Looks good. I’ll wait for version 2. Hopefully they will come out with a green dot option and reduced shake awake time. 14 hours is a bit much. Running Vortex PST Gen II 1-6 on my rifles. Love them. Well done video by the way. Thanks for sharing.
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Thanks. Yeah it’s 80% there. Looking forward to see their next release. The PST 1-6 is a pretty solid optic, and a very good value.
@HawaiiFoodAndFun
Жыл бұрын
As a long time Vortex user, the 12-14 hr made sense with the push button. You push it once at the start of your shift and its good. Having a shake awake + 14 hr doesn't make sense. Am I missing something? I've worked with people on duty, most optics ride in a trunk or on your belt and will be moved constantly. When those people put it down it is to be off-shift or to sleep. Even when the 9 hour shift guy goes home, his optic doesn't move for 10-12 hr. avg. That means these guy's optics WILL NEVER GO OFF during a work week.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
EXACTLY! I was just having this discussion with someone else and in the last week I’ve been checking it myself. I put my gun away at the end of the day 10pm. I wake up and drive my kids to school at 8am. That dot doesn’t turn off. Even as you said, for a patrol cop - it’ll turn off on weekends but weekdays between shifts, it may get an hour of rest. I am not a fan of shake awake or auto adjust optic settings. I have seen them fail - and I’m not talking about an incidence of one, I have heard from a reliable source of a popular rifle dot that has a high incidence of shake awake failures. I’d rather have a dot without these features but a reasonable battery life - I’m fine with a six month replacement schedule if I know it is going to work every time I need it.
@HawaiiFoodAndFun
Жыл бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroup I have the Venom w the 14 hr shutoff/no shake awake. I think that's adequate. I just don't think they have faith in a 2-3 min auto shutoff like the competition.
@trojansky2348
6 ай бұрын
Had a vortex StrikeFire on my AR. Advertised for 5k hours of battery life. The thing was a BEAST and are still selling like hot cakes. Great warranty too
@criticalimpactgroup
4 ай бұрын
Their rifle red dots are solid in my experience.
@stir_stick
Жыл бұрын
One of the best things about the firearm industry is that I can support Americans when buying. There are plenty of companies who haven’t sold out to Chinese manufacturing. I’ll continue to support businesses that support Americans.
@scottbryant9425
Жыл бұрын
I just got one of these and i will say, its a very well built, rugged optic. Its also extremely bright on the highest settings, like really really bright. I also have a CT Rad Micro Pro and its not even comprable in brightness or build quality.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
I LOVE how bright it gets. I’m a big proponent of carrying your dot brighter than you think you’ll need it. Easier to shoot through a too bright dot than one you can’t see. Window is huge for its size, and super durable. Potentially RMR level durability. I haven’t been able to break one yet with any reasonable tests.
@frankdamelio1664
Жыл бұрын
Just got mine. Love it !!! Hellcat OSP.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Lots of great aspects about it. I’ve been carrying one daily for several months now. Just gotta turn it off at night to save the battery.
@sixpumps1
Жыл бұрын
Did this optic mount directly onto the frame or did it require a plate? Did your standard size sights still co-witness with the optic in place, or do you need suppressor sights?
@scottdashnaw2345
Жыл бұрын
Best looking vortex dot for sure 👍😁
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
HUUUUGE improvement over their old line of dots. This one is good enough to carry.
@Captain_Cooter
Жыл бұрын
I discovered a dead battery after just shy of two weeks of every day carry from out of the box. Hence my watching this video to see if others are experiencing the same issue. I will be sure to dim the brightness and enable auto shut off, after i replace the dead battery today.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Yeah I’ve gone through three batteries so it’s definitely the optic. Still like the sight, I think they will likely tweak some features to improve future models.
@sickmak90
Жыл бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroupI have one on order but if I only get a couple weeks from a battery I won’t keep it. That sucks.
@douglasphillips24
Жыл бұрын
I've heard good things about Vortex Defender so definitely may be replacing my Swampfox Sentinel A which has surprised me with how well it works and I've dropped it onto floor and no problems except have to remove optic to replace battery which kinda sucks seeing all the zeroing in go down tubes .
@trojansky2348
6 ай бұрын
Sentinel is garbage. Ordered a brand new and shake awake didn’t work 🤦🏻♂️
@redneckzen
Жыл бұрын
One thing I really like about this optic is how the lens is protected by the frame. It is recessed considerably deeper than both RMR and Holosun open emitter optics. Some may not find this important or even notice, but this little feature fends off scratches when banging about as well as finger and palm prints when racking the slide. I've hardly any need to wipe the lens clean as opposed to any of my RMRs and Holosuns. Sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. My major complaint about the Vortex Defender is the wacko 14 hour shut off. WTF is up with that? Why not make it less than one hour or even better, adjustable? At 14 hours it's probably not going to shut off when I pick it up and wear it. I have Shake Awake on other optics which shut off within ten or so mintues of being set down. Pick'em up and they're always ready to go. 14 hours is practiically useless if you carry this optic regularly. Again, WTF Vortex? lol Ah well, perhaps in the next generation.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Agreed! Lots of great features, really good durability. The 14 hour shutoff is useless for people who carry daily.
@lyons55X
Жыл бұрын
Was wondering about battery life span, I think 6months would be good as well. With it on the 43x is there a lot of overhang off the sides of the slide? Appreciate the video!
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Very little overhang, it fits nicely.
@save2a4all
Жыл бұрын
That 🔋 auto-off is a poor timing decision... Turn off after 5-15 min of no use, not 12 hours or whatever it is. Daily carry would never turn off .
@scottbryant9425
Жыл бұрын
It's overhangs maybe 2mm on each side, if that. It's overall maybe 15% larger in all dimensions than my CT Rad micro pro. It's also much more substantial
@billsharko3007
Жыл бұрын
If Vortex wakes up and shortens the shut off time like Holosun they might get a little better battery life. That 14 hours shut down time is just a dumb idea on a shake to wake optic.
@tonychase2302
Жыл бұрын
I got about 12 weeks of battery life on my Vortex ccw defender . There book says 9500 hours. But I only got about 2800 hours. May be my last Vortex red dot .
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
In general, I have found you will get 10-20% of actual run time compared to the advertised battery life, simply because companies base their run time on a medium setting. No one carries on medium, you can’t see the dot at that setting even on a cloudy day.
@Redskin4ever
Жыл бұрын
Don't think you mentioned the lifetime warranty, no excuses. Thats hard to beat.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
It’s a nice perk for sure - their customer service is SECOND TO NONE… but that should definitely be a lower level consideration when it comes to life-saving equipment.
@Liftedmussel223
Жыл бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroupcouldnt agree more. More people need to treat their equipment, EDC like PPE. Train with it, double check everything, safety check eveything. Have redundancies. Always have a backup. Being prepared is always best. Be safe everybody!
@save2a4all
Жыл бұрын
0:03 Out of "SW Wisconsin"... You don't say!?! 😊 Might have guessed that!
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
I designed and ran their shooting range for four years. I still run a lot of the higher end Vortex products - you can get some high performing equipment at a good price.
@joshuat5140
Жыл бұрын
Didn't catch it but did you get the 3.5 moa or 6 moa?? And do you think this would be a good sight for a glock 19???
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
3 MOA. It should work just fine on a G19, the optic body will just be a hair narrower than the slide. The only disadvantage is you're giving up a little window width going with a smaller optic like this, versus an optic designed for a full width gun.
@Supremebean303
Жыл бұрын
On the shield which screws did you use? I put on the shim and used the screws listed and was fine. Tonight 100 rounds and kept coming unloose.
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Factory screws. Just put up a video on mounting. Did you torque to spec and use a thread locker?
@Supremebean303
8 ай бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroup all is well now.
@shumardi1
11 ай бұрын
I bought one and sent it back. Those top front corners were too sharp. I hated racking the slide.
@emmettpatterson3198
Жыл бұрын
Does your led emitter have a lens protecting it or is it open to the elements? Mine has nothing protecting the led amd been meaning to contact vortex about it but always slips my mind.
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Holy smokes…. Mine do not either. Hadn’t noticed that, you can poke down onto the circuit board with a pick or something. That seems very odd, I need to ask about that.
@emmettpatterson3198
8 ай бұрын
@criticalimpactgroup I emailed them about it and they said that it's how they designed it. Now my fastfire3 is totally enclosed. It has a glass in front of the emitter which makes sense. The vortex don't make sense the way its designed.
@shawnj8051
Жыл бұрын
Does the Shield Plus have a need for optics plates? How well does the optic zero?
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
No need for plates - direct mount. Holds zero extremely well and I have subjected to repeated drops and shocks.
@IAmThePrepper
Жыл бұрын
Can you do a direct mount on M&P Shield 9mm M2.0?
@ericy005cool5
Жыл бұрын
Is it worth selling my viper to buy the new sight?
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Yes. This dot is a big step up in every way over the Viper.
@taoisttiger4702
Жыл бұрын
Is really like to know the back story of the auto off time. 14 hr makes no sense at all. Hell an hour makes no sense on a shake awake! There must be some sort of issue sourcing hardare to make the change because i cant think of any reason at all a 12-14hr time would make sense on any planet 😅
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Agreed! Wish I knew. They have some new dots coming soon. Supposedly they are changing that.
@Three60Crusader
Жыл бұрын
Good thing I don’t worry about battery life.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
If it’s something with a top or side load battery I’m willing to sacrifice a bit on battery life if it’s reasonable. It’s not a big deal for me to swap a battery every six months if I know it won’t randomly die before that. More frequently than that gets to be a pain especially with multiple guns.
@snowmanfl
Жыл бұрын
who screwed up your shiplap wall?
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
lol… me. That was a quick job that for a video long time ago, never was happy with it. Need to re-do it or take it down 😆
@razorseal
Жыл бұрын
3 week battery life!?!? they say 9000 hours. thats 374 days. I don't see how that's possible unless it was a bad battery.
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
It’s happened with three different quality batteries now. And for what it’s worth, my Holosuns that say 50,000 hours generally make it about a year. The number any of these companies give us on a medium setting, maybe good enough for shooting indoors - usually not bright enough for carry on a sunny day. I’ve found battery life on high can be 10% or less of the number manufacturers provide.
@mishaellennon7793
Жыл бұрын
How is the refresh rate when moving?
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
Shooting on the move? I don’t notice it the. It has to be bouncing pretty fast, target transitions as it comes onto target, occasionally notice it during recoil. I really don’t believe it should affect your shooting especially if you stay target focused and don’t stare at the dot.
@seanbowie7966
Жыл бұрын
Also cheaper and no adapter plate needed for g43x.
@brucesmith5501
Жыл бұрын
How’s the battery life
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Poor. 6 weeks of actual use, max.
@robertreynolds2726
Жыл бұрын
How would compare this to a holoson 507k
@criticalimpactgroup
Жыл бұрын
You get a little larger window with the Vortex, but significantly less battery life and an unimportant by slightly annoying low refresh rate (in 3 MOA at least). Plus no reticle options and your only color is red (if that’s important to you). I haven’t been able to compare durability side by side but to me both are good enough for concealed carry. Otherwise they are the same, 507k is about $50 more expensive. If you want the biggest window, and don’t mind replacing batteries more often, get the Vortex. Otherwise while the Vortex isn’t a bad dot by any means, I think the 507k honestly edges it out a bit in features and overall design execution.
@robertreynolds2726
Жыл бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroup thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. New subscriber. Great channel 👏
@leesamuelson
Жыл бұрын
i have a 507K on one gun but using this now on my others. One the Defender does NOT need a plate or slide modifications to mount like the Holosun. Holosun dot is better on refresh rate but when on gun going from target to target really don't see a real difference. the battery replacement is alot easier on the Vortex. The side drawer on the Holosun practically needs a knife tip to pull out and many people lose or strip the screw for the drawer. that won't happen with the vortex. top load. Battery life things is hard to say I have read where holosun has also had 6 and less months less of battery life too even though they advertise like 2 years. plus if you get the Holosun depending on what gun you mount it on the screws may nt work where the vortex comes with pretty much every screw variant needed.
@save2a4all
Жыл бұрын
@@criticalimpactgroup Have seen the Defender CCW red dots now on sale at $180 and $200 vs the $250 retail.
@toddparsons2980
9 ай бұрын
Gen2 needed.
@criticalimpactgroup
8 ай бұрын
Yeah… waiting to see what they do with their next releases!
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