The most common hesitancy shooters have with switching to a red dot as their primary optic is the battery and reliability. There’s a fear that the battery will die at the worst possible moment. A few years ago, Holosun came up with a solution by adding a mini solar panel to their micro reflex sights. CVLife has introduced a budget version of this same concept in the Wildhawk X.
The Wildhawk X is a motion-activated, multi-reticle micro reflex with a 2 MOA dot and a 40 MOA circle or a combination of both. The green-dot version features a slightly smaller 32 MOA circle for some reason. Apart from a different colored tint to the lens, there is no functional difference between the two versions. Both feature a RMR footprint with a base almost (but not quite) low enough to use factory iron sights.
The WildHawk is powered by a 1632 coin battery but if the battery power dies, the unit can be powered directly through solar panels built in top of its frame. The unit has no internal battery so the solar panel directly powers the unit. What that effectively means is that the unit does require sunlight or a bright light to function in this mode; it will not work without battery power in the dark. In addition, the solar panel functions as a light sensor when auto-brightness mode is engaged.
The WildHawk runs about half the price of the Holosun HE507C but comes with a lot more accessories. The box includes a MOS to RMR adapter plate, a Pictatinny riser mount, and a whole bunch of screw sets to help you fit it the Wilhawk onto your RMR cut pistol slide.
Micro Reflex sights are becoming increasingly more and more reliable. But even a 50,000-hour run time is a theoretical maximum under ideal conditions. Adding a solar panel as a backup power source makes a lot of sense.
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Athlon means “Prize” or “Medal” and Midas was the legendary king who’s touch turned everything to gold. I was hoping adding a Midas red dot to my pistol could add a little gold medal performance to my accuracy. Athlon sent me a Midas Flash micro red dot to test. Midas has a LOT of Midas red dots in their product line, so I’m finding identifying them challenging (though nowhere near as confusing as Holosun or EOTech’s nomenclature). The Midas Flash, a low-profile 3MOA red dot with a RMR footprint.
The Flash has a underside battery compartment for its CR2032 battery requiring the Midas Flash to be removed from it’s base or slide to replace. While this could requires checking and perhaps adjusting your zero, in reality the unit as a 50,000 run time with a fresh battery, so battery replacement would be roughly every 5-6 years! The Flash has motion activation so when you draw it or move your pistol, it will automatically turn on and be ready for action. After a few minutes in storage the unit will automatically go into sleep mode conserving battery life.
Having an underside battery compartment allows the unit to be very low profile compared to other micro red dots (even others in the Midas product line). The low profile base allows the red dot window to sit low to the bore line of your pistol improving accuracy. Though not quite low enough to utilize my factory Glock 17 iron sights.
The Flash will fit a pistol with an RMR cut slide or mounting. It comes with a number of packets of screws labeled for various popular pistol models. My after market Glock slide best fit the packet marked Smith & Wessen 2.0. It comes with a gasket spacer to give the unit a weatherproof seal to your exposed battery compartment. Unlike some red dots which only offer a limited time warranty (because micro electronics are notoriously susceptible to damage from vibration), Athlon offers a Lifetime Warranty.
I ran through a box of ammo and found the 3MOA not too small to find and aim. I’m relatively new to using red dots on a pistol so it helped me to find the dot by increasing the dot brightness to the point of blooming for faster target acquisition. For more precision, I tone the brightness to get a finer point. Running through alternating target drills I was generally able to get most of my shots within an 8″ target in rapid fire. I don’t think this is gold medal performance but for me the Midas Flash aims like a winner.
EMRs are quickly becoming the preferred pistol optics for military and law enforcement use because they more rugged and are less vulnerable to harsh environments like rain, dust, or mud. The Frenzy offers the features found in more expensive ERD from Trijicon and Holosun in a compact optic that weighs less than 3oz.
The Vector Optics Frenzy Plus is one of the most affordable enclosed emitter red dots (ERD) that I’ve come across. It checks the boxes in what the bigger name optics companies offer in an ERD. The Frenzy Plus has an ACRO-compatible footprint, an externally accessed user-replaceable CR-2032 battery, and features a solid, rugged design. And Vector Optics offers a lifetime warranty.
I tested it on my Glock 17 and shot through a box of ammo, doing multi-target drills, and the Frenzy Plus performed flawlessly without flicker. I was quickly able to find the dot and its wide window and relatively thin frame gave me good situational awareness.
Earlier this year, Olight released the OSight S, a compact, enclosed wireless-recharging red dot. I reviewed it and found it to be one of the most feature-rich micro red dots with an RMS-c footprint. People liked its features, but for some the recharging battery was a dealbreaker. Well now there is an OSight with a replaceable coin battery.
OSIght listened and has released the SE. This new red dot replaces the magnetic recharging top with a side battery tray that holds a CR 1620 battery, which can be replaced without dismounting the unit and retaining zero. The user can press the “-” button to switch between a 2 MOA dot, 32 MOA circle, and a circle-dot reticle. The battery can drive the SE for up to 70,000 hrs on dot mode at level 3 brightness.
I still prefer the original S because its recharging cover allows me to see its current battery charge and recharge the unit easily. For people who prefer optics with a battery that can easily be sourced and replaced, the SE has more features than most enclosed red dots, for a reasonable price.
Holosun has grown from being a “budget Trijicon knock-off” to creating durable and innovative optics and reflex sights. At SHOT Show 2025, they introduced their hottest as well as newest models for 2025. This includes the final release of their pistol-sized thermal sight, debuted at last year’s SHOT Show.
Like many Americans, I’ve always been conflicted when buying products made in China because of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The sad reality is that most red dot optics are made in China. I was surprised to learn that Primary Arms was producing a US-made micro-reflex sight.
I was excited to see it firsthand. It promises to be a very advanced design with one of the lowest bases of any MRD. This one is low enough to use factory iron sights on a MOS cut Glock slide. It is also one of the more expensive MRDs on the market at $650. It will be available on the Primary Arms website later in April
Micro-reflex sights with reticles that can be changed between dots and circles are rare. Rarer still are compact red dots that fit on a compact pistol. CVLIfe’s WolfCover X M01 has that rare compact MRD with a changeable reticle that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
The M01 compact MRD has built-in fiber optic rear sights that are a bit too high to use with factory sights but can be used with raised front sights. The box comes with an MOS adapter plate and a Picatinny adapter. The CVLife was a bit small for my slide, so I opted to test it with the Glock EOM RMSc adapter plate.
I ran 50 rounds through my pistol and the M01 held zero. The 32MOA circle looked just a tad smaller than the 32MOA circle on my OSight and I found myself wanting a bit more visual separation between the 2MOA dot and the sunburst circle. I hope CVLife offers a 40MOA or 60MOA circle option in the future.
One other minor nitpick was that the white paint they used to fill in the logo and lettering was a bit sloppy and smeared in places. This is not unusual for a budget product as compromises have to be made and corners have to be cut to lower production costs. If it’s just the paint job, I can live with that.
OLight surprised many when they quietly debuted their OSight micro-reflex sight. Nobody expected a flashlight company known for high-performance-budget-priced EDCs to make a pistol optic. I was not expecting them to follow up the following year with a big launch of two new variants, the compact OSight S (which I have reviewed) and the upgraded OSight X.
I presume the X stands for extra because on the surface the X looks nearly identical to the standard OSight. It has some minor superficial differences with the placement of logos and a different-sized tap and counter-sink on the mounting holes to utilize more industry-standard mounting screws. The X retains the OSights features such as motion activation, wireless recharging cover, and auto-brightness sensing.
The X now features user-changeable reticles. Pressing the “-” button allows the user to cycle between a 3 MOA dot, 32 MOA sunburst circle, and 32 MOA circle-dot. The X also has a slightly larger battery capacity and substantially longer runtime. The X is rated to run for 57,000 hours, whilst the standard OSight was rated 70,000 hours with the dot set at its lowest brightness. Both will run for about 2 weeks constant at max brightness.
The X can be recharged using OLights USB magnetic contact chargers used on their EDC flashlights but its primary charging method is the plastic cover box which displays the current battery charge level of the OSight when attached. Moreover, the charging cover has an onboard battery that can fully recharge the OSight up to 4 times. The cover can be plugged into a USB-C cable to recharge the OSight and the cover.
The battery capacity indicator alone should change the minds of anyone (myself included) concerned with a red dot with a dead battery. Replacing a coin battery quickly and cheaply has its advantages, but no red dot I own can display the current charge level of the coin battery powering it. With the cover recharges and onboard battery, the X can theoretically run for over 28 years when both are fully charged.
With all of these upgrades, I’m left with only three questions. First, when is OLight coming out with a green illuminated OSight X? Second, why even make the standard OSight without the X’s features? Third, shut up and take my money.
Last year, Olight released the OSight, a revolutionary micro reflex sight (MRD) with a unique wireless charging cover. The OSight features an oversized window, which is great for fast target acquisition and re-engaging the target during rapid fire. However, a large window is a negative for those who want to mount an MRD onto a compact concealed carry pistol. OLight created the OSight S to address this issue.
The OSIght S (presumably this stands for “small) uses an RMSc footprint and is one of the smallest enclosed emitter red dots available. It is roughly half the physical size of the OSight but its smaller size means it also has a smaller battery. Fully charged an OSight can run for up to 21,000 hours, which is over 2 years. For those concerned with a non-replaceable internal battery, the OSight comes with a cover that displays the OSights battery charge level. Moreover, this cover functions as a mini-powerbank, capable of recharging the OSight up to 4 times.
Despite its small size the OSight S has the full-sized OSight X’s changeable reticle system. The user can press the “-” button to switch between a 2 MOA dot, 32 MOA circle, and a circle-dot reticle. This feature makes the OSight S one of the smallest MRDs on the market and also the most versatile.
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