For the beyond forty-eight years, Aimpoint has been the gold popular in purple dot sights. Starting with the release of the first Electronic red dot sight in 1947, Aimpoint has proven time and time again why they are the industry leader in scopes.
Aimpoint Duty RDS red dot sight is designed to meet the needs of today’s law enforcement officers at a more affordable price while delivering the same quality and reliability. Retailing for just under $500, this feature-packed scope is built to live up to the reputation Aimpoint has built. I’ve been the usage of Aimpoint’s PRO and CompM5 crimson dot points of interest on my rifles for some years now. Occasionally, I’ve also had a low-power variable scope (LPVO) attached to my AR rifle for a while, but I have always reverted to a simple, clean red dot sight for quick sighting.
This article is a review article published by “Rifle Shooter” magazine. The author, Ben LaLonde, translated and edited it for everyone to share.
When I first got my hands on the Duty RDS, I noticed a lot of differences between this scope and the models I have used before. The first is that the scope has a more matte exterior. The scope housing is made of forged EN AW-6082 aluminum alloy, which means the scope is durable. Duty RDS stands for “Duty Red Dot Sight” and it must be able to fit on any duty rifle and withstand the impact they create.
The overall design has no edges and corners, the elevation angle and windage adjustment knobs are embedded in the design, and the brightness adjustment is controlled by buttons instead of the rotary dial of other models. The overall operation is simple and clear. After putting the CR2032 battery into the battery compartment on the right, just press the “Up” button on the left to light up the scope.
When it comes to rifle scopes and accessories, bigger shapes and variety don’t always mean better performance and the Duty RDS scope weighs only 110 grams. Aimpoint RDS Micro series red dot sights have been in production for many years, with the technology to develop smaller and lighter scopes for you so that you can have better maneuverability and the ability to aim at the target. Duty RDS does inherit part of the design of the Micro series, with a width of only 38mm and a length of only 69mm, but it has the largest possible field of view.
However, the design of the Duty RDS is slightly different from the Micro series. Duty RDS has a clear 2 MOA red dot and 10 brightness settings: 1~4 is compatible with night vision goggles, and 5~10 is for natural light scenes. In contrast, the Micro series has 12 brightness levels.
Like other Aimpoint scopes, the Duty RDS has a parallax-free field of view. Scopes with parallax require the user to align the aiming baseline with the reticle every time, and scopes without parallax have more advantages in this regard. As long as the parallax-free scope is zeroed, the red dot will not change regardless of the position of your eyes as long as it falls on the target. Another advantage of having the red dot always in the same position relative to the target is that viewing through the scope does not limit the exit pupil distance, so you can place it anywhere you like. I prefer to put it farther away in the upper receiver, but you can move it closer if you want.
The battery life of Duty RDS is 30,000 hours, which is equivalent to more than three years of continuous use, and the brightness level is 7-10. Runs on a common CR2032 lithium battery, which can be found in almost any store. If I wanted to use the Duty RDS for three years in a row to test its battery life, I could definitely do it. The Micro series uses the same battery, but the design of the battery compartment cover is slightly different, so it cannot be used universally. Another difference is that the battery life of the Micro series is 50,000 hours, and the brightness level is 8-12.
The Duty RDS comes with an integral torsion nut mount that allows it to be easily mounted to the Picatinny rail for a secure fit. This scope can also be mounted to any Micro, CompM5 series of scope mounts on the market. It should be noted that the height of the scope is slightly different because the distance from the aiming optical axis to the bottom of the scope is 10mm higher than that of the Micro series.
When zeroing, you will find that there is no cover over the adjustment knob. Don’t worry; the newly designed adjustment knob has a recessed design to ensure that it is completely waterproof and does not pose a safety hazard, so there is no need to design any cover. You can adjust the red dot position with a hex wrench that mounts the scope to the Picatinny rail.
Remember the price I mentioned earlier? With an MSRP of $499, the Duty RDS has features that put it in a perfect spot between the $445 Aimpoint PRO (left) and the $910 Aimpoint Micro T-2 (right). What is the performance of the above two scopes? I have used both and am very pleased with their performance. Aimpoint, as a proven company, has released a compact and lightweight scope with three years of battery life, 10 brightness levels, night vision compatibility, shock resistance, vibration resistance, and a fully waterproof case, priced at less than 500 Dollar. Aimpoint Duty RDS is indeed worth recommending to everyone.
