me. It did look a whole hell of a lot cooler and seemed more accurate when shooting groups. I'm not more accurate with it, but it seemed like I would be. Price - $640 for T-1 in Larue $560 for the 552 in a Larue. A lot of the above doesn't apply to me. They are just hard numbers to illustrate an argument. I use the AR for my HD weapon. As such I want it on all the time. I also take it to classes and I want a sight that won't break. For me those combined with the above mean a T-1. If it was for range use I would be happy with either. Who the hell even buys an EOTECh model other then the 512? Seems like all the other models are a waste one way or the other. |
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The new XPS will be interesting, 500hr out of one signle CR123 battery in a side way mounted battery housing. the chassis is shorter than the discontinued 551/511 series.
The truth is the battery life is great, but I never had to change my battery in my 553, but customery, I change all my batteries once a year like my smoke alram....that include the Aimpoints that I own....battery life is great, but I don't trust the battery manufacture as much as one year life span... |
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I give you T-1 vs. 552 Weight - T-1 is 3.7 oz 552 is 11.5 oz Size - T-1 2.4"x1.6"x1.4" 552 5"x1.8"x2.25" Submersible depth - T-1 80ft 552 30ft Temp range - T-1 -50-160 552 -40-150 Battery life - T-1 50,000 hrs 552 1,000 hrs Battery type - You probably already have AA's. You need lithium to get the above ratings. They can get pricy if you try to keep you site on. The T- batteries are harder to find. They last five years. Durability - Aimpoints are more durable than Eotechs. Batteries slamming into the contact springs on an Eotech is a bad design. Ergonomics - T-1 uses a large knob you can use with gloves. 552 has little buttons between the Eo and your Buis. Auto shut off - T-1 stays on until you turn it off (or five years later). Eotech turns off after four or eight hours. Mount - Used Larue for both. Both were great. You can mount Eotech to the rail for absolute cowitness for no extra money. Use Loctite in spite of what the manual says or your Eo will fall off (at least mine did) FOV - Doesn't exist, stop talking about it. Reticle - 4MOA(actually a little less) for the T-1 1MOA with a 65 MOA outer ring for the 552. I prefer the single dot. The big ring didn't do anything for me. It did look a whole hell of a lot cooler and seemed more accurate when shooting groups. I'm not more accurate with it, but it seemed like I would be. Price - $640 for T-1 in Larue $560 for the 552 in a Larue. A lot of the above doesn't apply to me. They are just hard numbers to illustrate an argument. I use the AR for my HD weapon. As such I want it on all the time. I also take it to classes and I want a sight that won't break. For me those combined with the above mean a T-1. If it was for range use I would be happy with either. Okay, you want hard numbers? Of course, you slanted against the EO Tech as hard as you could. EO Tech 517 : $407 mount: $0, as it is a raised unit. So, it is $407 for the EO Tech, vs $640 for the Mico T1. That is numbers. I put in bold the items from your list that were not 'just numbers.' Now, for the subjective. I like the EO Tech recticle more that any red dot, including Aimpoint. The EO Tech is larger and heavier, but I am willing to accept that. I like the auto-off feature. I have not had to ever worry about my battery running out, so the whole 50k vs 1k hours is pretty meaningless. My power switch is on the side of my optic, and easier for me to adjust than a dial on the optic would be. I can even adjust my brightness without taking either hand off the rifle, by touch alone. I agree the Aimpoint is tougher, but any likely scenario I am going to get in, that toughness is pretty much wasted. I do not plan to be out in -40 or +150 temps. I do not plan to be 15 feet underwater (which is one you missed, by the way) or jumping out of airplanes. As for other items in toughness, that is what BUIS are for; those little emergencies that knock your optic out. Oh, and you can get AA lithium batteries too. |
Eotechs are kick ass till you get one that randomly quits working and you have to pull the batteries and clean the terminals to get it going again
hopefully switching to lithium battery's will solve it but it'll be a long time before i have confidence in it again....... |
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I read your reply Imortal. Sounds like in spite of all it's advantages, and even though you have never tried the T-1, you don't care and prefer the Eotech. That's great, but I think it comes pretty close to the definition of Fanboy. Who said I never tried a T1? Or an M3? Or even an M4(okay, I admit not the 'S' model)? ...or the Trijicon Reflex, for that matter. I have never said a word against any AImpoint, other than that I do not prefer them. They are great quality, and very tough. I just find the EO Tech to fit my needs just fine, and even prefer it in a couple of areas. I try to keep pretty open; I have never tried to change someone's ideas about optics, and have never slammed anyone else's choices. Whether that is 'fanboyism' is another argument. SGMLee, thanks for trying to play peacemaker and keeping things on track. |
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Oh, you can't tell the Aimpoint fanboys that. They want to leave their sight on 24/7 for 4 years straight. Anything else is just sub-standard. I see this fanboy stuff all the time and I don't really get it. This isn't Preschool. Not everything made is equally great. My 512 didn't suffer from battery drain. I had the same batteries for the 10 months I had it. But then again, why is that so great? What is the purpose of an optic that turns itself off all the time so the batteries don't drain? How does that benefit me? Wouldn't it be better if the optic just stayed on for five years and still didn't drain it's batteries? The point is that some people want a larger circle and dot over just a dot. The price we pay is having t push a button when we want t use it  . leaving it on for five years would be great, find me an eotech that stays on for that long and i'll buy it. I won't own a red dot that is JUST a 4moa or 2 ma dot.
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My turn to beat the dead horse...
I've used several Eotech 512's & various Aimpoints. While I prefer the Eotech's reticle, 2 of my 3 Eotech 512's would drain the batteries when off. Never had a problem w/any of my Aimpoints (ML3's, M4's, M4S's, H-1's, T-1's). I'll take the Aimpoint's greater reliability (many more reported Eotech problems than Aimpoint problems) & battery life for serious use. Am I a fanboy? Only for what works for me. The moment it no longer meets my requirements it gets dropped and replaced with something better. Tomac |
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I talked to one of my DEA buddies at the Super Bowl party. Last year when I talked to him, they had Eotechs on their Rock River ARs.
I asked for an update, and he told me the following. I didn't get a lot of detail because of all the socializing and partying. They tried out the ACOG, and said that didn't work out due to their Night Vision equipment. Then they said they tried the Aimpoint, but said they couldn't pick up the dot as quick as they could on the Eotechs. Now they are back with the Eotechs. He told they have to watch out when they clean their weapons that no oil gets near the battery compartment, and that their batteries don't last long. I asked him what was ther protocol when they go on a stake out or arrest, and he said they would install new AA batteries on every mission. In his scenario, where they are basically picking the time and place, putting in new batteries for each mission is not a big deal. But for a self defense rifle, who knows when you will be called on to grab your AR? He said they did prefer the recticle of the Eotech for close range speed. |
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I talked to one of my DEA buddies at the Super Bowl party. Last year when I talked to him, they had Eotechs on their Rock River ARs. I asked for an update, and he told me the following. I didn't get a lot of detail because of all the socializing and partying. They tried out the ACOG, and said that didn't work out due to their Night Vision equipment. Then they said they tried the Aimpoint, but said they couldn't pick up the dot as quick as they could on the Eotechs. Now they are back with the Eotechs. He told they have to watch out when they clean their weapons that no oil gets near the battery compartment, and that their batteries don't last long. I asked him what was ther protocol when they go on a stake out or arrest, and he said they would install new AA batteries on every mission. In his scenario, where they are basically picking the time and place, putting in new batteries for each mission is not a big deal. But for a self defense rifle, who knows when you will be called on to grab your AR? He said they did prefer the recticle of the Eotech for close range speed. Backup batteries in the grip or stock and make sure your BUIS are sighted in. Can't really see an issue in a defense situation. Esp since the recticle with blink when you turn it on when the batteries are below 25%. |
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This debate has been beat to death from years ago... but it is a continue hot topic on a lot of people's mind.....
I like Aimpoints, but I like my EOTech more, I too own Aimpoint T1, M4s, M2 and M3. I also have EOTech 553, 555, 556, 557. I basically ditched the 511/551 anytime I can and advise anyone buying EOTech to stay far far away from those crappy N cell batteries. Thank God that EOTech has now discontinued the 511/551 series. In the past, my 552 did experience some problems with the battery box but mostly due to the use of Alakine batteries, once i switched to the Lithium Engerizers, my problems go away. I really have no need for any thing that will stay on for 5 years, and I really don't mind hitting a button to get it in action... even during a long day at the range, I do adjust the brightness setting from time to time and every time the automatic shut off time resets...never had a reticle shut down on me because of it. it is nice to have a long battery life, but in order to have the kind of the reticle that EOTech has and still maintain parallex free, you can not utilize the older reflex LED diode, that is why the laser projection diode are the only way.... and those laser diode are a battery hog, once the battery reach the less than 20% power, the sight will not power on... but it is nice to have the low battery indicator to let you know it is time to change batteries.. I also spoke to a lot of Spec Ops operators, they like the EOTech reticle better, but the Aimpoint durability. those that run the EOtech do change the battery everytime they run an op.... but less so nowadays with the 553... EOTech has continue to improve the design and the reliability of the system... soon the only thing the Aimpoint side can complain about is the battery life.. that EOtech will always have to tilt thier hats to Aimpoint on the battery life. |
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I love the 1 MOA on my Eotech, excellent for hunting.
4 MOA=  When I hunt I have shots well over 200 yards, lets see 300 yards with the 4 MOA is 12 inches. Not acceptable for anything other than close range, I know you can get a 2 MOA, but I prefer 1 MOA.
4 MOA= Sucks for anything over 100 yards, unless human size torso shots. |
| I had an Aimpoint M-68 on my rifle for a few tours in Iraq, I was army Infantry, and personally, i wasnt impressed by it. Our squadleaders got the first batch of eotechs and those were highly sought after items. the m68 would change POI after being jarred by say...an IED whereas the eotech in the same humvee during the same concussion would stay on target. when running and gunning the m68's knob would rub on gear and change settings, and i thought the 4 or 3 moa dot was just too big, which is why i used a matech Buis to shoot out to 600M. the eotech, in combat, from personal experience, won hands down. just my two cents. |
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I had an Aimpoint M-68 on my rifle for a few tours in Iraq, I was army Infantry, and personally, i wasnt impressed by it. Our squadleaders got the first batch of eotechs and those were highly sought after items. the m68 would change POI after being jarred by say...an IED whereas the eotech in the same humvee during the same concussion would stay on target. when running and gunning the m68's knob would rub on gear and change settings, and i thought the 4 or 3 moa dot was just too big, which is why i used a matech Buis to shoot out to 600M. the eotech, in combat, from personal experience, won hands down. just my two cents. That's an interesting take on the matter. So the AA battery life was never an issue? |
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