There are red dot sights…and then there are red dot sights. You can pick up a red dot for your rifle for somewhere between $50 and about $125 and it will work. It may hold its zero. The battery will last a few months – maybe even a year – and it may be able to handle some moisture. The reality is, that will be all a lot of people ever ask their red dot sight to do.
Then there’s an entirely different class of red dot sights that are built to a much higher standard. They’re made of first rate materials to exacting standards. They can handles the toughest conditions, they’re gas-purged, have battery life measured in years, and they’re put together in countries that don’t use slave labor.
There’s really only a handful of these sights and you may be familiar with them. There’s the Aimpoint T-2, the Trijicon Patrol or MRO, and the SIG ROMEO4T-PRO. One of these that you may not be as familiar with, though, is Steiner’s T1Xi.
Like those others, the T1Xi is made to be bomb-proof. It has 9 standard brightness levels plus two night vision compatible settings. It comes with front and rear flip up (or down) clear caps to protect the sight’s lenses and it ships with an Aimpoint compatible mount (lots of other mount heights are available if that’s what you want). Windage and elevation adjustments are easily made using the rim of a cartridge or the tip of your knife.
A couple of things set the T1Xi apart from its high-end brethren. It’s designed to be easily useable with gloves on. Brightness and reticle modes can be adjusted whether you’re wearing shooting gloves or cold weather gear. Unlike some others, Steiner has also designed off positions between each brightness setting. Not having to spin the brightness dial around to turn it off is much faster and a bigger convenience than you’d think.
The T1Xi also gives you three aiming options. You can choose between a standard 2 MOA red dot, a 60 MOA circle, or use both at the same time.
You can quickly switch between them by pressing the rubberized button on the left side of the housing…something that’s also easy to do with gloves on. As for battery life, it’s rated for 50,000 hours of use. That’s well over five years of use before worrying about swapping out the CR2032 cell.
I’ve dunked mine in water for an hour (without the front and rear caps). I’ve also frozen it for 24 hours. The T1Xi still works just fine and I fully expect it to keep on keeping on. Clarity is excellent and the red dot has virtually zero flare at all, even on its brightest settings. That’s something a huge number of red dot sights can’t say. The Steiner is also significantly less expensive at retail than most of its competitors.
Most people can’t justify spending more than five bills on a red dot sight. They’ll never use their rifle in conditions that demand an aiming device that can stand up to heavy use, abuse and challenging conditions. But there are plenty of people who will. And there are others who consider the additional cost a small price to pay for the peace of mind of knowing they’ll never have to worry about their red dot failing them. Those are the people for whom the T1Xi is made.
Specifications: Steiner T1Xi Red Dot Sight
Magnification: 1x
Reticle: 2 MOA dot, 60 MOA circle, both
Weight: 5.4 ounces
Length: 3.25 inches
Battery: CR2032
Battery Life: 50,00 hours
Mount: Aimpoint micro mount
Brightness Settings: 9 daylight + 2 night vision
Objective Lens Diameter: 24mm
Made In: Germany
MSRP: $804.99 (about $550 retail)
“The T1Xi is made to be bomb-proof in a country that doesn’t feature slave labor.”
The new way of saying ‘Not made in China’
🤣
Actually, although not made in China directly all the time as a whole product all firearm dot optics have parts in them that were made in China. Yes, even Steiner.