Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Overall, this is a great optic. Price is on point. As far as I know, there is nothing else quite like it for the price. A little background is required to explain what I mean. This optic is largely based on the Vortex Razor HD II 1-6x riflescope, which was primarily designed as a 3-gun optic. Competitors typically love the Razor HD II 1-6x because it's second focal plane, it has a clean reticle, a massive eyebox with tiny bezels, and a "daylight bright" red dot. Topping it off with a cherry, the Razor HD II also has some truly fantastic glass. Okay, so knowing all that, the aim of this Viper PST II 1-6x is to offer a budget version of that awesome Razor HD II. A lot of people have a hard time justifying $1400 for that Razor HD II, myself included. Vortex figured out a way to cut some costs, and now offers this more affordable option in their Viper PST II product line. Where was all that cost cut from? From my user perspective, the glass quality is the biggest difference. To compare glass, you really need to have all the optics in question present at the same time. Viewing through them, side by side, the Razor HD II is clearly superior and you will notice this immediately. The Razor also has fantastically thin bezels, quite better than the Vipers. I'm not saying this Viper has bad glass, or overly thick bezels, because it doesn't. I've also compared it against the Atibal XP8, and the Burris RT-6. This Viper has noticeably better glass than either of those two. And while it's not an apples to apples comparison, this Viper has similar glass quality to my SWFA SS 3-15x42. Keeping them both in the 3-6x range, where their powers overlap, it's difficult for me to determine which is better. It seems that the glass quality of this Viper PST II is appropriate for the $500 to $800 range. I do have a minor complaint regarding the glass, or more specifically, the coatings...I think. Shooting with the sun behind me, I notice significant glare on the ocular lens. To be fair, I notice this to some extent with all of my riflescopes. I believe it's worse on the Vipers PST II because it has a massive ocular lens very close to the edge of the eyepiece. This creates more area for light to hit, making reflections worse. I'm not even sure if a better coating would fix the issue, it's just my guess. Vortex says additional cost was cut by making the Viper PST II less rugged than the Razor HD II. The Razor HD II is a beast, so making this one less rugged still leaves you with an extremely durable optic, that still carries the Vortex VIP warranty. It is worth mentioning that the initial unit I received was damaged in shipping and had to be replaced. I preordered my Viper and received it very early on, before most people could get one. I'm guessing that Vortex hadn't worked out the new product box yet, as it arrived with the wrong box and padding. The padding didn't support the objective well enough, which must have slipped free after it was probably dropped. The objective stabbed through the bottom of the box, and received a good dent. I don't consider this to mean it's a low quality product, only that Vortex was trying to save a nickel on packaging, and I was unlucky to get a unit that was dropped. The capped turrets appear to be very high quality, but they are VERY stiff. They're low profile, and knurled on the top edge of the turret, making it difficult to get a good purchase with your fingers. Combined with the excessive force required to turn them, it makes small adjustments a two handed task. Keep in mind that this is an optic designed for fast shooting. The turrets are meant to be adjusted, capped, and left alone. Elevation and windage compensation should be done via the reticle, not by dialing the turrets. The only time you really need to mess with the turrets would be after mounting it to a rifle, or when changing ammo. The illuminated dot is one of the main reasons I chose this optic. It's "daylight bright." If you're not familiar with the term, it basically means that you can still see the illuminated red dot, even during the brightest part of the day, with the optic aimed at bright backdrops. This is actually a pretty common problem area for illuminated scopes. Most illuminated riflescopes are designed to make the reticle more visible when aimed at shadowy targets, or when shooting at dawn or dusk. It's hard to see a black reticle against a black background, so making it glow solves this issue. But it's very difficult to illuminate a reticle bright enough so that it stands out in very bright daylight against bright backgrounds. Affordable illuminated optics, like the MTAC and Bushnell AR, use a super thick reticle to help you see it when the illumination washes out in bright sunlight. Only a handful of variable power riflescopes are truly "daylight bright," and they've historically been high-dollar products. The illumination dial has intensity indicators from 1 to 10, with an off setting between each intensity. The 1st intensity is still easily visible indoors, useful for low-light shooting. The 10th intensity is extremely bright, useful for shooting on sunny days. The dial doesn't have the same stiffness problem that the turrets have, but it is mushy. Turning the knob, you feel a little rotational slack in the detent, then a rolling increase in pressure, until it finally lobs over into the next detent. It works fine, but there is something so satisfying about a precise click. For a long time I was running an AimPoint PRO. The "daylight bright" dot, durability, and field of view appealed to me. It was pointed out to me that 1-4x and 1-6x optics actually have a better field of view at 1x. Much better, actually. There are pro's and con's to everything, but it turns out that the viewing experience is generally much better through a variable, low-power optic. The glass doesn't have a red or blue tint to it. On long shots you can utilize the reticle for holdovers at the maximum power. I have mine sighted in at 100 yards, and have shot out to 200 yards, using the Vortex LRBC software to approximate my holdover. It works quite well. The magnification ring is smooth, yet stiff. I run the Vortex Switchview Throw Lever on mine, making it much easier to roll the magnification ring through its range. I also run the Vortex Defender Flip Caps. The cap for the eyepiece works great. However, due to the flared objective, that cap slowly shifts off as I open it. I have to reseat it against the face of the objective regularly. In a nutshell, I love this optic and highly recommend it to those in the market for a fast, variable 1-6x, "daylight bright" illuminated riflescope. You can purchase better, but not anywhere near this price. Currently, the closest competition, feature-wise, is the Steiner P4Xi. It's a 1-4x, but otherwise very similar to this optic. Botach sells the Steiner for ~$480. I picked up my Viper PST II on sale for ~$595, so it's definitely worthwhile to shop around. I've included pictures of the damaged unit and box that I initially received. I've also included various pictures of the optic, a view through the optic at 1x, and a picture of my 200 yard target (because simple accomplishments make me happy). All images were captured with an iPhone 6, compressed by Google Photos, and further compressed by Amazon. Keep that in mind for the one view through the scope.