Any experience with Kahles CSX 1.1-4 (Circle Dot)?

[mpardun]

for ~$500 under Swaro z6i and S&B, seems like it may be in the same league.

Any thoughts/experience?

[UPSguy]

My understanding is the dot is not Aimpoint bright.

[mpardun]

Ilum Dot appears clearer and brighter than S&B Short Dot, on par with Aimpoint brightness in daylight IMHO, a true 1x (low end), greater FOV at 1x, very bright accross the range, 6x upper magnification and $200 less than the S&B Short Dot II to boot.

I'll post some pics as soon as I can.

[SHIVAN]

[MerQ]

He actually did a run down on the Swarovski Z6i.

[mpardun]

He actually did a run down on the Swarovski Z6i.

I have been looking into this purchase for nearly 3 months...I have scoured every forum article (Opticstalk, AR15.com, M4carbine.net, etc...) and read every article, spec sheet, etc out there...but IMHO there is no accounting for the value of first hand experience - especially when parting with $2k for a rifle scope.

I have had the benefit of seeing the S&B Short Dots with my own eyes locally (original, SD II and LE Zenith), but the Swaro Z6i remained elusive...and I could not "pull the trigger" on either without this side by side comparisson.

Over the weekend, a local dealer had one in stock and I was able to compare (YES IN PERSON) the two "finalists" side by side for the first time and again late this am...I knew the swaro was the one.

**The Kahles (likethe swaro) was seeminly hard to see in person, that said, I found some forum goers (elsewhere) that all concurred the Kahles illum. technology is ~4 year old (although leading the class when it came out) and not daytime visible, relative to Aimpoint, S&B or Meopta for that matter.

So in the end, I felt quite comfortable in ticking that last box and making the purchase.

[2011BLDR]

for ~$500 under Swaro z6i and S&B, seems like it may be in the same league.

Any thoughts/experience?

Not even close to a S&B Short Dot. The 10 we tried were terrible, we lost 2 on the first day ( electronics) and never fielded them.

Any cost savings you see between any other 1.?-4X and the S&B Short Dot is equal to some capability loss such as:

Lack of reference points for hold over and hold off on 4X

Loss of mechanical BDC

Lack of full daylight reticle visibility

Loss of mechanical lock on controls and adjustments

Loss of full both eyes open peripheral vision on 1X

Loss of BZO retention capability when switching between powers


Out
2011BLDR

[UPSguy]

2011BLDR, did you try 10 of the Kahles or the Swaroski Z6is?

[2011BLDR]

2011BLDR, did you try 10 of the Kahles or the Swaroski Z6is?

Kahles. The S&B Short Dot capability losses the Swaroski Z6 has are:

Lack of reference points for hold over and hold off on 4X

Loss of mechanical BDC

Loss of mechanical lock on controls and adjustments

Loss of easy to use under stress mechanical controls and adjustments

The price point is the same, both can be had for $1800-$1900
Out.
2011BLDR

[SHIVAN]

Obviously I didn't handle them side-by-side @ SHOT, but I did stop at each of the big players with 30mm optics.

Nothing I saw on the show floor compared very well to the S&B booth.

If it had, during my demos there, I would have purchased one. Instead, I took my $$$ and bought a Short Dot.

Honestly, I was hoping to stumble on a Zeiss, or Swarovski, or Kahles that did compare favorably. None of them seemed to be "right" to me.

I liked the NF, but knowing that the dot was "soft" in daylight. I passed on it.

FWIW...