Vortex SPARC 2 Review
For decades now there is a massive gap between high priced, top quality optics from firms like Schmidt & Bender, Nightforce, Trijicon, Aimpoint, or Leupold and the economic, Chinese junk you commonly see gun shows and on eBay. Admittedly, there have been variations in the medium range of prices, but often their quality was just slightly better than the affordable junk, or their cost point was such that it was worth saving your pennies to hold out for a high-quality optics from one of the firms above or their peers. Vortex Optics has lately and efficiently filled that gap in the marketplace by supplying an extensive range of quality optics at prices which enable you to keep both kidneys.
Maybe. Every single one of their products which we have shot with and finger banged, from easy 1x red dots into precision gun optics for even the biggest of calibers, were well thought out, well made, and frequently boast clarity better than a much less affordable glass. But because Vortex has not been on this game so long as their opponents, there is not as far empirical information on the durability of those attractive sights. We have beaten our S&B up, Nightforces, Aimpoints, and EOtechs are reasonable, and it is easier to break rocks than ACOG. Trust us; we’ve tried.
What about Vortex? Can its optics take a hit or does it have a glass jaw? We figured it’d be a good test to get Vortex’s cheapest optics, the Vortex Sparc II, hand it to a Marine, and let nature take its course. Now, before we set out on our path of destruction, let us talk about it mind blowing and its brief, agonizing future. It is made in China. There, we said it. Even though roughly the same size and form as an Aimpoint T1, it is also only one 3rd the cost. In all honesty, the country of origin didn’t concern us a little because we’d fears the Sparc II would not keep it together long enough and induce us to write a one-sentence article similar to this, When minding the Sparc II into the Picatinny rail, the bracket broke, so we just ended up drinking beer and stalking individuals on Instagram.
, Luckily, our anxieties were far off base. The Sparc II controls are on the left side of the lens, where they may be readily obtained, even when utilized in combination with a magnifier or a night vision apparatus. Two buttons cycle through eight red point intensities and two IR degrees and flip the optic on and off. The commonly available CR2032 battery is designed for 300 hours on the brightest setting and hours on the lowest brightness setting. The Sparc II turns off after 12 hours, extending the life of the battery lifetime.
Its two MOA dot has a reasonably slow refresh rate. Therefore it’ll appear to have a small trail when transitioning between targets. This was more of a nuisance than a hindrance, as we are not robots or Jerry Miculek and couldn’t shoot fast enough to catch up with it. Aside from the dotted road, the Sparc II is nicely thought out. The windage and elevation covers are captive and may be utilized to adjust the turrets, as could the rim of the body. The adjustments are tactile nicely researched, and perceptible. The view comes with two bases of heights that it may be mounted on inline designs like AR or firearms with a decrease comb, like shotguns or AKs.
An additional spacer is supplied for shooters who prefer to use a lower one 3rd witness co with iron sights. It could also be utilized in conjunction with the lower mount, based on the height. The one-piece aluminum body is finished in a black anodizing. All of the tools for mounting, an extra battery, and range caps are included in the box. So&hellip, attractive packaging, convenient controls, plenty of brightness levels, and adjustability. None of that matters if this thing cannot take a beating. Allow the destruction start reasons not completely clear, there can moonshine was involved, we packaged our Sparc II in ice, zeroed it, and produced some acceptable groups.
After we were fulfilled, the optic was submerged deep, in 60-degree swamp water for an hour. This had no impact, which soon became something of a theme. We dropped our gun onto stones, several times, optic down, from shoulder height. With the dot still glowing we turned up the heat. We built a fire and exposed the Sparc II into the flames, only remove it for fear of the scope caps will adhere to the coated glass. Then, taking the signal from Monty Python, Sparc II was then instantly underwater, like a witch. Now all this seems like an aimless torture, but there is some reasoning here. The majority of the optics we’ve seen fail to do so because of exposure to moisture, temperature extremes, shock, or some mixture of those factors. If an optic survives unreasonable heights of abuse, then it should bear fewer strains.
On with the mission. A mighty oak which has stood longer than anybody Alive today shrugged off the onslaught of the writer swing a Sparc laden rifle against it in a movement reminiscent of a century logger. The Sparc II wasn’t unscathed. Heat from the fire diminished the rubber covering the controllers, and the impacts of the axing exposed a labyrinth of wires and green circuit boards. The point was somehow still on, asking for more, so we set about turning it off. With circuit boards hanging around, we underwater the optical beaten for the last time. So we thought.
Much to our surprise, a dot still glowed. So we ran across the Sparc II with our off-road vehicle, and after that shot groups on newspaper to see whether it’d nonetheless be capable of doing its job. To our dismay, we discovered that we had bigger group sizes and a zero. We packed up our equipment and headed home counting the Sparc II on. We ought to have known better. Upon returning home to remove the Sparc II from our gun, we noticed that the mounting base had worked loose and was allowing the optics to move freely on the railing.
This discovery was bittersweet, but because this was more than likely the origin of our broad, article destruction test bands. Also, it meant that we’d to come back to the scope to continue our test. And we’re not lazy. Not able to shake our inborn slothfulness off, we decided to topic Sparc II to a more extreme torture hoping that the dot will be forever extinguished and we could just stay home and see Hoarders on Netflix. We place Sparc II in the refrigerator overnight, and once the dot was discovered shining, turned on the oven, took the view from our top, and left her in the oven for one hour.
According to our laser thermometer, her entire body was at least 200 levels. We instantly put Sparc II back to the refrigerator for twenty-four hours, then took her from the fridge, immediately yanking her to 120-degree water and let her sit in her very clean dirt for a day. Remember, at this point, the extent caps had long ago melted, and the circuit boards were shielded only by a bit of duct tape which we used to preserve her dignity. With the dot shimmering, we got up from our lazy ass and headed back to the range.
Once settled in the way back in range, Sparc II’s dot eventually decided into the stop. Seemingly, the circuit board that controlled the on/off buttons separated out of some of the threads exposed, so we ripped it off. Be it either out of making the trip all the way to the scope, or for our growing affection with this underdog extent; we were not ready to give up. We ended up carefully touching a spent brass shell casing on the surviving exposed circuit board until, such as a lovingly remembered ex-girlfriend, we figured out the right places to touch her to bring the old woman back to life.
With the dot back on, we were capable of producing groups comparable to the control groups we shot before inflicting a caveman rage. With Sparc II thriving in conditions far worse than any battle optic will be expected to endure, we set up a worst case situation. If you are of a nervous disposition, you may need to skip the next piece. We shot on Sparc II with a 22 gauge AR, ironically surmounted by another Sparc II. Cannibals. Three hits did only aesthetic harm. However, the 4th shooter hit directly on the windage adjustment, turning the bullet, the adjustment cap, along with the adjustment knob into one twisted mess of metals.
The dot was pushed into the far right of the mind with no method of readjusting. No rubbing dirt on this one and walking off it. We continued to shoot at the optics until a turn took the battery off casing taking away the power supply and extinguishing the dot. On coming home, we utilized the excess battery, the cables from the destroyed printed circuit board, along with the unavoidable duct tape to triumphally resurrect the point, not unlike Frankenstein. With a rainbow of emotions which range from joy, confusion, curiosity, determination, and doubt about what to do next, we place Sparc II from the microwave oven, in which what appeared to be a miniature lightning storm took place.
We are not certain what this replicates, let us pretend something or an EMP. What used to be nitrogen sight turned into the black smoke filled with a view, and Sparc II’s dot would never again shine. Do not be sad! Vortex Optics has a no questions asked warranty, so we mailed her back for a brand new one. Following each torture test, if we had been asked to bet $20 on if the dot would stay on or not, we’d have lost more than the price of a Sparc II. It is up to you to determine if you think the Sparc II is as good or better as his competitors, but we believe we have found the most economical optic that may be placed atop a combating carbine.