Aimpoint Micro Review
United States –-(Ammoland.com)- I recently had a box show up at my front door from the good people over at Aimpoint. Inside said box was a sample of one of their tactical red dot sights… the Aimpoint Micro T1.
Now, I will start off by saying that over the years I have logged a good bit of trigger time with what seems like the entire spectrum of red dots. From the el cheapos to the higher dollar, combat ready models to just about everything in between. However, this would turn out to be the first time that I would actually get to have any range time with any of the products offered by Aimpoint.
My first impression upon opening the box was that it seemed like a pretty solid little unit. Fit and finish is nice, and it just seems really well made when you hold it in your hand and give it the once over. When I held it up to my eye I was literally blown away at the quality of the glass. Its amazingly clear.
If you don’t think that high quality glass is important on a red dot, then you just have not ever used a really good red dot before. High quality glass makes an incredible difference. Especially when shooting at greater distances. The glass on the Aimpoint Micro is without a doubt some of the best that I have ever seen. Clear, sharp, and definitely high quality. Its astounding.
The other cool thing in that box which jumped out at me was their very well thought out multi-tool. Its designed to be used for tightening the base screws, adjusting windage and elevation, as well as screwing and unscrewing the battery compartment. The windage and elevation can also be adjusted by flipping over the screw caps that cover the adjustment knobs and using them as a“wrench”. The entire thing is just a really well thought out design all the way around.
First on my list for this review was a quick stop at my postal scale to see how micro the Micro really was. Are you ready for this… 2.8 oz. I kid you not. The riser mount that they sent me was also top notch and solid as a rock. It weighed in at miniscule 2.6 oz. Light as a feather would sound cliche, but it may never have been more fitting than this. Needless to say, there is not any noticeable difference in weight when this sight is mounted to a rifle or carbine. The overall size of the sight itself is incredibly small (2.4 inches in length and 1.5 inches in height). When you think about its size in comparison to other optics on the market today, and in relation to where optics were just a few years ago its almost mind boggling.
After the obligatory photo session, I was off to my friendly neighborhood shooting range for a little practice session. I would not be disappointed. No, I didn’t do any extreme torture testing with this optic… mainly because I didn’t have access to a helicopter from which to throw it out of, but mostly because it would have just been redundant. The Micro has been run hard and abused well beyond the point that any optic should ever be expected to withstand… and it has kept on keeping on.
What I did do with this optic is put it through half a dozen different range sessions which worked out to be just under 1,000 rounds. After getting it initially sighted in there was no loss of zero… ever. I removed and replaced the optic from the rail of my Daniel Defense DDM4 after each and every range trip and not once did it have any effect on it’s zero.
The riser mount gives a perfect co-witness with standard AR iron sights. The optic also proves to provide very fast target acquisition with both eyes open, but I felt more comfortable closing one eye for more measured shots out at the 100 yard marker.
The dot on this unit is spectacular in any light. Indoors or out. It is a 4 MOA dot with 1x magnification. There are 12 brightness settings and each one is a very precise increment which allows the user to tailor the dot to their own personal needs and wants and for just about any light condition imaginable. In normal inside conditions to even very low light conditions, I used the optic very successfully on the #6 setting. Anything more than that indoors and its just over powering for me… its that darn bright. Outside on the brightest of days you come to really appreciate how bright this optic really is. I went all the way up to the #12 setting on a very bright afternoon, but your eyes and preferences may vary… it certainly is extremely capable even in the brightest of conditions.
The Micro runs on one coin-sized CR2032 3 volt battery which has a run time of an amazing 50K hours – thats over 5 years of continuous use. Wow! It really begs the question as to why there is any reason to ever even turn the darn thing off.
All-in-all this is a spectacular red dot. Street price is somewhere in the +/- $600 range. Its often said that in life you get what you pay for and I think the Micro is a shining example of that. The Aimpoint Micro is without a doubt the Ferrari of Red Dots. Over the years its been torture tested, combat tested, and now Gunmart tested to the point that its clearly worth every penny.
If I personally were going into combat with a red dot optic on my rifle… this is the one that I would want it to be.
*Many more pics here
About:
Eric at the Gunmart Blog – Eric is a gun blogger, firearms enthusiast, and sorry excuse for a hunter. He is also an AmmoLand Shoting Sports News Columnist. Leave him some comments on this article before you go. You can also follow Eric on Facebook, Twitter and at his blog, Gunmart. Visit: GunmartBlog.com