9-Hole takes on the oldie but goodie from Trijicon, the TR25 Second Focal Plane with dual illumination.
As Josh and Henry point out in the video, and I will reiterate here, the optic suffers from a bit of ‘what have you done for me lately’ and ‘keeping up with the Jones’. The Jones’ here being guys like Vortex, NightForce, and Primary Arms who are all offering more data heavy reticles.
But most of us here in meatspace do not need a data heavy reticle, we need a point of aim:point of impact solution that offers a clear magnified sight picture. Functionally we are taking what a red dot sight gives us and putting a variable magnification component to it. It also allows us to get a little more data without overcrowding the POA:POI core mission. Optics like the SIG T6T SVPS and the Vortex Razor II-E JM2 do this very well too.
The big departure from the other two optics mentioned is in the illumination. The fiber optic and tritium that made the TA31 ACOG the champion of GWOT optics is also in the TR25, with the addition that they fixed the over brightness problems the ACOG exhibits. No batteries, no battery worries. The other optics still tend towards battery hunger and faster turnover than any of the red dots, the TR25 has no such limitation.
I’m in need of one more LPVO personally, and this is high on the list. I like to diversify my optic footprint to widen my experience with the various brands and offerings. This can be counterproductive to other use cases where uniformity of application or performance matter. A department is not going to utilize ten different LPVO models, the military isn’t either. Consistency there is a strength for the unit’s interoperability. But for the marketing and communication space, a wider selection makes sense because I don’t know in any given conversation what I’m going to be discussing with whom. Wider LPVO experience covers a broader space of possible questions.
So readers, when I have more than one of an optic the chances are good I really like that optic/brand. Several Trijicons and I keep wanting a 25.
