Any recommendations for an Eotech clone sight 551/553/558

[RostokMcSpoons]

I've never been the biggest fan of Eotech's in my games (Battlefield, CoD etc), but I've come to the conclusion it's the very thing to make my HK416 look more 'tacti-cool' so I'm in the market for one.

 

But never having shopped for one I don't quite know where to go.

Obviously Amazon and eBay have quite a few options.  I've seen this one 'ere, which is one of the cheapest Amazon deals at £38, but damn-it, it's got one 2-star review, and I know these are on AliExpress for £15 + postage (and + long delivery time).    Maybe that's still a sensible option (either Amazon, where I can send it back easily, or Ali, for being dirt cheap), or maybe it's a complete piece of trash that I need to avoid - I need guidance

 

Any thoughts?   

I've seen ads for these used at £20-30 (but they've dried up as soon as I've committed to buying one, natch).  That's my natural territory for impulsive purchases, but I'll go higher (twice as much... £60?) for an obvious step up in quality.  I'll get a protector for it from Red Dot Engineering on eBay

 

If you have one and you're interested in selling it, I'm obviously interested

 

Links...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=holographic+sight+airsoft&crid=2HPUMX63HTJG7&sprefix=holographic+sight+airsoft%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-551-holographic-sight.html?SearchText=551+holographic+sight&catId=0&g=y&sortType=price_asc&trafficChannel=seo

https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Holographic-Hunting-Sights-Scopes/7307/bn_55178084

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/reddotengineering

Edited February 7, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[alxndrhll]

In terms of function they're all equally shit (especially on a GBBR) until you're stepping into Holy Warrior repros (generally £100+ ish), with the next step from there being real ones.

 

If you just want it to look cool in photos then go with whatever floats your boat, if you want it to actually work and hold zero you'll need to dig deeper into your pockets. Worth noting that all repros, at least in my experience, are red dots rather than holos. Much of a muchness to most, but the information is there to do with as you wish.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Yeah I appreciate "holosight" is a very specific Eotech thing.   I'm obviously rooting around the bargain bins here

I guess I do have to a bit careful with the cheapest sights - the recoil on the 416 is really quite sharp, so a cheap sight might not survive it.   I have seen YT vids of a guy who sticks cheapo Chinese sights on real-steel guns and shows they can stand up surprisingly well - might be 'pot luck' though!

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

Don’t be put off with Ali Express quoted delivery times, my Elcan clone arrived within a fortnight. The quality is superb and crystal clear (but I’d expect that for £200)

Plenty there to choose from to suit your budget 👍

[RostokMcSpoons]

I like the EXPS 3 design, with the integrated quick release mount.

I've just checked out HW sights.   Interesting comparative YouTube review shows the HW S1 is the one to get, if you have the dosh.
But there's not many to be spotted in the UK.  Dave's is selling the S1 at £140.  That's too much tbh.  (And they're sold out anyway)
 

So back in the Poundshop, there's this one on eBay that's not the same as those £15 Ali ones, so maybe a step up in quality (or maybe that's wishful thinking)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294056699806

Looks quite nice for £55

 

I'll have a further look at the pricier ones on Ali.

[Guest]

What hasn’t been said yet is parallax error. 
 

The HW’s have virtually zero parallax error, the cheaper ones have terrible error, making those sights utterly pointless from a functioning perspective.

If you’re not sure what parallax error is, look at some vids, you’ll understand immediately. Trying to describe it is tricky.

 

The clones are all red dots, not Holo’s. Aside from working better with both eyes open (real holo’s look funky with one eye shut), the biggest advantage of a holo is you don’t need any glass,  mirrored or not. It’s an instant tell with a red dot, they all have to have mirrored front glass.

 

 

 

[Krisz]

All of the cheap ones are rubbish. 

 

Probably Holy Warrior is the best Eotech clone on a budget.  

[RostokMcSpoons]

You'll forgive me I hope, but I think the whole parallax error thing feels like a bit of a trope - it's a factor for sure, but in the grand scheme of airsofting I don't think it matters so much.

 

1) All red dot / holo sights have some degree of parallax error.  That comparative video I linked to has a section (at 10:30) showing all the sights.   Even the actual Eotech has an error.  It's noticeably smaller than all the others, but it's there.

2) All the other sights (even the HWs) were 'much of a muchness'.  I think the reviewer showed some bias as he immediately liked the HW S1 and so when he showed the parallax on that, he didn't seem to move the gun around quite so exaggeratedly as he did with the others    But other HW sights weren't much better than the cheap 558 he had in his selection.

3) Good sights are tuned to have zero error at a certain range.  It's almost certainly going to be at 100+ metres for a real-steel, so that's beyond what we can use.

4) We all know that at a push we could play airsoft with no sights at all, and walk the bb's on to the target.  I'd even be fairly confident in hitting a torso first time without sights at 15-20m

5) ... And at super-short range (where the error tends to be the greatest), personally I instinctively point-and-shoot - don't use the sights at all.

6) When I do use my sight 'intentionally', then I tend to have the crosshair in (or very close to) the middle of the window.   Parallax then becomes a non-issue.

7) And finally the fact we're shooting guns that are inherently not that accurate.   A bit of extra inaccuracy is not welcome, but we deal with it all the time anyway.

 

Anyway, I found a review of that Sotac sight, and it seems fairly decent - I'm taking a punt on it (as buying it right now means I can have it in time for my skirmish at the weekend)

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[alxndrhll]

TLDR I'm going to ignore the majority of the above advice and justify a purchase because I'm impatient 👀😅

[RostokMcSpoons]

7 minutes ago, alxndrhll said:

TLDR I'm going to ignore the majority of the above advice and justify a purchase because I'm impatient 👀😅

The vibe I'm getting though is that anything below HW levels is trash, but HWs are way above my intended budget.  And will have to come from Them Foreign Climes.

So the input has been useful - I thank you all. I've dragged myself away from feeding at the very bottom, and went for something a bit better, safe in the knowledge that the stuff that's actually good was more than I wanted to spend.  

 

And yeah, I've been casting around the Classifieds for a cheap sight for long enough that I definitely have become impatient
 

[Guest]

I don’t agree with parallax error being a trope. The whole point of a red dot is you don’t have to line up iron sights to hit something. As soon as you see the reticle, that’s where you shot’s going.

Makes a massive difference in getting off shots quickly. 

 

I haven’t watched the video, but all real steel sights have a distance rating for zero parallax, normally somewhere above 25m

[RostokMcSpoons]

3 minutes ago, rocketdogbert said:

I don’t agree with parallax error being a trope. The whole point of a red dot is you don’t have to line up iron sights to hit something. As soon as you see the reticle, that’s where you shot’s going.

Makes a massive difference in getting off shots quickly. 

 

I haven’t watched the video, but all real steel sights have a distance rating for zero parallax, normally somewhere above 25m

Yeah I get that.  But I've just checked my Feyachi 'Amazon special' red dot.  Looking at stuff through it inside my house, the parallax error is big, but looking out the window at my garden shed, approx 12-15 metres away, the error is comparatively tiny.  Parallax error is all about the range, and at the ranges where accuracy really counts, it's not an issue. 
Maybe this sight is a brilliant bargain and a complete outlier, but I rather doubt it    

[Guest]

41 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Yeah I get that.  But I've just checked my Feyachi 'Amazon special' red dot.  Looking at stuff through it inside my house, the parallax error is big, but looking out the window at my garden shed, approx 12-15 metres away, the error is comparatively tiny.  Parallax error is all about the range, and at the ranges where accuracy really counts, it's not an issue. 
Maybe this sight is a brilliant bargain and a complete outlier, but I rather doubt it    

Feyachi are real steel sights

[RostokMcSpoons]

My mistake, it's a KingScope...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KINGSCOPE-Reticles-Airsoft-Shotgun-Picatinny/dp/B07HF4ZBLQ/ref=sr_1_1

£22
which looks the same as the Feyachi
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feyachi-Reflex-Sight-Adjustable-Reticle/dp/B087PSPP48/ref=sr_1_2

£29

 

If we think that the Feyachi is a low-parallax sight, rather gives the idea that all cheap sights have bad parallax a bit of a kick in the 'nads, doesn't it?

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Speedbird_666]

3 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I've never been the biggest fan of Eotech's in my games (Battlefield, CoD etc), but I've come to the conclusion it's the very thing to make my HK416 look more 'tacti-cool' so I'm in the market for one.

 

Slightly OT, but related. Eotechs look great on '416s in newer games - here's a setup I like to run in Ground Branch:

 

 

 

 

 

[MrTea]

I have a SOTAC XPS3. Bright enough to be visible even during the sunniest of days to the point where I even turn it down a bit just to save battery. I much prefer eotechs/holographics style of optics for the large 'target window'. I can't get away with stuff like micro red dots, T1/T2 etc or I haven't found one that works for me.

 

I tried using a sight protector but found that it caused me more issues than it was worth and just removed it.

Edited February 7, 2023 by MrTea

[RostokMcSpoons]

21 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Slightly OT, but related. Eotechs look great on '416s in newer games - here's a setup I like to run in Ground Branch:

 

 

Yes, very smart!

 

That's pretty much the look I'm aiming for... I have RIS rail covers down the sides, I have a fake PEQ box (currently tan), the same fore grip, a similar suppressor.   I'm short of the torch.  
The RIS covers are olive drab - I will probably paint the PEQ box the same, get an olive drab suppressor cover, and call it done
(Or I paint the RIS covers and PEQ box black, or even rattle-canned camo pattern...)
 

Edited February 7, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

If we think that the Feyachi is a low-parallax sight, rather gives the idea that all cheap sights have bad parallax a bit of a kick in the 'nads, doesn't it?

I never said that. Lots of cheap EOTech clones have terrible parallax error is what I said.

 

I’ve said my bit, likely I’ve owned more red dots than most people here, both real and clone. It’s your money, spend it on whatever you like lol. I’m out

[Impulse]

I have the Nuprol one and it turns itself off sometimes when I fire an AEG (I had it on my mp5k), let alone a GBBR, so now it just sits on my 416 NGRS that I never use and just looks pretty. 

 

Don't get the Nuprol one. It's crap

[Khyber]

1 hour ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Yeah I get that.  But I've just checked my Feyachi 'Amazon special' red dot.  Looking at stuff through it inside my house, the parallax error is big, but looking out the window at my garden shed, approx 12-15 metres away, the error is comparatively tiny.  Parallax error is all about the range, and at the ranges where accuracy really counts, it's not an issue. 
Maybe this sight is a brilliant bargain and a complete outlier, but I rather doubt it    

No they are all as good. I have 4 feyachi sights and all of them at room length have about 1-2" error but at garden length and beyond that is drastically reduced lower than the accuracy of any given pew.

[RostokMcSpoons]

1 hour ago, Impulse said:

I have the Nuprol one and it turns itself off sometimes when I fire an AEG (I had it on my mp5k), let alone a GBBR, so now it just sits on my 416 NGRS that I never use and just looks pretty. 

 

Don't get the Nuprol one. It's crap

 

Yeah, I guess that's my remaining concern is that any airsoft-level sight won't have sufficient shock resistance. 
Looks like I'll be Mr Guinea Pig on the Sotac one

 

My real-steel Kobra seems to be suffering at the moment (and I think this pre-dates my GBBR) that a knock to it triggers the 'lower brightness' button circuitry.   A full burst of shots turns the brightness to zero.  That's one of the reasons I wanted to buy a new sight.   It unfortunately demonstrates that even rugged sights with a good rep aren't completely bomb-proof.

 

1 hour ago, rocketdogbert said:

I never said that. Lots of cheap EOTech clones have terrible parallax error is what I said.

 

I’ve said my bit, likely I’ve owned more red dots than most people here, both real and clone. It’s your money, spend it on whatever you like lol. I’m out

 

Ok, thanks for the input, I appreciate it even though I've either misunderstood it, or disagreed with it.  Eotech's are the one thing I've got zero experience of, I didn't expect them to be different from red dots (given that I wouldn't be going for a true holo sight).   My only real-steel sight is a Kobra.  Functionally, in terms of parallax, that's acting the same as my other red-dots (which are all cheap and/or used).

 

--------------

 

Edit:  The green rattle can came out to play at lunchtime... PEQ box is now 'assimilated'...  I think it'll look great with the Eotech-a-like on top

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Lozart]

My two cents - genuine EoTech sights are expensive by nature because of how they work. None of the copies work the same way as mentioned above and are basically reflex sights so need a mirrored lens. The biggest issue is that the cheaper ones tend to be more heavily mirrored which makes them harder to see through in low light. Halfway decent ones however are "good enough" for airsoft unless you're in a particularly dark CQB environment and then there's plenty of other red dots that will do the job.

 

As for saying that they're all shit or that only Holy Warrior are any good is subjective at best and disingenuous at worst. I've had a cheap chinese knock off for years that's absolutely fine (which I used to use at The Mall to no detriment), the Sotac ones are fine too.

[kasaran]

4 hours ago, Impulse said:

I have the Nuprol one and it turns itself off sometimes when I fire an AEG (I had it on my mp5k), let alone a GBBR, so now it just sits on my 416 NGRS that I never use and just looks pretty. 

 

Don't get the Nuprol one. It's crap

I have a couple of theta ones.   Seem usable outdoors for me... Wouldn't take them indoors as low light is an issue for them.

 

They also turn off, but as opposed to a fault, I think it a battery saving measure they have, which is annoying as you aren't going to be constantly poking the optic during game days.

[C-Diddy]

I'm a big fan of the look of an EoTech on a 416. I got this EXPS3 and G43 clone from an airsoft store on eBay for around £120 a couple of years ago. They look pretty good, the reticule is nice and crisp, but it's only ever a guide to your target!

 

I do have to say the Red Dot Engineering sight protectors are great though. Definitely worth a few extra quid. 

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Yup, that looks fantastic.
But ... oh no, you've got me thinking of getting a G43 to go with it, when will the expense ever end? ;D 

I've seen cheap magnifiers at my site before, and on AliExpress etc... but I heard they tend to flop around on the flip mount, and are therefore as much a liability as a benefit.  So it would really, actually, definitely need to be a good one, wouldn't it?

I bought a LPVO 1.25-5 scope which is on my DE M906, I do intend to give that a proper run to see how I like using zoom in-game, I've only ever tried a sniper scope before and didn't really get on with that..  so maybe it's a temptation I might be able to stave off.

 

How do you find using the magnifier?