This video was so overdue on the internet. So many reviewers do a good job providing information, yet details about what features that seem cool and high-end become useless in the real world from someone who has been in a combat zone, are sometimes if not most times, missing. Granted, the real world comes in many varieties of theater from open military engagements, to police SWAT, to private citizen. Some of what he mentions such as battery life due to renostats being moved while in motion may not apply depending on your end use cases, role and what you are doing. Never the less, the details and scenarios he introduces paints a much broader picture by which people have more objective information to make buying decisions with. And I think that really was his goal or at least part of it. Excellent job, well done!
"I'm having dreams about mounting and remounting scopes" LOL funny stuff right there. I bet. I own several lpvo scopes but always looking for new information without doing this work or spending the $. I've been dissecting this review several times. Great work. Thank you
Thanks for taking the time and effort for a comprehensive review. When people ask me about why I use the LPVO's I do, or the differences, I link them this video.
What a great effort. Thank you so much for you and who you are both as a true Green Beret teaching and as Carl in Christ. We are lucky to be able to learn from you..
I enjoy the ATAC-R, Razor 1-10 and Deon dual 1-10. If only Deon can add a removable scope shade and locking turrets like the razor's. Then it's perfect. All three are stellar. Vortex is cooking up something to compete with Deon.
No one does a better scope review than you Karl, thank you! I recently got the Primary Arms plx-c Griffin reticle 1-8, and it's awesome. I picked it because of the two reviews you did with it and the Raptor reticle. If I decide to get another premium LPVO, I know the ups and downs of all the best. Thanks for all your hard work!!😎🇺🇸🦅👊💪
Wow. Excellent video Karl. Thanks for an honest review. That story about prying your rifle from the frozen mud sounded like a grim time. Thanks again SGM
Great work done here and thank you this is the most Indepth LPVO video I have ever seen. You spent a lot of time and effort to bring this to us so Thank you again.
you really did amazing and enormous job with all these optics, and end of that you were able to tell things clear and entertaining way. Even long duration didn't feel even once that I should skip forward! Thank you!
Holy smokes as someone who is never likely to own a LVPO I can’t believe I just sat through almost two hours of this review! (Ok ok I may have fast forwarded a couple of bits 😬). The dedication is real, gotta support TR when this much effort went in. Good job Karl, I’ll be sure to share it with the PRS boys at the club, they will love nerding out over this stuff.
I have only had about 13 years on LPVOs. They are the most versatile optic for 5m to 500m in my opinion. The only downside is that you have to put time in on them to be able to fully use them to thier max capacity.
I've put almost 1k rounds on the Primary Arms PLxC yards in fde. Coming from the steiner p4xi it took a good while getting used to the plxc tight eyebox. Setting the diopter on the plxc was a pain too.... After dozens of mucking around with the diopter I found that you want to set the 1x to where right at 10-15yards the image is as flat as possible. This allows for the reticle and picture quality to work best through the entire range of magnification. The steiner p4xi still has the absolute best 1x I've ever witnessed in an LPVO. I've been able to get my eyes behind practically every major LPVO in the $3k and less catagory and the steiner just can't be beat. The plxc does do a great job at 1x for a ffp though. P. S. - I guarantee you that the Primary Arms PLxC NOVA is as bright if not BRIGHTER than everything you reviewed. Also, the plxc doesn't need a locking renostat. The brightness dial is so damn tight that I'd be amazed it would ever be moved on its own.
Couldn’t agree more. Its pretty hard to imagine any civilian or even LE application where anything more than a shorty 10-11” M4 out to 300 yards is even vaguely realistic. Steiner P4xi is still tops for me, its perfect 1x/dot, huge eye box, huge FOV, crystal clear & bright glass, compact/light form factor, and simple/practical BDC is still pretty much unrivaled IMO. So many folks don’t understand the pros/cons of lower magnification… yet so many knuckleheads will still prefer a red dot with a bulky, crappy 3x magnifier setup…
Your comment is super helpful. I have a question if you don’t mind. I have a PLXc nova and one with their raptor (whatever they call their FFP) both are on 16 inch rifles. I love them. I’m looking for another lpvo to go on my 14.5 URGI upper, I want it to be durable, daylight bright reticle, and lightweight. This Steiner 1-4 has been coming up a lot and I might buy one. How does only having 1-4 magnification compare to 1-8? Any noticeable drawbacks? How does the eye box on the Steiner 1-4 compare to the PLXc 1-8? Would you say it is as durable as the PLXc or more or less? Are the night vision modes practical? Thanks for any response
@S-tv1yt The steiner p4xi is literally in a league of its own. Beautiful German glass, very light for how durable it is. What sucks is the recent price hike. I bought both of my p4xi's for 500 each which is an absolute steal. If you're after magnification on a shorter platform while still wanting a wide fov, daylight bright 1x then the steiner can't be beat. It has a MASSIVE eyebox, it's eye relief is perfect and stays perfect through the entire range of magnification. I have one on a 16" and the other on a 12.5". I have no problems taking both rifles out to 400 - 500 yards due to glass clarity. Reaching out past 500 starts becoming a challenge but honestly no other option out there gives you the capabilities of having such a great 1x and in my opinion has the best 1x in the LPVO market. I was actually disappointed with the plxc nova. With it being SFP I expected it to fix all the issues of the ffp one like better eyebox and better 6-8x clarity. Glad I was able to try out both the ffp raptor and the sfp plxc before making a decision. Honestly the nova does have a great 1x for what it is and would probably go great with your 14.5".
@S-tv1yt I think I forgot to mention durability.... While there isn't much data on the plxc as dlfar as durability goes, the steiner has most certainly been put through the wringer. It has much better water proofing than the plxc which is an amazing achievement in itself. It's safe to say it's much more durable than the plxc.
@ I had my nova on my 14.5 but decided to put it on my 16 BCM upper. Thanks a lot this has been really useful. I wanted a nice low magnification for my URGI without breaking the bank and I’ll probably go with that
First lpvo I ever owned was an atacr 1-8 in mils, figured go big or go home. I ended up selling it after realizing I bit off more than I could chew and learning mils wasn’t something I was ready to commit to. Ended up with a razor 1-10 in moa and while the atacr was an absolute beast I prefer the razor. The diopter adjustment was way easier for me, and I was able to get a really flat clear image for it, not to mention the “disappearing bezel” was way better than the atacr, the atacr had a super thick bezel that focused my eye through the scope at 1x creating a tunnel effect making me scope focused instead of target focused. The throw lever is MUCH better and actually adjustable for where you want the throw to start and end since it’s a clamp that goes around the ring not a rod that screws into one point on the ring. On the atacr the dial was so stiff I would use the entire rear of the scope to zoom in/out and would sometimes end up engaging the locking collar for the diopter which was very annoying. The locking illumination dial is a HUGE advantage as stated in the video, on the atacr the illumination dial being able to free spin the way you demonstrated was frustrating. I never had it self adjust but I also never carried it in full kit up a mountain. The razor is overall easier to use for me and more convenient to live with. The illumination was brighter on the atacr, the thicker stadia lines were nicer at 1x with no illumination, the center dot of the reticle was a finer point of aim at magnification, it did feel more rugged/bomb proof than the razor, and I did appreciate the zero stop, but overall I have really liked the razor and plan on keeping it. I was looking at the EOtech 1-10 as well but the moa version is hard to come by and the moa reticle sucks compared to the mil reticle so you’re pretty much relegated to mils if you go EOtech…not sure why they hate moa so much lol this was a very comprehensive review and much appreciated, thank you sir for validating my purchase 😅
Dear Karl, Thank you for the time & effort you put in to bring us quality content ! We cannot possibly imagine the energy, devotion and patience that went into getting the information out there for us
Both of the government contracted scopes are not worth the money. I agree the s&B1-8x with the dual focal planes would be great, but they did not get me one for this video. I was supposed to get one back when they were new, but it never arrived. Steiner: they actually asked to enter a scope in this test… of course, send what you want… they sent the 6. Leupold also did NOT send what I would have considered their “best” from their lineup. However, they sent what they wanted to represent their company. Thanks for watching, TR
@@TacticalRifleman Thank you for clarifying the situation in regards to these products. And once more, we are grateful that you put in so much time, dedication & devotion for making this content possible ! :)
I watched every minute of the video and appreciate the objective comparison. I own a few LPVO, one of which is the gen3 razor. I have been eyeing the NF atacr 1-8 for some time and a friend has turned me onto the current vudu options. This video certainly shines some light on options I also hadn't considered. Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I'm still running my Schmidt & Bender 1-8 PMII Short Dot. The one that hasn't gotten a lot of attention which needs more is the ATIBAL 1-12x. Thats the only MPVO on the market that goes down to 1x and has an adjustable parallax.
Something to note about the vortex 1-10 is that the center reticle is opaque. Very intuitive for remaining target focused at any distant while magnified.
Thanks for all the effort. That was hours of work. Damn. I appreciate it. Especially with the optic choices. Probably the most popular ones on the market.
I've always been a bit dubious about LPVO's usually either thinking either throw a proper scope on it or use a red dot. Some of your commentary really has me re-thinking that. You're probably going to cost me money. Can I have my wife call you & explain it to her?
He said sure I say that's your battle. HA HA . I know your pain have to have that same talk with mine every time I get something new. Still love her to death, would not live without her!
Locking Rheostats or Renostats? I appreciate your insight from carrying gear day in day out. There’s lots of content out there analyzing the glass clarity, the reticles etc, but the ability for a scope to remain useful in the field day after day is something most of us would only learn the hard way. So thank you.
I wonder when Leupold will release their new Mark 6HD (1-6X) FFP Horseshoe. The problem will them is that will go dormant for years and then conquer the market.
Love Vortex LPVOs. Absolutely worth it, especially with the LE/Mil discount. Primary Arms are also a great inexpensive option. I really like their SLX micro prisms too. Etched reticle, fixed magnification. Like a mini ACOG. Excellent reviews sir. Thanks for your time and dedication!
I run a Razor 1-10 on my ADM 308, which is awesome. However, love my Trijicon Accupoint 1-6 on my 16” AR and Accupoint 1-4 on my 12.5 SBR…no batteries and very decent glass and eye box for shooting inside 300 yards.
Karl as always, you’re very thorough and again you help me out a lot the scope you had me use of course the highest price one very nice. I had no trouble seeing the target hitting it not great but not bad but that was me not scope. I know I need a good scope. I’ll save up my money and go from there again thank you JB.
For price and benefits I got Vortex Eagle 1-8. It has ranging reticle,Red dot bright and clear day and night time use. Easy finding target upclose and past 300m. Lever that changes variable zoom is also just right and gives you option to change it out as well.
great video--never seen that many different LPVOs head to head anywhere! My AR is a budget build but with solid durable components, I really love my Arken 1-8 with the kill box reticle, inexpensive compared to many of those but super nice glass and lifetime warranty... cant go wrong with their products in my opinion. I do like the primary arms one as well.
I’ve got the PA 1-8x FFP with the Griffin X reticle. Loving it so far. At 1x the bottom of the Christmas tree is almost perfect for HoB inside 25 yards.
Hi Karl, Alot of people don't consider spares or backups when factoring in the costs of these. I went with the Primary arms 1-8 ACSS GRIFFIN PLX I Bought 2 of these scopes and was still way under the vortex razor. Personally I would go with either the primary arms or the Eotech they both utilize a donut of death style reticle makes it alot easier for putting rounds on target especially if you don't shoot a ton. Trying to hunt for a tiny dot sucks
Great video! Best comparison for environmental stuff by far. The tracking of the turrets would be a good category for a follow-up video if you do one on LPVOs under $1k. I’ve been convinced that clarity, eye relief, and proper recital are the most important features to me. But I’ve been mostly shooting with LPVOs under the $1k mark.
Carl, great video. I was just looking to buy one of these for my 2 Daniel Defense AR's. This gave me so much information to consider. I will watch this a couple of times before I go shopping. thanks
Details for the win! some of which I never knew about but now see are important to consider. I’ll be referencing this video for quite some time, thank you!
Timeline 1:01:10..."My M-16 frozen to the ground".....c'mon TR, even us fresh faced newbies from the East Coast knew to keep your "rifle" in bed with you for that close up and personal time alone. I have woken up to a couple of inches of ice/snow on my bag but my 16 was always warm and toasty. Great content none the less.
What a well done review. I currently have a Kahles K16i on my SHTF 14.5 gun and its gotta be the best glass I’ve seen. I would have loved to have seen it in here but I get that you can only do so many. I am looking for an optic for my 11.5 duty gun and this got the wheels turning so thank you.
Very cool. Idea, I’d like to see your opinion here. I tried some of the best, razor genIII, nightforce atacer, Steiner, march and couldn’t find a clear favorite. I ended up going with an eotech and g45 magnifier instead. Which I am sad about as I enjoy more and am much better at long range shooting than close in stuff and wanted to stay with the magnified scope idea. I’ve settled to using an MPVO (leupold mk5 hd 2-10) and rmr on my mk12ish rifle.
Would you rather have a LPVO or a fixed Mag Prism with offset red dot. Safe weight over scope and mount and simplistic with no adjusting? I struggle with this and I have both setups and still evaluating. Leaning towards Fix with offset..... simpler no adjusting......
Love your show dude, if I was not so far away I’d love to attend your training and have a few beers and natter with you. This review is fantastic, not just with your applied experience but your learnings and what no doubt others have said. Great insight and solid justification and reasoning - btw, need another Rick Lamb, “Stryker” your self and perhaps serving Delta guy to talk about how tech and TTPs have evolved for specific things.
Karl: *Talking about breaking your LPVO* maybe you're tripping coming off the tailgate of the helicopter, or maybe you're a seal locking out of a sub from 40ft down. Me: Rolls off bed at night and hits head on LPVO on my rifle next to me 💀
Great video, Did you exclude the Sig Tango 6 1-6 on purpose bc army has selectedit ? LOL I think the MK4 HD is a 1-4.5, not 1-4. at 2:54. And also , when they sent in the scope, I would have asked them to send in together with a QD mount.
I love SIG, but SIG did not submit any scopes and I honestly have not been impressed with their past optics. SIG should stick to guns. Yes, the MK4 is indeed a 1-4.5 and I say “one to four” because it flows better off the tongue. I much preferred their 1-6x Patrol.
I may have to take a re-look at low power magnified optics. Decades ago I tried a Trijicon ACOG. Lots of people told me about that Bindin Aiming Concept. Keeping two eyes open. So my left eye was seeing 1x and the right eye was seeing a 4x image. Got a massive headache in exactly 4.2 seconds. Been using an Aimpoint M-3 (1x) ever since.
Outstanding, only 1 big boy LPVO you missed was the Deon March Dual reticle 1-10 shorty, but other then that Karl, I think you could refer people to this video for the next 5-7 years and get tons of value that will still be useful.
I added a note to the video as well but, to make things short and sweet: A first focal plane scope is far more useful throughout the entire magnification range, which in my opinion is why you see them go up to higher magnification ranges and have larger magnification ranges and have far more intricate reticles and cost more (because more useful = they want more money) than second focal plane scopes. The first focal plane scope’s reticle is going to correlate its hash marks or bullet drop crosshairs to its turrets click distance measurement throughout the magnification range far more usefully to a normal human’s brain (who isn’t a genius mathematician). A second focal plane is only useful at it’s maximum magnification range which is where the reticle’s measuring marks are going to equal what the scope’s manual says they do, generally one moa or mil per long hash and go down to 1/4 moa or 1/10 mil hashes just like a measuring tape would have 1” long hashes and go down to 1/16”. If you use any less magnification than the absolute maximum, those hashes measure something completely different, as if you just took your measuring tape and started compressing it without doing anything to the measuring stuff, and the turrets that have written on the top “1 click = 1/4 MOA” no longer mean that at all and now it should say some crazy other fraction and probably break down into 1/2 click or whatever 😂 That’s why second focal plane scopes are usually in lower magnification ranges, shorter total magnification ranges, and simpler reticles, and far more BDC reticles even though BDC still only works at full magnification. Though there’s always a manufacturer willing to fool the consumer into something they don’t actually want. Which reminds me, probably the most useful tip you’ll ever get in avoiding terrible scopes and even the manufacturer who made the scopes, if a scope has a reticle that measures in MILRAD or MILS and the turrets measure in MOA, and especially if it’s also a second focal plane scope, then AVOID that scope at all costs. To range for elevation and windage you’re gonna need a formula. To range for elevation and windage for anything less than max magnification, you’re gonna need two formulas. 😂 This is why ballistic calculators and apps with scope reticles and ballistic coefficients in them became so popular, though I see far fewer today than I used to and most of them didn’t work right. Nikon had the ProStaff app that was great and the scopes were great then they discontinued all of it.
The Primary Arms plx-c 1-8 Griffin reticle is Karl's favorite PrimaryArms LPVO. I bought that LPVO because of his review on it. He did a review on the Raptor and Griffin reticle. If you just want a bdc reticle set up for humans get the Raptor. If you want one with the capability for humans, but also hunting deer or just being able to use a ballistic calculator to get exact holds using a mil grid, get the Griffin reticle. 😎🇺🇸🦅👊💪
Sorry, I love Trijicon, but the VCOG SCO was built specifically to fill a Marine Requirement and was already outdated before it was released. Like the original ACOG… it gives the Marines a solid optic, but it should have been constantly updated. You won’t see other units buying it.
Can you expand upon why it is outdated? I have a VCOG SCO and an ATACR, and I'd take the VCOG almost every time over the ATACR. Don't doubt your expertise. I'm just trying to see what i don't know.
It's great to have an opportunity to hear info and advice from someone who actually knows what they're doing without a sales pitch. I appreciate that.
Ditto! This is truly an experts opinion without the BS.
Love this cat FOR THIS VERY REASON. SPIT THE TRUTH BROTHER!
Ive watched so many reviews, this guy takes the cake for no nonsense.
Thanks for watching.
So far in my UA-cam travels, this is absolutely the best video I've seen on LPVO scopes and what to look for in getting the best one. Thanks a bunch!
This video was so overdue on the internet. So many reviewers do a good job providing information, yet details about what features that seem cool and high-end become useless in the real world from someone who has been in a combat zone, are sometimes if not most times, missing.
Granted, the real world comes in many varieties of theater from open military engagements, to police SWAT, to private citizen. Some of what he mentions such as battery life due to renostats being moved while in motion may not apply depending on your end use cases, role and what you are doing. Never the less, the details and scenarios he introduces paints a much broader picture by which people have more objective information to make buying decisions with. And I think that really was his goal or at least part of it. Excellent job, well done!
Thanks for sharing. TR
"I'm having dreams about mounting and remounting scopes" LOL funny stuff right there. I bet. I own several lpvo scopes but always looking for new information without doing this work or spending the $. I've been dissecting this review several times. Great work. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it. I put a lot of work into this one
Thanks for taking the time and effort for a comprehensive review. When people ask me about why I use the LPVO's I do, or the differences, I link them this video.
Thanks for watching!
What a great effort. Thank you so much for you and who you are both as a true Green Beret teaching and as Carl in Christ. We are lucky to be able to learn from you..
March dual reticle optic 1-10 is a game changer,I love it.
Same
I like mine
I enjoy the ATAC-R, Razor 1-10 and Deon dual 1-10. If only Deon can add a removable scope shade and locking turrets like the razor's. Then it's perfect. All three are stellar. Vortex is cooking up something to compete with Deon.
@@namenotfound8747how about Deon’s shiruken locking turrets.
No one does a better scope review than you Karl, thank you! I recently got the Primary Arms plx-c Griffin reticle 1-8, and it's awesome. I picked it because of the two reviews you did with it and the Raptor reticle. If I decide to get another premium LPVO, I know the ups and downs of all the best. Thanks for all your hard work!!😎🇺🇸🦅👊💪
Glad to help
Wow. Excellent video Karl. Thanks for an honest review. That story about prying your rifle from the frozen mud sounded like a grim time. Thanks again SGM
P A., 1x6, sfp.
Perfection on a budget.
Great comparison! I personally like the pa plxc 1-8 griffin mil for my use case scenario. Ty Karl for taking the time to do this video.
The Vortex Razor Gen II-E and the Gen III are the same weight. That was one of the selling points: 4 more power for the same weight and length.
Sooo much more money though, I could only bring myself to get the 1-6 since it was on sale. If I was a rich man that 1-10 would’ve been mine
Karl,
Best review ive seen. What a work load!
Watched every minute. You kept it real.
The Hammer was a very nice touch.
Thank you
Medical Ice Removal Tool
Great work done here and thank you this is the most Indepth LPVO video I have ever seen. You spent a lot of time and effort to bring this to us so Thank you again.
Glad you liked it!
you really did amazing and enormous job with all these optics, and end of that you were able to tell things clear and entertaining way. Even long duration didn't feel even once that I should skip forward! Thank you!
Holy smokes as someone who is never likely to own a LVPO I can’t believe I just sat through almost two hours of this review! (Ok ok I may have fast forwarded a couple of bits 😬). The dedication is real, gotta support TR when this much effort went in. Good job Karl, I’ll be sure to share it with the PRS boys at the club, they will love nerding out over this stuff.
I have only had about 13 years on LPVOs. They are the most versatile optic for 5m to 500m in my opinion. The only downside is that you have to put time in on them to be able to fully use them to thier max capacity.
I'm so glade you didn't become a Marine or a Navy guy Karl.
What a bad ass review.
I bought the Nightforce NX8 about 3 years ago and love it.
I actually preferred the NX8 over the ATACR. Both Nightforce are great Scopes
Can’t wait to see the results!
Me: I need to be productive this afternoon and get some stuff done.
Tactical Rifleman: Nah, it'll be fine.
This is hands down one of the best videos I have seen in a while. Really appreciate the hard work you put into this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
A best under $1000 video would be amazing with all of your testing and scope knowledge. Thank you for all that you do
I agree, there are some great options out there for under $1000.
@@TacticalRiflemanlike which?
Thanks for the extensive review Karl. Most in-depth video on the subject.
I've put almost 1k rounds on the Primary Arms PLxC yards in fde. Coming from the steiner p4xi it took a good while getting used to the plxc tight eyebox. Setting the diopter on the plxc was a pain too.... After dozens of mucking around with the diopter I found that you want to set the 1x to where right at 10-15yards the image is as flat as possible. This allows for the reticle and picture quality to work best through the entire range of magnification.
The steiner p4xi still has the absolute best 1x I've ever witnessed in an LPVO. I've been able to get my eyes behind practically every major LPVO in the $3k and less catagory and the steiner just can't be beat. The plxc does do a great job at 1x for a ffp though.
P. S. - I guarantee you that the Primary Arms PLxC NOVA is as bright if not BRIGHTER than everything you reviewed. Also, the plxc doesn't need a locking renostat. The brightness dial is so damn tight that I'd be amazed it would ever be moved on its own.
Couldn’t agree more. Its pretty hard to imagine any civilian or even LE application where anything more than a shorty 10-11” M4 out to 300 yards is even vaguely realistic. Steiner P4xi is still tops for me, its perfect 1x/dot, huge eye box, huge FOV, crystal clear & bright glass, compact/light form factor, and simple/practical BDC is still pretty much unrivaled IMO.
So many folks don’t understand the pros/cons of lower magnification… yet so many knuckleheads will still prefer a red dot with a bulky, crappy 3x magnifier setup…
Your comment is super helpful. I have a question if you don’t mind. I have a PLXc nova and one with their raptor (whatever they call their FFP) both are on 16 inch rifles. I love them. I’m looking for another lpvo to go on my 14.5 URGI upper, I want it to be durable, daylight bright reticle, and lightweight. This Steiner 1-4 has been coming up a lot and I might buy one. How does only having 1-4 magnification compare to 1-8? Any noticeable drawbacks? How does the eye box on the Steiner 1-4 compare to the PLXc 1-8? Would you say it is as durable as the PLXc or more or less? Are the night vision modes practical? Thanks for any response
@S-tv1yt The steiner p4xi is literally in a league of its own. Beautiful German glass, very light for how durable it is. What sucks is the recent price hike. I bought both of my p4xi's for 500 each which is an absolute steal.
If you're after magnification on a shorter platform while still wanting a wide fov, daylight bright 1x then the steiner can't be beat. It has a MASSIVE eyebox, it's eye relief is perfect and stays perfect through the entire range of magnification. I have one on a 16" and the other on a 12.5". I have no problems taking both rifles out to 400 - 500 yards due to glass clarity. Reaching out past 500 starts becoming a challenge but honestly no other option out there gives you the capabilities of having such a great 1x and in my opinion has the best 1x in the LPVO market.
I was actually disappointed with the plxc nova. With it being SFP I expected it to fix all the issues of the ffp one like better eyebox and better 6-8x clarity. Glad I was able to try out both the ffp raptor and the sfp plxc before making a decision. Honestly the nova does have a great 1x for what it is and would probably go great with your 14.5".
@S-tv1yt I think I forgot to mention durability.... While there isn't much data on the plxc as dlfar as durability goes, the steiner has most certainly been put through the wringer. It has much better water proofing than the plxc which is an amazing achievement in itself. It's safe to say it's much more durable than the plxc.
@ I had my nova on my 14.5 but decided to put it on my 16 BCM upper. Thanks a lot this has been really useful. I wanted a nice low magnification for my URGI without breaking the bank and I’ll probably go with that
6 mins in and I just wanna say I greatly appreciate it. Be looking to upgrade my PA 1-6x 2nd FP.
First lpvo I ever owned was an atacr 1-8 in mils, figured go big or go home. I ended up selling it after realizing I bit off more than I could chew and learning mils wasn’t something I was ready to commit to. Ended up with a razor 1-10 in moa and while the atacr was an absolute beast I prefer the razor. The diopter adjustment was way easier for me, and I was able to get a really flat clear image for it, not to mention the “disappearing bezel” was way better than the atacr, the atacr had a super thick bezel that focused my eye through the scope at 1x creating a tunnel effect making me scope focused instead of target focused. The throw lever is MUCH better and actually adjustable for where you want the throw to start and end since it’s a clamp that goes around the ring not a rod that screws into one point on the ring. On the atacr the dial was so stiff I would use the entire rear of the scope to zoom in/out and would sometimes end up engaging the locking collar for the diopter which was very annoying. The locking illumination dial is a HUGE advantage as stated in the video, on the atacr the illumination dial being able to free spin the way you demonstrated was frustrating. I never had it self adjust but I also never carried it in full kit up a mountain. The razor is overall easier to use for me and more convenient to live with. The illumination was brighter on the atacr, the thicker stadia lines were nicer at 1x with no illumination, the center dot of the reticle was a finer point of aim at magnification, it did feel more rugged/bomb proof than the razor, and I did appreciate the zero stop, but overall I have really liked the razor and plan on keeping it. I was looking at the EOtech 1-10 as well but the moa version is hard to come by and the moa reticle sucks compared to the mil reticle so you’re pretty much relegated to mils if you go EOtech…not sure why they hate moa so much lol this was a very comprehensive review and much appreciated, thank you sir for validating my purchase 😅
Primary Arms is really coming in strong with their price points
Dear Karl,
Thank you for the time & effort you put in to bring us quality content !
We cannot possibly imagine the energy, devotion and patience that went into getting the information out there for us
Both of the government contracted scopes are not worth the money.
I agree the s&B1-8x with the dual focal planes would be great, but they did not get me one for this video. I was supposed to get one back when they were new, but it never arrived.
Steiner: they actually asked to enter a scope in this test… of course, send what you want… they sent the 6.
Leupold also did NOT send what I would have considered their “best” from their lineup. However, they sent what they wanted to represent their company.
Thanks for watching, TR
@@TacticalRifleman Thank you for clarifying the situation in regards to these products. And once more, we are grateful that you put in so much time, dedication & devotion for making this content possible ! :)
Great video... Best comprehensive comparison review I have ever seen. Great job!
Glad you liked it!
I’ve been extremely happy with everything Vortex that I’ve owned so far, really like the Viper line for their cost to performance ratio.
I watched every minute of the video and appreciate the objective comparison. I own a few LPVO, one of which is the gen3 razor. I have been eyeing the NF atacr 1-8 for some time and a friend has turned me onto the current vudu options. This video certainly shines some light on options I also hadn't considered. Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I'm still running my Schmidt & Bender 1-8 PMII Short Dot. The one that hasn't gotten a lot of attention which needs more is the ATIBAL 1-12x. Thats the only MPVO on the market that goes down to 1x and has an adjustable parallax.
Im running the primary arms SFP gen3 with .223, iluminated dot 1 to 6x for 310 usd its perfect, holds zero perfectly even with 6x magnification...
@@allancastaneda5842 what do you want me to tell you?
@@allancastaneda5842 What do you want me to say?
😅@@printingwithpeek4897
Europe most military/special units use s&b and they love it
That was a ton of work/effort. It is much appreciated! Should be written up and published!
I put a lot of work into this one. Thanks for watching!
Something to note about the vortex 1-10 is that the center reticle is opaque. Very intuitive for remaining target focused at any distant while magnified.
Thanks for all the effort. That was hours of work. Damn. I appreciate it. Especially with the optic choices. Probably the most popular ones on the market.
Now this is what I like to see from Karl. This was an awesome video. So much great info.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've always been a bit dubious about LPVO's usually either thinking either throw a proper scope on it or use a red dot. Some of your commentary really has me re-thinking that. You're probably going to cost me money. Can I have my wife call you & explain it to her?
Of Course.
He said sure I say that's your battle. HA HA . I know your pain have to have that same talk with mine every time I get something new. Still love her to death, would not live without her!
Locking Rheostats or Renostats? I appreciate your insight from carrying gear day in day out. There’s lots of content out there analyzing the glass clarity, the reticles etc, but the ability for a scope to remain useful in the field day after day is something most of us would only learn the hard way. So thank you.
Rheostat, but I get what he is saying.😁
Shoot fast Carl. Lol you really knocked it out of the park with this comprehensive review
Outstanding research, detail, and commitment, one of the best videos of the year, thank you.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
Glad it was helpful!
Man thats a ton of work. Thank you. Bravo.
THis was a LOOONG Test. Thanks for watching!
I wonder when Leupold will release their new Mark 6HD (1-6X) FFP Horseshoe. The problem will them is that will go dormant for years and then conquer the market.
First off thank for your service, and thank you for the great In Depth review .
Much appreciated!
Love Vortex LPVOs. Absolutely worth it, especially with the LE/Mil discount. Primary Arms are also a great inexpensive option. I really like their SLX micro prisms too. Etched reticle, fixed magnification. Like a mini ACOG.
Excellent reviews sir. Thanks for your time and dedication!
Glad you enjoyed the video and agree on the quality of Vortex and Primary Arms
Karl last year with Coach and I - "OK, let me demo this for you guys...damn this bitch is heavy!" 😂 Good times
Yep, I remember that. I used every one of these scopes in a different block of classes. Some really sucked.
Great video Karl! I like the unbiased approach that you brought to the table. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.
I run a Razor 1-10 on my ADM 308, which is awesome. However, love my Trijicon Accupoint 1-6 on my 16” AR and Accupoint 1-4 on my 12.5 SBR…no batteries and very decent glass and eye box for shooting inside 300 yards.
Best LPVO Test ever seen
THanks
Karl as always, you’re very thorough and again you help me out a lot the scope you had me use of course the highest price one very nice. I had no trouble seeing the target hitting it not great but not bad but that was me not scope. I know I need a good scope. I’ll save up my money and go from there again thank you JB.
Amazing!
They need to pay you Karl for this
For price and benefits I got Vortex Eagle 1-8.
It has ranging reticle,Red dot bright and clear day and night time use.
Easy finding target upclose and past 300m.
Lever that changes variable zoom is also just right and gives you option to change it out as well.
great video--never seen that many different LPVOs head to head anywhere! My AR is a budget build but with solid durable components, I really love my Arken 1-8 with the kill box reticle, inexpensive compared to many of those but super nice glass and lifetime warranty... cant go wrong with their products in my opinion. I do like the primary arms one as well.
Thank you for the time and effort you put into this, it's really great to have this video as a reference for all these scopes!
Glad it was helpful!
Great review ,highly informative. You put in a lot of work and it is appreciated.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Been waiting on this one👍
I hope it was worth the wait. I put a lot of personal time and effort into this project.
Thanks!
Love Your knowledge and appreciate your service
Welcome!
Best things in life are worth waiting for and working hard for. Great work.
Thanks for the durability/zero test most excellent and very surprising the atacr had such drift
I’ve got the PA 1-8x FFP with the Griffin X reticle. Loving it so far. At 1x the bottom of the Christmas tree is almost perfect for HoB inside 25 yards.
Mr. Karl, thanks for an awesome real world L.P.V.O. test!! Best info out there!!
Very welcome
Hi Karl, Alot of people don't consider spares or backups when factoring in the costs of these. I went with the Primary arms 1-8 ACSS GRIFFIN PLX I Bought 2 of these scopes and was still way under the vortex razor. Personally I would go with either the primary arms or the Eotech they both utilize a donut of death style reticle makes it alot easier for putting rounds on target especially if you don't shoot a ton. Trying to hunt for a tiny dot sucks
Primary arms acss is a game changer for those with astigmatism
Thank you for your time.
My pleasure!
It definitely can appreciate all the work that went into this, shoo buddy.
Thanks, it was a lot of work.
Great video! Best comparison for environmental stuff by far. The tracking of the turrets would be a good category for a follow-up video if you do one on LPVOs under $1k. I’ve been convinced that clarity, eye relief, and proper recital are the most important features to me. But I’ve been mostly shooting with LPVOs under the $1k mark.
Good information and a lot to digest. Thank you sir this is very helpful. God bless and Merry Christmas 🎄🎁.
Same to you!
Carl, great video. I was just looking to buy one of these for my 2 Daniel Defense AR's. This gave me so much information to consider. I will watch this a couple of times before I go shopping. thanks
I'm glad you found the video helpful.
Would love to hear your opinion on the acog.
ACOGs were great for 20 year old marines with perfect eyesight. Dated by today’s standards.
Details for the win! some of which I never knew about but now see are important to consider. I’ll be referencing this video for quite some time, thank you!
Thanks for sharing
Timeline 1:01:10..."My M-16 frozen to the ground".....c'mon TR, even us fresh faced newbies from the East Coast knew to keep your "rifle" in bed with you for that close up and personal time alone. I have woken up to a couple of inches of ice/snow on my bag but my 16 was always warm and toasty. Great content none the less.
Never put a rifle in my sleeping bag. Squad leaders would have lost their shit.
Stepping up to 6arc from 5.56, this video is right on time.
What a well done review. I currently have a Kahles K16i on my SHTF 14.5 gun and its gotta be the best glass I’ve seen. I would have loved to have seen it in here but I get that you can only do so many. I am looking for an optic for my 11.5 duty gun and this got the wheels turning so thank you.
I have the Razor HD 1-6 and absolutely love it. A three way on/off/shake-awake switch would make it perfect.
Thanks, Karl!
Have to say, that last comment was classic…”I’m going to go back to to running red dot on all my guns.”😂
I know, sometimes you just gotta go back to the basics.
Very cool. Idea, I’d like to see your opinion here.
I tried some of the best, razor genIII, nightforce atacer, Steiner, march and couldn’t find a clear favorite. I ended up going with an eotech and g45 magnifier instead. Which I am sad about as I enjoy more and am much better at long range shooting than close in stuff and wanted to stay with the magnified scope idea.
I’ve settled to using an MPVO (leupold mk5 hd 2-10) and rmr on my mk12ish rifle.
Would you rather have a LPVO or a fixed Mag Prism with offset red dot. Safe weight over scope and mount and simplistic with no adjusting? I struggle with this and I have both setups and still evaluating. Leaning towards Fix with offset..... simpler no adjusting......
Excellent video thanks for putting in all the time and effort putting it together and sharing your knowledge.
It was a lot of work, but worth it.
Karl was there a particular scope mount that u were using?
No. They were all the same height, but I used different brands. I personally like the Nightforce mount
Love your show dude, if I was not so far away I’d love to attend your training and have a few beers and natter with you. This review is fantastic, not just with your applied experience but your learnings and what no doubt others have said. Great insight and solid justification and reasoning - btw, need another Rick Lamb, “Stryker” your self and perhaps serving Delta guy to talk about how tech and TTPs have evolved for specific things.
Sounds great!
Wow that was a lot of work Karl. Excellent job bro 👊
Yes it was
Karl: *Talking about breaking your LPVO* maybe you're tripping coming off the tailgate of the helicopter, or maybe you're a seal locking out of a sub from 40ft down.
Me: Rolls off bed at night and hits head on LPVO on my rifle next to me 💀
Great video, Did you exclude the Sig Tango 6 1-6 on purpose bc army has selectedit ? LOL I think the MK4 HD is a 1-4.5, not 1-4. at 2:54. And also , when they sent in the scope, I would have asked them to send in together with a QD mount.
I love SIG, but SIG did not submit any scopes and I honestly have not been impressed with their past optics. SIG should stick to guns.
Yes, the MK4 is indeed a 1-4.5 and I say “one to four” because it flows better off the tongue. I much preferred their 1-6x Patrol.
words from a pro!
Great video, Karl. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
I may have to take a re-look at low power magnified optics. Decades ago I tried a Trijicon ACOG. Lots of people told me about that Bindin Aiming Concept. Keeping two eyes open. So my left eye was seeing 1x and the right eye was seeing a 4x image. Got a massive headache in exactly 4.2 seconds. Been using an Aimpoint M-3 (1x) ever since.
I really appreciate this effort.
Great video! I might have missed part of it, but I wish you had the Trijicon VCOG in there.
Next time!
I have just got SFP PLX-C. I am loving it.
Great video review, Karl!
Glad you enjoyed it
Great hits!
Can you post a video of using a bear creek arsenal for various qualification testing?
Sorry, I have no experience with Bear Creek
Thank you, for your time and effort to make this vid.
It was a lot of work but worth it.
Outstanding, only 1 big boy LPVO you missed was the Deon March Dual reticle 1-10 shorty, but other then that Karl, I think you could refer people to this video for the next 5-7 years and get tons of value that will still be useful.
Amazing review!
Glad you enjoyed it
I added a note to the video as well but, to make things short and sweet: A first focal plane scope is far more useful throughout the entire magnification range, which in my opinion is why you see them go up to higher magnification ranges and have larger magnification ranges and have far more intricate reticles and cost more (because more useful = they want more money) than second focal plane scopes. The first focal plane scope’s reticle is going to correlate its hash marks or bullet drop crosshairs to its turrets click distance measurement throughout the magnification range far more usefully to a normal human’s brain (who isn’t a genius mathematician). A second focal plane is only useful at it’s maximum magnification range which is where the reticle’s measuring marks are going to equal what the scope’s manual says they do, generally one moa or mil per long hash and go down to 1/4 moa or 1/10 mil hashes just like a measuring tape would have 1” long hashes and go down to 1/16”. If you use any less magnification than the absolute maximum, those hashes measure something completely different, as if you just took your measuring tape and started compressing it without doing anything to the measuring stuff, and the turrets that have written on the top “1 click = 1/4 MOA” no longer mean that at all and now it should say some crazy other fraction and probably break down into 1/2 click or whatever 😂 That’s why second focal plane scopes are usually in lower magnification ranges, shorter total magnification ranges, and simpler reticles, and far more BDC reticles even though BDC still only works at full magnification. Though there’s always a manufacturer willing to fool the consumer into something they don’t actually want. Which reminds me, probably the most useful tip you’ll ever get in avoiding terrible scopes and even the manufacturer who made the scopes, if a scope has a reticle that measures in MILRAD or MILS and the turrets measure in MOA, and especially if it’s also a second focal plane scope, then AVOID that scope at all costs. To range for elevation and windage you’re gonna need a formula. To range for elevation and windage for anything less than max magnification, you’re gonna need two formulas. 😂 This is why ballistic calculators and apps with scope reticles and ballistic coefficients in them became so popular, though I see far fewer today than I used to and most of them didn’t work right. Nikon had the ProStaff app that was great and the scopes were great then they discontinued all of it.
Primary arms what I’m lustin over
I meant the 2x20 nx8 😉
The Primary Arms plx-c 1-8 Griffin reticle is Karl's favorite PrimaryArms LPVO. I bought that LPVO because of his review on it. He did a review on the Raptor and Griffin reticle. If you just want a bdc reticle set up for humans get the Raptor. If you want one with the capability for humans, but also hunting deer or just being able to use a ballistic calculator to get exact holds using a mil grid, get the Griffin reticle. 😎🇺🇸🦅👊💪
❤ Thanks again ! Awesome info as always ! ❤
You are very welcome!
Trijicon VCOG SCO?
Sorry, I love Trijicon, but the VCOG SCO was built specifically to fill a Marine Requirement and was already outdated before it was released. Like the original ACOG… it gives the Marines a solid optic, but it should have been constantly updated.
You won’t see other units buying it.
Can you expand upon why it is outdated? I have a VCOG SCO and an ATACR, and I'd take the VCOG almost every time over the ATACR. Don't doubt your expertise. I'm just trying to see what i don't know.
Most secure fruit trees in the country 😂
Great video. Thank you for all the work you put into this.
You're welcome, enjoy the video.
Your best review yet!
Glad you liked it!