Weed Eater Slow-Mo Battle

https://theawesomer.com/photos/2021/04/weed_eater_wars_t.jpg

Weed Eater Slow-Mo Battle

Link

Destin from Smarter Every Day and his pals got together for an unusual competition. The goal? Evaluate the power and durability of eight kinds of weed eater lines as they whack into each other at full speed. The battle took place in front of a high-speed camera to see exactly what happened in slow-motion.

The Awesomer

MRDS: Micro Red Dot Sight Buyer’s Guide

https://www.recoilweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MRDS-buyers-guide-cover.jpg

There was a time when even the very best micro red dot sight (MRDS) would only last a couple thousand rounds on a pistol before the violent reciprocation of the slide shook it to pieces. Incremental improvements over the years resulted in some extremely tough and durable sights, some with battery life better measured in years rather than hours. And just as quality red-dot sights for rifles were eventually produced for beer-money buyers, we’re now starting to see the same in the MRDS market.

We decided to focus on budget-friendly dots with a price ceiling of $300. Of course, actual street prices are normally considerably lower. This list is far from all-inclusive and new MRDS options are being released on a regular basis. However, due to the nature of foreign manufacturing, at least some of the “new” options may well be a rebranded variation of something you see here today.

TESTING

We used a modified AF 1951 ISO 12233 test chart to evaluate optics. Not only does this chart show resolution, it also provides distortion information including optical error, chromatic aberration, centering errors, and more. For an MRDS, we focus on three optical issues: magnification, displacement, and color cast.  

MRDS micro red dot buyer's guide diagram

Despite being advertised as 1x, sometimes an optic will slightly magnify or shrink the image seen through the glass. Displacement is the shifting of objects in view, usually vertically with an MRDS but sometimes horizontally. Color cast represents the accuracy of the color rendition of the view through the optic. This happens because special coatings are used to reflect the red (or green) reticle projection back to the shooter; they allow all light sans red to pass through the glass.

Some of these issues sound rather alarming, but odds are your favorite MRDS has some or all of these errors to some degree. Bear in mind that when you’re target-focused and shooting with both eyes open, these flaws are less important than they may seem at first. 

In terms of durability, only time will tell for many of them. Even an optic with the best reputation may fail, so training for a downed-optic is paramount if you’ll be carrying with one. Inexpensive dots can still have a place as a secondary sighting system or on a range or training gun. 

FEATURES

For each optic, we’ll explore listed features and use. Several different mounting footprints are seen across these pages. The current most-popular optical footprint milled into pistol slides is that of the Trijicon RMR, with the Leupold DeltaPoint Pro trailing behind. Other footprints that you’ll see are the RMS Shield (JPoint/DocOptic/FastFire) as well as the RMS-C (for subcompact guns). Those with plate-system guns such as the Glock MOS-series or the FN 509T are able to easily accommodate most optics, whereas others will have to seek out conversion plates or universal adapters if they don’t have a pistol with their mount in-hand. The RMS Shield footprint is gaining traction with subcompact pistols, with some manufacturers using it over the RMS-C when space is available. 


Atibal MRD V3

Dot Size: 3 MOA
Footprint: Shield
Battery Type: CR1632
Battery Life: Up to 05,000 hours
Weight (No Mount): 2.1 ounces
Objective Lens Size: 24 x 19 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? No, Top Fill
URL: atibal-optics.com
MSRP: $280

Atibal MRD v3 micro red dot sight

In CONCEALMENT Issue 19, we got our first look at a preproduction MRD V3. One of the changes you’ll see between the preproduction and full production is the inclusion of a rubberized cover around the optic window. Though we’re told it helps make the dot even more rugged, we’re sure the wave of cease-and-desist letters from Trijicon to many manufacturers last year may have something to do with it. 

Adjustment is performed with a small flathead. The clicks are both audible and tactile Each click corresponds to 1 MOA of adjustment. 

There are seven brightness settings and no auto-adjust, but it does feature a 12-hour auto-off. The window is one of the roomiest in this article. 

Color rendition is very good. There’s no change to magnification, but some slight vertical refraction is present. 

In terms of batteries, the CR1632 battery used by the MRD V3 isn’t as common as a CR2032, but still easy to find. It also lasts more than five years and is top-fill so it can be replaced without losing zero. 


Burris FastFire3

Dot Size: 3 or 8 MOA
Footprint: Shield
Battery Type: CR1632
Battery Life: Up To 5,000 hours
Weight (No Mount): 0.9 ounce
Objective Lens Size: 21 x 15 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? No, Top Fill
URL: burrisoptics.com
MSRP: $230

burris fastfire3 micro red dot sight

As you may have divined by the name, Burris has been continually improving and updating their MRDS offerings. Our example is well-used, having spent time on everything from a 22LR Ruger pistol to an offset mount on a scope to an airsoft training gun. 

Adjustment is performed with a small flathead. The 1 MOA clicks are just barely tactile, but you’ll never be able to feel them through gloves. 

There are four brightness settings, including an auto-adjust mode that uses a sensor on the front to determine the proper brightness. The dot is crisp at lower brightness settings but begins to bloom at the highest setting. 

Color rendition is slightly blue. There’s no errant magnification but there’s some vertical refraction present. 

The FF3 uses a CR1632 battery. Battery life is only 5,000 hours so we’re thankful that it can be changed without requiring a re-zero.


Bushnell RXS-250

Dot Size: 4 MOA
Footprint: Deltapoint Pro
Battery Type: CR2032
Battery Life: Up To 50,000 hours
Weight (No Mount): 1.5 ounces
Objective Lens Size: 24 x 17 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? No, Top-Fill
URL: bushnell.com
MSRP: $250

bushnell rxs 250 mrds

First introduced in fall 2020, the RXS-250 packs a ton of quality into a street price just above $200. It has a ruggedized body without the cheap Chinese anodizing feel of many others on this list. We’ve seen one dropped several times on concrete that was no worse for wear, and we’re told it passes MIL-STD-810 drop testing while mounted on a loaded pistol.

The clicks are both audible and tactile, and each click corresponds to 1 MOA of adjustment. You need a small flathead to make adjustments.

There are 10 brightness settings and no auto-adjust. 

Color rendition is just ever-so-slightly blue but isn’t distracting. Magnification is 1x, but we see some vertical refraction. 

For batteries, no complaints here; not only does the RXS-250 use the common CR2032 battery, it can be replaced without removing the optic and has an anticipated battery life of more than five years. 


Crimson Trace CTS-1250

Dot Size: 3.25 MOA
Footprint: Shield
Battery Type: CR1632
Battery Life: TBD
Weight (No Mount): 1 ounce
Objective Lens Size: 27 x 17 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? No, Top Fill
URL: crimsontrace.com
MSRP: $230

crimson trace CTS-1250 Micro red dot sight

Though they’re certainly still making lasers, Crimson Trace began dipping their toes into the optics game a couple short years ago. We began seeing their MRDS pop up as OEM options on other pistols (see our review of the XD-S Mod 2 OSP in RECOIL Issue 53), and now they’re enjoying a wider release. It’s so new that at the time of this writing, we don’t even have all of the details of this optic. You’ll note the lack of a hard battery life rating, though undoubtedly by the time of publication it’ll be available (and we’re told should be better measured in years and not hours). 

Adjustments are made with a small flathead. The clicks are both audible and tactile, and each click corresponds to 1MOA of travel. 

There are 10 brightness settings, including three that are NV-compatible. There’s no auto-adjust. 

Color rendition has just a kiss of blue. There’s a slight reduction in magnification and also some horizontal refraction. 

The CTS-1250 uses a CR1632 battery. The optic doesn’t have to be removed to swap the battery.


NC Star FlipDot M2

Dot Size: 3 MOA
Footprint: RMR
Battery Type: CR2032
Battery Life: ???
Weight (No Mount): 1 ounce
Objective Lens Size: 22 x 16 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? Yes
URL: ncstar.com
MSRP: $100

Nustar flipdot m2

Yes, this is the cheap red dot with a neat flip-out action. This giant ball of fail is so bad even NC Star has discontinued it because of constant issues. It has since been replaced with the FlipDot Pro. What surprised us is that the NC Star FlipDot ships with several mounts, including a Glock dovetail adapter, Glock MOS plate, RMR spacer, and Picatinny mount. As the name implies, the dot can be flipped up by pressing a springform switch.

At this point, we’d normally talk about adjustment, but the lens itself loosened under recoil within a couple shots. Awesome.

Color rendition is blue but not terrible when viewed head-on. Surprisingly, there’s very little in terms of other optical errors. 

For batteries, the FlipDot uses a CR2032. The optic must be removed to re-zero, and no battery life was listed (which doesn’t seem to be a good sign). 

Leave this one for cheesy SyFy channel movies.

nustar flipdot m2 mrds


SIG Sauer Romeo Zero

Dot Size: 3 or 6 MOA
Footprint: RMS-C
Battery Type: CR1632
Battery Life: Up To 20,000 hours
Weight (No Mount): 0.4 ounce
Objective Lens Size: 18.3 x 16.4 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? Yes
URL: sigsauer.com
MSRP: $220

sig romeo zero

SIG Sauer has long since jumped into the optics game, and they developed the Romeo Zero with their P365 XL in mind (see CONCEALMENT Issue 15). The Romeo Zero is well-sized to ride on top of subcompact pistols as well as 1911s. Though the body is polymer, we’ve seen few complaints regarding durability from those using them every day. 

Adjustments are made with the included hex wrench, but there are no tactile clicks. The Romeo Zero ships optically centered, so it’s not too much of an ordeal.

A standout feature is the integral rear sight; the Romeo Zero will co-witness with standard sights. There are eight brightness settings and no auto-adjust, as well as an auto-off and shake awake. 

Color rendition strays into the blue spectrum. There’s an ever-so-slight reduction in magnification but no refraction.

For batteries, the Romeo Zero uses a CR1632. Though the sight does have to be removed to replace, with its battery life that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

The SIG Romeo Zero is a set-it-and-forget-it optic. Give your batteries a swap every other year. Interestingly, the Romeo Zero is assembled in Oregon on an automated, robot-equipped production line rather than purely by hand. We toured SIG’s optics manufacturing facility last year and marveled at the robot overlords putting them together.


HEX Optics WASP

Dot Size: 3.5 MOA
Footprint: RMS-C
Battery Type: CR2032
Battery Life:~20,000 hours, real use
Weight (No Mount): 0.7 ounce
Objective Lens Size: 20 x 15 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? Yes
URL: hexoptics.com
MSRP: $299

hex optics wasp mrds

You probably haven’t heard of Hex Optics before, but you’ve definitely heard of Springfield Armory. Springfield started Hex to not only have OEM options for their own pistol line, but to also sell them independently. Along with the launch of the micro-mini Wasp, another initial offering will be the Dragonfly, a duty or competition model with an RMR footprint. 

A hex wrench is included for adjustments. While there are no tactile or audible clicks, the Wasp ships with an external guide for zero adjustments, similar to the original Burris FastFire series. 

Like the SIG Romeo Zero, the Wasp has an integral rear sight for co-witnessing with standard-height front sights. The body is constructed of T6 6061 aluminum, and there’s no user-selectable brightness — auto-adjust is all you have, and the Wasp is always on. 

Color rendition is excellent. There’s a slight reduction in magnification and some horizontal refraction. 

The Hex Wasp uses the common CR2032 battery, the largest possible that’ll fit into this miniature sight body, and the optic must be removed to replace it. 


Swampfox Liberty

Dot Size: 3 MOA
Footprint: RMR
Battery Type: CR1632
Battery Life: ~9,000 hours, real use
Weight (No Mount): 1.02 ounces
Objective Lens Size: 22 x 15 mm
Dismount to Replace Battery? No, Top Fill
URL: swampfoxoptics.com
MSRP: $249 (plain), $294 (with shield)

swampfox liberty mrds

Swampfox is a newer company, but they’re very ambitious about regularly releasing improved optics. Their first pistol MRDS was the Kingslayer, a not-so-subtle hint at trying to take down the Trijicon RMR, with which it shares a footprint. Their latest CCW-oriented MRDS is the Liberty — little brother to the duty/competition, Justice. 

You need a small flathead screwdriver to make adjustments. Though there’s a guide, adjustments are neither tactile nor audible.

An optional accessory for the Liberty is the Ironsides Shield for extra durability. This stainless shield is designed to route impact stresses from the optic to the footprint itself. There are dual buttons on the left side of the optic to both turn it on and adjust brightness. There are 10 brightness settings and no auto-adjust. After four minutes of no motion, the illuminator will shut off and then instantly wake up with any movement. 

Color rendition is excellent, and there’s an ever-so-slight horizontal refraction present.

For batteries the Swampfox Liberty uses a CR1632 and is replaced from the top with the assistance of a T10 Torx wrench.


MORE ON RED DOT SIGHTS AND OPTICS

Recoil

SIG Romeo2: The Hybrid MRDS

https://www.recoilweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SIG_Romeo2_00.jpg

We first got eyes-on a concept of the Sig Romeo2 a couple years back and have been anticipating the release ever since. Originally slated for a 2020 release, hammering out the final details and a global pandemic pushed the official release until sometime in 2021. What we have in our hands is marked as an engineering sample, but SIG assures us it’s a good representation of what will be on the shelf.
With the Romeo2, SIG set out to make a true hybrid of a traditional open-emitter sight and a compact sealed reflex sight. Though sealed reflex sights are physically larger, they offer a number of advantages over an open-emitter reflex sight. First and most importantly, the emitter is sealed away from environmental fouling; stray lint or pocket sand can’t block an emitter unless you manage to pile up enough to block the entire window. They’re also easier to clean and can generally be made more durable. But the Sig Romeo2 goes both ways.

Straight from the box you get what appears to be a traditional open-emitter sight that we’ve come to expect from an MRDS. Digging further in you find a shield for the open configuration, a larger shield for sealed configuration, and a polycarbonate lens with an o-rig to make that seal actually happen.

Sig Romeo2
The shields cleverly cantilever from the front and are held in place by two very small fasteners that we’re sure we’ll lose if we blink too slow. Definitely going to recommend the use of appropriate thread locker (such as Loctite 222) for this one.

Also included is a clever multi-tool wrench with a flathead for windage/elevation adjustment, a small torx for the shield screws, and a T-10 bit in a 28in-lb torque limiter. SIG also took the extra step of lasering the proper torque settings on the optic body itself—bravo!
Sig Romeo2 rear sight
There’s an integral rear sight on the Romeo2 that corresponds to a suppressor-height front sight. There are horizontal lines to cut glare, and two perfect divots carved out if you wish to put a drop of paint in them. Brightness selection is performed via two push buttons on the left side. Access to the battery door does not require any special tools nor removal of the optic; a simple push on the recessed button pops open the battery tray.

Sig Romeo2 mounted
In what’s bound to be an upset to current small, sealed reflex sights, the SIG Romeo2 does not require any special footprint. The Romeo2 will fit all SIG Pro footprints, which translates to an awful lot of Leupold Delta Point Pro mounts too. The Picatinny mount we used for this build was for a DPP, as SIG didn’t yet have mounts in stock, and it worked just fine. Some mounts may have to be modified slightly.

It can be set to an auto-off if you so desire, and there’s even a magnetic-off option (with big-name duty holsters on the way).
Sig Romeo2 cover
These power-saving measures are just bonuses though, as the battery life is 25,000 hours on the medium setting (out of 12). It’s a touch lower than we’d use, and we’ll watch what happens real-world. But seeing as how the batteries are both plentiful and easy to swap, it’ll probably be just fine.

Sig Romeo2
There will be plenty that will run the Sig Romeo2 in a traditional style (that felt weird saying about MRDS’) with a pistol and sealed on a subgun. Or the reverse—you can do what you want, and that’s the entire point. If the battery life is as advertised and we don’t lose any screws, we daresay this may be the best red dot for those who can’t make up their minds or swings both ways.

 

Stay tuned to sigsauer.com


MORE ON RED DOT SIGHTS AND OPTICS

Recoil

ElevationLab ‘TagVault’ keeps your AirTag hidden in plain sight

https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/41745-80948-wetbo-xl.jpg

ElevationLab will soon ship the the “TagVault,” a rugged, waterproof holder designed to keep your AirTag safe.

The TagVault is a two-piece AirTag holder that screws together with stainless Tox hardware, offering complete protection from bumps, scratches, and normal wear and tear. This makes it an attractive option for attaching to objects like keys and luggage.

Securing an AirTag inside will up the water-resistance of the AirTag to being completely waterproof. Should you drop your keys in a stream while hiking, for instance, it could offer more protection than a bare AirTag.

TagVault is designed to be nondescript, giving no indication that it holds an AirTag inside. This may dissuade someone from removing it and disposing of it. The manufacturer suggests clipping them on backpacks, luggage, purses, and more.

The TagVault is now available for preorder, priced at $12.95 for a single TagVault, or $29.95 for a set of three. ElevationLab will be shipping orders in June.

Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, “Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider,” and you’ll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for “AppleInsider Daily” instead and you’ll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you’re interested in Apple-centric home automation, say “Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider,” and you’ll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.

AppleInsider News

Crowdfunding Smash: The Arc-Shaped Bowio Book Light for Even Illumination

https://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/1182740_81_108609_wsavpmxKA.jpg

To provide evenly-distributed illumination, Czech model painting enthusiast Matyáš Hošek DIY’ed one of the more innovative LED task lights we’ve ever seen:

A similar approach has been adopted by the (unaffiliated) Bowio Book Light, "designed and engineered by readers for readers":

The Bowio is held fast to the book by magnetic flaps on each end. And yes, it works on softcovers as well as hardcovers.

Here the unnamed designer gives you a sub-two-minute rundown of his design and production process:

The Bowio has been an absolute crowdfunding smash, clocking over $1 million with combined Kickstarter and IndieGogo campaigns. The $49 light is expected to ship by November of this year.

Core77

Scan the World Offers 17,000+ Scans of Famous Artworks You Can Download and 3D Print

https://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/1182561_81_108597_j6Yr7guXh.jpg

Nefertiti, David, Venus de Milo, the Great Buddha at Kamakura. These are just a few famous works of art that have been digitally scanned, and the files made freely available online, so anyone can download and 3D print them. Scan the World: The Open Source Museum has made some 17,000 statues, sculptures, structures and artworks available on their site.

This being an open-source operation, they do welcome you to share scans or even just your printed results:

"Scan the World is an ambitious community-built initiative whose mission is to share 3D printable sculpture and cultural artefacts using democratised 3D scanning technologies, producing an extensive ecosystem of free to download digital cultural heritage. In making culture accessible, communities are encouraged to share their scans, stories, and creations with the goal to bring tangible heritage to the masses."

The bulk of the scans are from Western sources and history, but they’ve also set up Scan the World India and Scan the World China sites that are waiting to be populated by volunteers.

Dive in here.

Core77