SHOT 2025: ZeroTech Optics is a Legit Contender

There are so many optics companies on the market now — many of them rebranding the same optics from the same overseas factories — that I admit I’ve turned a blind eye to a lot of them. Though ZeroTech Optics is not one of the ‘let’s just slap our logo on it and import it’ companies, I didn’t look hard enough at them to realize this and I didn’t take them seriously enough despite having very good results from a few of their red dots and rifle scopes (and JWT with ZT’s spotting scope). So…no more!

It turns out that Australian-based ZeroTech has been focused on rifle optics for three generations, originally importing from the U.S. and now exporting our way. They have in-house designers and optical engineers and source their glass from Germany and Japan with most of the assembly happening in Taiwan. QC and some assembly also happens in Australia.

What you see above is the brand new ZeroTech THRIVE HD 1-4x prism scope. It’s apparently the world’s first variable magnification prism optic and it looks freakin’ great.

At the front (the muzzle end) is the magnification ring. At the rear is the diopter adjustment. 1X zoom seen above…

And here’s 4X. It’s a little shorter than a 180-degree swing between the two magnifications and, like all of ZT’s optics that I’ve played with, the zoom ring moves smoothly and securely with no wiggle, but also fairly easily.

What impressed me most about the ZeroTech 1-4X prism was its incredible clarity and complete lack of any image distortion at any magnification. Capturing it in a cell phone photo wasn’t possible, but with my head behind the optic and both eyes open the frame of the prism disappears more than almost any other no-magnification optic I’ve used and there was no distortion around the circumference of the picture. It was like looking at the room normally, except a bright green dot reticle was floating in my vision.

Obviously zooming up to 4X greatly increases your precision capability. Again, in person the [if I remember correctly] German glass in the 1-4X prism was insanely bright, crisp, clear, color/tint-free, and distortion-free. This is going to be a fantastic hunting and tactical optic.

A prism optic is often explained in simple terms as a red dot but with an etched reticle. This has two main advantages. Shooters with astigmatism have none of the issues with a prism reticle that they do with a red dot. And even if the battery dies or there’s some other electronic issue, you still have a real reticle in the optic just like on most riflescopes.

Prism sights are a great solution, but have traditionally been more expensive when compared to red dots. But the THRIVE HD 1-4X variable prism carries an MSRP of $299. That got my attention.

Two separate 1-10X LPVO optics also caught my eye. These are the THRIVE 1-10X at left and the TRACE ED 1-10X at right. I’ve done a lot of hunting with a 1-10X scope and absolutely love the versatility of that magnification range.

These two aren’t yet on the ZT website as they’re still in final development. The THRIVE is more budget-focused and the TRACE ED has fantastic glass, a larger tube, a lift-to-unlock elevation turret, and is generally more suited to “serious” use like defense/tactical and bang-it-around kind of hunting.

Again the 1X magnification looked great and can absolutely be used as you would a red dot with both eyes open and the illuminated reticle floating in space. With its first focal plane reticle, the illuminated portions condense together at 1X to form that bright dot and then separate at 10X to provide precision holdovers for elevation and windage.

I really struggled to photograph it in a small room, but we’ll do better when we borrow one later and get it outdoors. ZeroTech is still deciding between a couple of different reticle options for these 1-10x optics so it’s a little soon to weigh in anyway.

Long story short, we’ll be circling back to ZeroTech and putting some of their optics through their paces for full reviews this year.

 

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4 thoughts on “SHOT 2025: ZeroTech Optics is a Legit Contender”

  1. ZeroTech THRIVE HD 1-4x prism scope — eye relief is only 3″ though. How was the eye box?

    “But the THRIVE HD 1-4X variable prism carries an MSRP of $299.”

    Yeah, no…you sure? … their web site says $599.00 > h ttps://zerotechoptics.com/p/1-4-variable-prism/

  2. “What you see above is the brand new ZeroTech THRIVE HD 1-4x prism scope. It’s apparently the world’s first variable magnification prism optic and it looks freakin’ great.”

    Not exactly “the world’s first variable magnification prism optic”

    Ivan The Bear has offered one for a while now > NPZ PO104 variable magnification FFP prism combat scope > h ttps://ivantactical.com/shop/weapon-accessories/sights-and-scopes/npz-po104-variable-magnification-ffp-prism-combat-scope/ > but its variable in the sense that it only has 1X and 4X and you switch back-n-forth between the two.

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