I am looking for a a red dot with a flip up magnifier and was wondering what people had experience with, as i have none. Aimpoint and Eotech are high on my list but also high in the price range. The other 9more affordable option would be vortex I guess. Thoughts?
I would also give the Sig Romeo8h a look. it’s a red dot sight which lets you have multiple reticle options, including one similar to the Eotech. I like it because while I prefer the window and reticle of the Eotech, I wanted the battery life of an Aimpoint.
I have no complaints with my Vortex VMX-3T magnifier or my Vortex Strikefire II RDS. Both are very well made optics. I also have a Vortex Sparc AR. It's good. The buttons are a little harder to push than I'd like, and the lens covers sucked (easily removed), but other than that it's a pretty solid unit.
You do not have to pay a lot for a high quality RDS. The "cheap" stuff is well made and durable enough for most uses. From what I have seen and heard, Holosuns are also very durable. I have seen ones that have lived a life far harder than the vast majority of gun owners would ever think to subject them to. They have been hit on stuff, dropped, thrown, run through the dirt and gravel, and just beat all to hell. They looked horrible, but they still worked flawlessly. That's a $300 optic. What's the $700 optic going to do differently other than maybe have a few extra bells and whistles?
Vortex has a rock solid warranty for all of their stuff. If it fails, they'll fix or replace it. I've heard really good things about Primary Arms' stuff too.
What I'm saying is, don't put that much stock into what is best or what costs more. If you find a cheaper optic that does what you want it to, don't feel bad if it was only $200. We are living in a time where there is an abundance of well made, highly affordable optics.