In 2016 I posted a review of some problems I had encountered with a DI Optical RV-2 RDS and the difficulty I had with the customer service process. For those unfamiliar with DI Optical the company is a South Korean defense manufacturer that provides optical sights to the South Korean military.
Those issues came to the attention of senior managers at DI Optical. In October I was contacted by DI Optical Vice President Michael Beltran and the new service manager Champ Y. Via phone conversations and email they offered apologies for the problems I had encountered and explained the steps they had taken to improve both customer service and quality control issues with the RV-2 that were related to a faulty printed circuit board. After our discussions I felt the company was on the right track by taking proactive measures to identify and correct past problems. Mr. Beltran graciously offered to send me a EG-1 RDS gratis for my troubles explaining that he believed I would be very pleased with the optic.
In late November I began evaluating the DI Optical EG-1. The EG 1 appeared to be a very robust optic. The body is manufactured from 6061-T6 aluminum and DI Optical states it has passed MIL-STD 810G durability testing standards. Battery life is listed as 9,073 hours at setting 6. The EG 1 offers 14 total settings. 1-4 are night vision settings while 5-14 are low light and daytime settings. In between each setting is an OFF position which I appreciate and prefer rather than having to turn the dial through all settings to find the off position. The optic has clear glass and a 30mm octagonal lens with very good clarity and field of view. Weight with the included QD mount and battery is listed as 11.28 ounces. It included removable rubber hoods, a sight adjustment tool, lens cloth, CR 2032 battery, hex wrench, and manual. I started my evaluation by turning on the optic and leaving it on throughout the entire process lasting through June
On my first range session I mounted the EG-1 on several 5.56 AR’s and a FN FAL 7.62 rifle. The 1.5 MOA dot allowed for precise shooting. Windage and elevation adjustments were not what I would consider perfectly crisp but were pretty good and definitely tactile and audible. Zeroing was quick and trouble free. I fired over 200 rounds total of 5.56 and .308 at 50 and 100 yards. I had no problems putting the 1.5 MOA dot on the the 1 ½ inch orange target dots at those ranges. When I re-mounted the EG1 to the SBR on which I performed the initial zeroing, I found the optic returned to within 1 MOA at 100 yards from the initial zero.
In mid-December we had a solid week of mid to high 20 degree temperatures with 11 inches of snow, followed by freezing rain. I left the EG1 outside exposed to these elements for the entire week. At the end of the week it was encased in a thick covering of ice and snow. I brought it inside and immersed the optic in a bucket of warm water. Afterwards I wiped it down and found the red dot was still bright and everything was working properly.
Soon after I ran it through another range session firing another 200 rounds. This time I waited until darkness and mounted my PVS-14 behind the EG1 to test the night vision settings. The NV settings worked well in conjunction with the PVS-14 and I was able to obtain good groups on the 100 yard target.
In March I took the SBR and EG1 to a local quarry for some shooting drills. The optic allowed me to make quick and accurate hits from 7 to 100 yards. We had quite a bit a rain so I dropped the rifle and optic into a muddy puddle and left it submerged for about a minute. I turned it over and repeated the process. Afterwards I rinsed most of the mud off the optic and gave everything a good shake to clear the bore. I shouldered the rifle and kept shooting. The EG 1 worked without issue.
In April I ran it through another range session accompanied by two other shooters. We fired at least 100 rounds. The other shooters found the optic worked very well. I took the EG1 back to the quarry in May for some more drills. Again it just worked. Sometime in early June the battery died after being left on for 7 months at mid to high brightness settings.
While my initial evaluation did not put the EG1 though a high round count I was able to put it through some fairly unfriendly environmental conditions. So far it has performed quite well and I believe it to be worthy of serious consideration for a consumer looking for a well-built reasonably priced RDS that has been built and tested to military standards. I will continue to use and evaluate the optic and post relevant updates in this thread.
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