All posts by moondog

Tom "Moondog" DelMundo is a former NYC Creative Director.
Shooting Sports

Tract Toric UHD 27-55x Spotting Scope

Tract was started by Jon Allen and Jon LaCorte, two former scope guys who used to work for Nikon USA (before Nikon exited the sporting optics market). Tract made a name for themselves in ELR competition shooting. I was pleasantly impressed when I tried their Tract Toric 4-25×56 rifle scope a few months ago and I was eager to test out their Toric UHD spotting scope. Their Toric line of rifle scopes that are built in Japan (known for its high engineering and manufacturing standards) and utilizing German Schott glass for clarity and low-light performance.

This spotter is rugged with a rubberized armored skin over a fully sealed body that is Argon purged and IPX7 rated; meaning it can withstand full water immersion down to a 3m depth for up to 30 minutes. IPX7 is remarkable because the scope also features a user-replaceable 27- 55x eye piece. The Toric UHD is compatible with Vortex eye pieces and Tract also offers MOA or MRAD reticle eye pieces. The body features a built in retracting sunshade, indexing eye cup, and an indexing 1/4″ tripod mount ring.

The Toric UHD offers a rather basic 2x magnification ratio, chosen to reduce both weight and price. Unfortunately its low end is 27x which is rather narrow and zoomed. This limits this scope’s usability for hunters wanting a wide field of view for scanning. Lacking a wide field of view could also be a problem if you’re spotting for a buddy that needs help seeing where their shots are landing.

At max 55x, the image is still quite crisp and bright. There was a modest amount of chromatic aberration at 55x but this did not effect its practical clarity for target spotting. I could easily make out .22cal holes on paper at 100 yards. The Toric UHDs performance on the USAF-51 resolution chart easily matched or surpassed 60x scopes I have tested.

Tract keeps costs down by using a direct to consumer model so these scopes aren’t available at big box sports stores or optics companies.

BUY

Tract website https://tractoptics.com/toric-uhd-27-55×80-angled-spotting-scope

Amazon https://amzn.to/47MHz8L

RESOLUTION

Group: +1 / Element: 1

Product Specs

TORIC UHD 27-55X80 Angled Spotting Scope
Magnification: 27-55X
Objective Lens Diameter: 80mm
Eye Relief (mm): 17-16mm
Angle of View: 2° – 1.4°
Field of View (@1,000 yards): 105/73
Eyecup Material: Latex Free Nitrile Rubber
Eyecup Function: Twist Up Multi Position w/ Click-Stop
Ultra High-Definition (ED) Glass: Yes
Fully Multicoated Lenses: Yes
Phase Correction Coated Prisms: Yes
Eyepiece Lens System Construction: 7 elements 5 lenses
Objective Lens System Construction” 5 elements 4 lenses
Chassis Construction” Aluminum/Polycarbonate
Body Covering” Fully Rubber Armored w/ Tactile Texturing
Body Armor Material” Elastomer
Waterproof Rating: IPX7 – 1 meter for 30 Minutes
Internal Gas Purged: Argon
Height: 5.5
Width: 3.75
Length (inches): 15.5
Weight (ounces): 67
Operating Temperature Range:158°F to -1.4°F
Tripod Adaptable: Yes
Country of Origin: Japan

Airsoft, Shooting Sports

Riton 5Tactix 1-10x

The 5Tactix is an LPVO that thinks it’s a 5 Conquer long range rifle scope. The 5Tactix is part of the trend trend of more magnification in LPVO’s. Not just 6x or 8x but an impressive 10x. This really blurs the lines given not-too-long-ago a 3-9x scope was the standard for “long range” rifle scopes.

Riton sent me a sample of the 5Tactix which I first saw earlier this year at SHOT Show 2023. This scope is part of Riton’s new product line redesign with their new signature Rifle Twist pattern on their control surfaces. It is a design inspired by the lands and grooves of a rifle barrel twist. This aggressive groove patten offers very good grip contact for wet or gloved hands as well as a very stylish look that I find aesthetically appealing.

This LPVO has a 34mm tube with capped turrets. The turrets are resettable and are tactile positive and very audible. The adjustments in my sample are 1/10 of a MRAD per click.

The magnification ring has Riton’s patented Throw Fin design which has two slots on the ring. You can reposition or remove the included throw-lever fin on either slot to best fit your handedness or ergonomics. The fin appears much more durable than a screw on lever and Riton offers options to purchase additional fins of different heigh profiles.

The reticle is First Focal Plane (FFP). At 1x this appears as a thin T-style reticle with arrowheads and a floating center dot. The cross hairs thin. They remind me of precession reticles on target rifle scopes. This is the problem, this isn’t a target rifle scope, it’s an LPVO.

Most people choose an LPVO because they own an AR. For most civilians that really means 10-100yrds at the range or 100-300yrds hunting. A hunting reticle needs to provide a visible aiming point in cluttered backgrounds and for action shooters that also means an aim point that can be visually re-acquired during quick follow up shots.

The 5Tactix’s thin 1x reticle is hard to find in cluttered backgrounds especially after recoil; unless you happen to be shooting on flat desert or snow terrain. Some LPVOs with thin reticles get around having thin cross hairs by offering thick aiming cues or compensating with bright center illumination. Unfortunately the 5Tactix does neither well.

The thin cross hairs have thicker arrow heads at the tip but they don’t become prominent until the scope is set at 5x or higher and the FFP reticle is scaled up. The 5Tactix offers 6 levels of illumination which light up the arrowheads and the center diamond and Christmas Tree. At max brightness the 5Tactix reticle is indoor bright but not daylight bright and far short of “red dot bright” found in Nightforce and other high end LPVOs.

At 5x and especially 10x the 5Tactix really starts to shine. The center dot enlarges to reveal a diamond aiming point with a Christmas Tree grid below providing hold overs out to 1100 yards. The 5Tactix has the glass clarity to back up 1000 yard use providing a clear bright image from 1x to 10x. Riton would have been better served making a 5Tactix SFP version with the 10x reticle as its fixed reticle available at 1x.

My sample optic appeared to be wider than 1x at its lowest end. Objects in the scope appeared slightly smaller. I had to dial up the magnification to ~1.1-1.2 to get a 1:1 match when sighting with both eyes open. But the view it did provide was as sharp and bright as higher end LPVOs on the market.

Perhaps Riton was focused a bit too much on being the best long range LPVO with the 5Tactix? Or perhaps the 5Tactix was designed for a very specific type of rifle user. Who that is, I’m not sure but its not me.

ONLINE RETAILERS

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RESOLUTION (50 yrds)

GROUP: -1
ELEMENT: 2

SPECS

RITON 5 Tactix
Magnification: 1-10
Parallax: Fixed 100 yrds
Tube Diameter: 30mm
Objective Lens: 24mm
Reticle: 30T First Focal Plane
Lens Coating: Fully Multi-Coated, Low Light
Field of View: 105.8ft – 10.5ft @ 100 yrds
Eye Relief: 4 in/101mm
Exit Pupil: Low 7.2mm – High 2.4mm
Click Value: 1/10th MRAD
Adjustment Range: 40 MRAD
Length: 11.25in/285mm
Weight: 1.6lbs/26oz

Product Reviews

100W LED Work Light?

I bought a generic LED worklight off of Amazon. They are sold under various brand names. It is a battery-powered LED outdoor/shop light that claims to output the equivalent of a 100W work light. But unlike old school light, this work light is internally powered, which offers versatility in it’s placement location.

My initial impressions of the unit when taking it out of the box was that it felt light and cheap plastic. I doubt that it would survive a typical commercial construction site for very long. I did not do a drop test from 1m onto a concrete floor but I doubt the housing or or solar panels would likely not survive the fall intact.

My goal was to determine its usefulness in my home repairs and garage projects. I tested the unit and had difficulty confirming it’s brightness in my DIY flashlight lumen testing rig due to it’s large size. I got a reading of 364 lumens which is far less than the 3000 lumen advertised and a fraction of an old school halogen bulb (100,000 lumens). My naked eye estimate was that it output closer to a 40W.

After fully recharging the unit it ran for 270 minutes with both warm and cold LED lights on. The next day, I placed the unit’s panels in direct sunlight for 6hrs and found it was 2/3 recharged. I was initially dubious of the usefulness of the solar panel but in an emergency situation, the unit could provide lighting for a good +4hrs after spending a day in the sun.

ONLINE RETAILERS

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Shooting Sports

Arken EPL4: Crossover Scope Done Right

More than any other company in the last couple of years, Arken has changed the sporting optics industry. With their SH4 and EP5 they providing shooters with premium quality features at half or even a third of the cost of what competition ELR (Extreme Long Range) shooters were accustomed to. Arken scopes were such a good value, they caused many big brands to lower their prices to compete.

The SH4 and EP5 had one common criticism; they were known to be heavy scopes. Weight can actually be a benefit in long distance target shooting as it helps steady a rifle. But for a hunter who may be walking all day or hiking up country to a blind, pounds equals pain. The EPL4 is Arken’s attempt lighten their scope and to create a “crossover scope” that could appeal to hunters.

First, let me quash any myth making by Arken fanboys. The EPL4 is not as good as Leupold, Zeiss, or ‘insert the name of thousand plus dollar, Schott glass scope here’; optically at least. But it is amazingly good value for a fraction of the cost. In fact the Leupold with the same magnification range and features as the EPL4; is the Mark 5HD, which retails for around $2500. The EPL4 has an MSRP under $439 and a street price around $50-$100 lower.

In terms of performance and price, Vortex and Athlon come close their “crossover” scopes are heavier. In fact, the EPL4 is lighter than many hunting scopes. To get the weight down, Arken made the glass and tube smaller than the EP5. The trade off is less range of adjustments and less low light performance than the EP5. For a hunter only the latter is important but in practice, the Japanese ELD glass at 50mm is brighter than other brands scopes at 56mm.

The overall glass quality is excellent in its price class. Comparing tests I performed on the EP5 , the EPL4 was nearly matched it; able to resolve one element coarser Element 5 rather than Element 6 on the USAF-51 resolution chart at 100yrds. Moreover, I was clearly able to make out .22 cal holes on paper at that distance. With the EPL4 what you get is essentially a paired down EP5, which for some is enough to simply say, “Shut up and take my money”.

Arken are a direct to consumer company which is one of the ways the keep their price down. They have good customer service in my experience with returns (I had a misaligned reticle in my first SH4). They are also available from Amazon which as we know has an easy return policy. This Affiliate links supports my channel https://amzn.to/46daLUZ

RESOLUTION

GROUP: -1
ELEMENT: 5

MANUFACTURER SPECS

Magnification:6-24x
Objective Diameter:50 mm
Eye Relief:3.5 inches
Field of View:18.55-4.65 ft. @100 Yards
Tube Size:30 mm
Turret Adjustment:1/10MIL or 1/4MOA
Reticle Position:First Focal Plane
Reticle Details:VHR MIL/MOA
Zero Stop:AZS Zero Stop System
Zero Reset:Yes
Elevation Adj. Range:20 MIL – 68 MOA
Windage Adj. Range:12 MIL – 41 MOA
Elevation Adjustment Per Revolution:8 MIL – 20 MOA
Windage Adjustment Per Revolution:6 MIL – 15 MOA
Parallax:Side Parallax Adjustments, 10Yds-Infinity
Illuminated Reticle:Red
Turret Rotation:Counter Clockwise (CCW)
Length:13.8 inches
Weight:24.71 oz
Sunshade:Yes
Battery Included:CR2032

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Boruit V10 Keychain EDC

A few months ago, I reviewed the Boruit V3 which disappointed me because its light output fell short of it’s claims. Would it be the same with the new V10? This flashlight follows the same keychain fob format, creating a slightly bulkier and boxier version of the V3. The V10 is the same size as my car key remote fob making it a handy backup EDC or as a primary one.

Like the V3 the V10 comes in a choice of a polymer body in dark smoke or glow-in-the-dark white. The unit is powered by an internal LiPo battery charged by a USB-C cable under a silicone flap. There is a rare-earth magnet on the tail like the V3 which allows the light to attached to a steel car hood or on the side of a door panel where the side LEDs could be used as an emergency signal.

The V10 has a twin set of main LED white emitters and a small UV emitter at one end and a panel of colored LEDs on the side panel next to the buttons. Inexplicably the control buttons on the V10 arranged differently than the V3. When tapped twice, the left button activates the side LEDs and cycles through various color modes. 3 taps the side button activates the UV mini lamp. A continuous press activates an audible panic siren and the flashing red/blue side LED.

Double tapping on the main control button activates the twin LEDs. Tapping cycles through the brightness modes. A continuous press actives maximum output TURBO mode. In my lumen testing rig, I was able to record a HIGH output reading over 600 lumens which drops off quickly after 35-45 seconds to below 400 lumens. This was approximately in line with manuals stated HIGH output of 450 lumens.

Testing the TURBO mode was challenging because it requires holding the lights button down while holding the flashlight inside of my testing box. Some light would inevitably not leak out. Despite this I was able to record about 900 lumens which was close enough to its claimed 1000 lumens. This makes me wonder if I gave the V3 too poor of a review if it has a similar performance curve drop.

Testing the beam, the pattern is very much a flood with a defuse hot spot. Even in TURBO mode, I could barely register any visible illumination past 50-60 yards. The side LEDS are visible from a distance but cast a very short throw.

There is one key feature where the V10 falls short of the V3: IPX4 water resistance. Because of sound holes on the body for the siren speaker, the V10 is not water proof. The unit is only resistant to splashes and light rain. Not knowing this when I tested the unit using a water hose, water entered through the sound holes and pooled up inside the body. Oops.

The V10 is in most ways more capable than the V3. I especially like the panic button mode. But it is a bit larger so adding a second large fob on my key chain would be ungainly. It would still make a very useful backup EDC. If I envisioned a V20, it would be an elongated version of the V10 with longer runtime and a clip.

Help support my channel by using the Amazon affiliate link below

ONLINE RETAILERS

V10 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QSPpXh

V3 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MY2MnD

PRODUCT SPECS

V10
Dimensions: ‎2.63″D x 1.37″W x 0.59″H
Beam Distance: 100m
Battery: Internal ‎Lithium Ion
Weight: 46 Grams
Water Resistance: IPX4
Brightness: 1000 Lumen
Battery Description
Item Weight: 1.62 oz

Shooting Sports

2024 Holiday Clearance

I’m clearing space in my gear closet just in time for Christmas. These are all items I tested and reviewed so they’re practically brand new. I’m selling them for 50% off retail or more.

Athlon Talos BTR Gen2 10×42
$180

Normal Retail Price $269

*SOLD*
Arken LH6 1-6×24 LPVO
$100

Normal Retail Price $199


Riton 1 Primal 4-16×44
$90

Normal Retail Price $199

Monstrum MS 3-9x extreme recoil scope
$20

Normal Retail Price $59

OneLeaf Commander NV100 scope mounted night vision
$150

Normal Retail Price $339


GTMedia N4 NVG
$50

Normal Retail Price $139

Conree earmuffs
$20

Normal Retail Price $40

CVLife Bipod
$25

Normal Retail Price $59


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgrZMlbbSZ4

Ghost RDT Red Dot and Ghost 3x magnifier Bundle
$60

Product Details https://amzn.to/3CVpuLd
This bundle includes both the Monstrum Ghost Red Dot Sight and the Monstrum Ghost 3x Magnifier with Flip to Side Mount
Normal Retail Price $139



Monstrum Ghost 3x magnifier Gen2
$33


Normal Retail Price $70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmCaQw89tkQ

Monstrum Marksman 2x prism
$43

Normal Retail Price $89


Monstrum P330 3x prism
$50

Normal Retail Price $109

OLight PL Baldr Pro Laser + 1350 lumen Light
$60

Normal Retail Price $129

OLight PL Turbo 800 lumen 515 yard throw
$40

Normal Retail Price $89

Shooting Sports

Arken EP8 LPVO


Arken changed the landscape of long range shooting with their SH4 and EP5 rifle scopes. Consumers could expect high performance features of a >$1000 scope for less than half. With the EP8, Arken aims to do the same for LPVOs.

When I visited the Arken booth at Shot Show earlier this year, they didn’t have an EP8 prototype or mention they were working on an LPVO. It came as a surprise to me and everyone when Arken Optic released their first LPVO, the 1-8×28 EP8. It’s been back ordered since it’s launch and I was grateful Arken finally sent one for me to test.

The EP8 features a 34mm tube with an impressive 110 MOA of internal adjustment and a first focal plane BDC reticle at a meagre 21 oz. The Japanese glass provide bright and clear image but at 8x there was chromatic aberration. Despite this, at 8x the EP8 is as sharp as a 10x SIG Tango. Its eyebox was relatively forgiving even at 8x, with good eye relief at all magnifications.

The scope features 2 levels of Night Vision compatible illumination (invisible to the naked eye) and 9 levels of visible illumination in red. At max brightness, the reticle is daylight bright but not Nightforce level red-dot bright. At 1x I was able to quickly and intuitively aim using the holosun style reticle.

This KL Box (“killbox) reticle becomes evident at higher magnifications. At 8x circle zooms out of view and the center dot enlarges to reveal a horse shoe reticle with an interlocking set of BDC brackets and wind holds. The reticle designed in a way to allow you to bracket an IPSC target or human torso to range estimate your target from 400yards to 800yards. Moreover the design automatically aligns your aim to your targets center mass when you bracket it to estimate its range.

This design is simple, efficient, and brilliant. With the EP8 Arken has a good shot at shaking up the optics world yet again. As of this writing, the EP8 is out of stock with a 6-week minimum wait which says it all.

ONLINE RETAILERS

Use this link to support my channel

Amazon https://amzn.to/40QB7Lh

Arken Optics https://www.arkenopticsusa.com/ep-8-1-8×28-lpvo-ffp

RESOLUTION

Group: -1
Element: 1

MANUFACTURER SPECS

EP8

Magnification: 1-8

Objective Diameter: 28mm

Eye Relief: 3.74″

FOV @ 1x: 121.15′, 22 deg

FOV @ 8x: 14.56′, 2.78 deg

Tube Size: 34mm

Turret Adjustment: 1/4 MOA

Reticle Position: FFP

Reticle Details: BDC style: ‘KL Box’

Elevation Adj. Range:: 110 MOA

Windage Adj. Range:: 110 MOA

Illuminated Reticle: Red

Weight: 21 oz

Battery Included: CR2032

Throw Lever: Integrated/removable

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Athlon Cronus Tactical G2

After my review of the Athlon Range Finder Binoculars, Athlon asked me to test out their new Gen 2 Cronus Tactical spotting scope. Its a straight line 7-42x60mm optic. While other traditional spotters offer higher magnification, Athlon engineers chose 7-42x for a wide field of view and not sacrifice sharpness and brightness.

It has a ruggedized and rubberized body to withstand impacts and bumps under combat-like conditions. For additional protection, it comes with a neoprene sleeve for the body and leashed neoprene lens caps. It comes with a set of thin rubber lens caps but these are for tranport and storage, not for field use.

The magnification ring has a rubberized surface for good traction but was a bit stiff to turn; as is the focus ring next to it. A stiffer focus ring is good so as not to lose sharpness once set. But having a stiff to turn magnification ring is a hinderance for a tactical or competition spotter that has to switch between targets at different ranges for a shooter. It would be helpful Athlon designed the magnification ring to accept a throw lever.

One unusual feature found on the bottom of the scope tube, are twin photo screw mounting holes. You can use either screw ports to screw the scope onto a tripod or mounting plate. It comes with a ARCA/Swiss adapter plate with unique twin screws that fit into both holes in tandem. This twin screw design makes it impossible to twist the scope out of of alignment.

What makes this spotter “tactical”? On the scope tube is a Picatinny rail to add a red dot to quickly aim the scope and 2 additional hard points to add additional rails. You may need to add a riser to clear the bell; the include Picatinny rail is a bit thicker/taller than standard for this reason.

The most tactical aspect of this scope is a first focal plane reticle. Its etched MRAD subtensions are designed to help spotters call out distances between objects, reference points, or bullet splashes. The reticle is quite fine and at its low magnification is hardly visible and won’t obscure your view but at 20x and above the reticle grows to provide a T-style cross hairs.

At high magnification a set of 8 numbered vertical lines of various heights are visible below the cross hair reticle. This is the Cronus quick range estimator that is calibrated to a 72″ tall individual. By using the guidelines to measure the distance between the top of the subject’s shoulders and head, you can quickly estimate the targets distance. I was able to confirm its relative accuracy using a hiker on a hillside 1300-1400yrds away.

At +1000yrds the image picture was very sharp for a 42x scope. Glassing reference targets at 100yrds I could clearly see .22cal holes on paper but more importantly I could see the wrinkles on the paper. At 42x I was able to resolve all the way down to Element 1 in Group 1 on the USAF-51 optical resolution chart; the finest detail of any spotting scope I’ve tested.

ONLINE RETAILERS

Use these affiliate links to support this channel.

Amazon https://amzn.to/3sr3B1d

RESOLUTION

Group: +1
Element: 1

MANUFACTURER SPECS

CRONUS TACTICAL G2

Magnification: 7-42

Objective Lens: 60 mm

Glass: UHD / ED

Lense Coating: ESP Fully Multi-Coated

Field of View: @1000yds 284-47.6 ft

Exit Pupil: 5.2-1.43 mm

Eye Relief : 30 mm

Close Focus: 10′

Length: 13.9″

Width:  3.2″

Weight: 46.6 oz

Shooting Sports

Hi-Lux Vintage Rifle Scopes

Hi-Lux is unique among rifle optics companies because not only do they make modern hunting and tactical rifle scopes but they also make reproduction of rifle telescopes for vintage firearms. I got a chance to try one first hand a few months ago when my friend Mike bought a Hi-Lux Malcom scope for his 1950’s vintage BSA Martini target rifle.

Hi-Lux offers a range of reproduction scopes that include wide range of historical firearms, from 19th Century muzzle loaders to Vietnam War USMC sniper rifles. These scopes share a common trait of having external scope mounting systems and external adjustments. The telescope tube are designed to slide within these external adjustments rails to protect their delicate reticles and glass from the damage of recoil.

Hi-Lux Vintage scopes are designed to look historically accurate and yet are higher performance than the original, because they use modern compute controlled milling machines and use modern HD glass. While Hi-Lux scopes are far from cheap, compared to buying an antique optic, they are by far a better value for all but the most fussy collector.

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Hikeen Dry Bag

Hikeen sent me a 10L and 5L of dry bag. For those of you who haven’t been to a rafting, kayaking, or a water park lately, dry bags are water proof, vinyl bags with a folding closure to keep items dry inside. When folded shut correctly, these bags are so air tight that they can be used as floats.

What makes these bags different is that they have a built-in external pouch for you phone. Normally if you store it in a dry bag, you have to find a dry, stable location to open up the dry bag and get to your phone. The water tight clear zippered pouch allows you to use your phone’s touch-screen while inside, allowing you to answer calls or read text messages without having to remove your phone.

The pouch has a zipper with rubberized seals similar to dry suits used by kayakers and cold water scuba divers. The entire bag is rated IPX7 waterproof, capable of submersion in 1m of water for up to 30 minutes. I don’t have a pool to test them in so I tested them to IPX6 standards.

I places sheets of toilet paper in the phone pouch and inside the main bag. Next, I shot a high-pressure water hose at its main opening, the zipper pouch, and the seams for over a minute. I opened up the bag and found both sheets bone dry.

Hikeen makes these bags in 5L, 10L, and 20L sizes (denoting the internal volume capacity). In a pinch you could also use these bags in reverse and cary water in them. This makes them an ideal survival accessory for any home or an emergency bag in any car. My only criticisms is that the external pouch is a bit small for larger sized phones and that they only cary one color choice on Amazon: blue.

Support my channel using the Amazon affiliate link below.

ONLINE SOURCES

Amazon https://amzn.to/49QtOHt