2/25/2013

Diamond Tactical 1x32 Red/Green Dot Scope Review


          This Diamond Tactical Red/Green dot is an ACOG styled full metal dot sight with both red and green dots and sights on top.  What's not to love?



          First off, I got this through Airsoft Megastore as a Black Friday deal for around $35, as opposed to the original $55 price tag.  I'd consider that quite a deal.  I wouldn't have gone for it at full price though.

          As far as aesthetics go, it is a very nice looking ACOG replica.  The paint is matte and it looks great.  Personally I think it sits a little high, but that is a positive for comfort, especially if wearing a face mask.

         The body is solid metal with a few rubber and even glass pieces, feeling as rock solid as a $50 precision piece of electronics can feel.  The only parts I'd possibly worry about breaking are the knobs.

          Upon mounting it to a gun I encountered something curious.  And worrying.  The nice solidly built rail mount on the base was crooked.  This was very noticeable and set the point of aim off significantly.  Adjusting windage all the way could not come close to fixing it.


          After pondering this a little I came to the conclusion that while high-tech solutions may not work, I always had duct tape.  So I put a few strips on the inside of the front left and back right sides to straighten it out.  It worked perfectly.  I love duct tape <3

          I already touched on the windage which leads me to the next point of interest.  Adjustments are not terribly bad but seem awfully ineffective.  Turning either knob a few revolutions has almost no effect.  I needed to adjust back and forth, nearly from minimum to maximum to get much of an effect on the dot's location.  Not a dealbreaker but still annoying.


          Now for the sight picture itself.  Obviously the sight has two modes, red and green.  Each color has two settings, bright and dim.  Since green is more receptive to the human eye, the progression is basically dim red - bright red - dim green - bright green.  I feel that four settings is flexible without being obnoxious.  Also the green seemed just a hair less clean than the red, as seen in the pics.

         The only other commentable part about the sight picture is that the glass is tinted, fairly heavily.  Perfect for bright outdoor games.  A bit of a pain for dim CQB or night battles though.


          One other neat feature that drew me to this sight was the iron sights built into the top.  They are very simple and not particularly exciting or precise but get the job done if your battery runs out or you're just in a hurry.

          One thing to note is that they are obviously unaffected by windage and elevation adjustments so having the rail mount be accurate is really a must.  I also painted a white dot on the front sight to make it more distinctive, in case you thought it was stock.

          Overall I'd say this is more than a fair red dot sight.  The build quality is excellent and the dots are crisp and have good settings.  Between the rail mount and inadequate adjustment it needs a little work to be accurate but should certainly get the job done for Airsoft purposes, though it does come with a Picatinny rail for real steel.  I can't say whether there are better options in the price range, but you certainly could do a lot worse.  Overall 4/5

No comments :

Post a Comment