Vortex SPARC II Red Dot Review

There are many choices out there for red dot sights. Prices range from $50.00 to over $500.00 so where do you even begin to look? The Vortex SPARC II is listed MSRP at $289.00 so I would consider this to be more towards the middle price of the range.

Vortex sent me this sight for testing. I used this during our carbine class at Hudson Rod & Gun Club back in July. Perfect testing conditions because of the down pour of rain that was forming puddles on the range.

Specifications listed from www.vortexoptics.com

Magnification: 1x

Objective Lens Diameter: 22mm

Eye Relief: Unlimited

Adjustment Graduation: 1MOA

Travel per Rotation: 45MOA

Max Elevation Adjustment: 90MOA

Max Windage Adjustment: 90MOA

Parallax Setting: Parallax Free

Length: 3.1 inches

Weight: 5.9 ounces

When I took the sight out of the packaging the first thing I noticed is how lightweight the sight is. Vortex claims 5.9 ounces which is 0.36 pounds. I run my Daniel Defense AR15 as light as possible without spending hundreds on carbon fiber rails and ect. So I can appreciate the light design Vortex has put together.

An Aimpoint Micro t-1 is 3.7 ounces with the mount or 0.23 pounds. I don't know about you but for a $289.00 optic vs a $650 optic in terms of weight I think I can handle the 0.13lbs difference!

The SPARC II is also fully multi-coated to increase light transmission. This was important during the carbine class because of the cloudy and rainy conditions. In conjunction with the coatings, the 10 variable 2 MOA red dot brightness settings added to the ease of using this sight. Now if only I had nightvision to test out the first two settings! The lowest two settings on the red dot are nightvision compatible. Also, whatever brightness setting you have it on before turning it off, is returned to when you turn it back on. So there's no need for adjustment each time you turn the sight on.

The sight came with flip up covers. I left them always flipped up during the class and water was constantly puddled up into the rear of the sight. Never did the water leak into the glass, fog up, or have any glitches. Originally I left the flip up covers on the sight, however after much rapid firing during movement exercises, the front cover kept popping off. So I just took them off and left them in the range bag.

On the adjustment turrets, the covers are secured with wire so while making elevation or windage adjustments, you don't have to worry about losing your caps. I think Vortex did a great job with the minor details on this sight. I say that because even the wire is covered with rubber tubing for not only a clean look but protection for the wire.

The battery life listed by Vortex is typically 300 hours on maximum brightness and 5,000 hours on minimum brightness settings. It also features an automatic shutdown after 12 hours of continuosly being on.

My overall impression of this sight is very good. It doesn't feel cheap, it's not bulky or heavy, it's specifications are well within expecations when compared to Aimpoints price range vs Vortex price range.

I did suggest to Vortex that they should insert an O ring to keep the covers from popping off during rapid fire. Not that the covers are essential, but I feel that if you are going to run them that they shouldn't pop off of the sight.

If I could change one thing about the SPARC II, it would be the adjustment design for the dot brightness. A turret such as the Aimpoint to turn directly to your setting would be a lot nicer than pressing up and down buttons. Not that it's a deal breaker by any means.

This sight also comes with a high mount, low mount and a spacer for co witnessing your back up sights. The high mount was perfect to setup co witness with my Magpul BUIS.

I purchased this SPARC II from Vortex and I am going to see how it holds up during the winter. It's rated for -4* to +158* and Minnesota unfortunately gets quite colder than -4*. I am interested to find out what it's failure point is.

Stay tuned for that!

Published by:

Adam Link

Instructor at AIM Precision, LLC

#sparcii #vortexoptics #ar15 #reddotsight