5.11 is one of the most respected brands in tactical apparel. They got their start in climbing and outdoor wear and became sought after by Special Forces teams for their pants ruggedness, durability, and flexibility. Working with SWAT teams, they developed their line of V.XI pants. This year, the V.X1 will be available to the civilian market.
These pants feature well thought out reinforcements, elements and details to enhance ergonomics and protection. EDC pockets are reinforced for wear and cinch points for add-on pads and soft armor are reinforced and adjustable. They will come in a new line of colors for both civilian and professions.
Many LPVO’s claimed to have “daylight bright” illumination, but until recently that was largely a boast. Monstrum sent me a 1-6×24 Banshee. This LPVO appeared physically identical to the 1-6×24 Banshee I previously reviewed but this sample comes with their new BDC-C1 fiber optic reticle.
The package comes with the an offset mount and flip-up caps. The scope has capped turrets that are resettable to zero. This sample’s turrets had audible clicks but were a bit sloppy indexing.
Unlike the standard Banshees, this version’s illuminator rheostat only has red as its color and has an ‘off’ setting between its numerical intensity levels. To make the reticle daylight bright, a hair thin fiber optic strand is embedded inside a BDC duplex reticle to provide a bright illuminated point at the center of the crosshair. In my tests, I found that at at its maximum intensity the reticle was red-dot bright, easily visible in broad daylight even pointed into the sunlight sky.
It checks the boxes. At 1x it’s a flat 1x view with no fish eye. It provides a surprisingly clear and sharp image with little to no chromatic aberration even at maximum magnification. It’s held zero over multiple range visits. This makes the Monstrum the most affordable daylight bright LPVO that’s worth a damn.
This optic is available on Amazon through this affiliate links which support my channel:https://amzn.to/3SndrLQ
Monstrum asked me to be one of the first YouTubers to review their newest LPVO, the Panzer 1-10×24. This is their first, First Focal Plane (FFP) 1-10x and is distinguished from their other LPVO’s with a new tank-tread texture on its turret caps and control surfaces. In addition, it comes with their PRO Series offset mount.
Another new feature is a removable fin on the magnification ring, which can be swapped for an included throw lever or removed entirely for a clean profile. It is held in place with a single Philips screw and the box includes a mini screw driver and Allen wrench for the turrets (I wonder why they didn’t use a common hex screw instead). The turrets are capped and resettable. The 1/2 MOA turret cliks were clear and audible but not very tactile, moreover there was a bit of slop between each click.
At 17oz, the Panzer is relatively light for 30mm tube LPVO. It has a large ocular lens which gives it a nearly unobstructed field of view. Unfortunately, like many 1-10x LPVO’s it has a tight and unforgiving eyebox, even at 1x. It has a decent eye-relief if about 4″.
At 1x the image through the glass had a mild warm tint but no notable fish-eyeing. At 10x there is a softening at the the edges and loss of light and contrast. But its resolution is surprisingly sharp (as with other Monstrum LPVOs). Continued improvement in Chinese glass manufacturing have greatly improved budget glass.
The scope features their new CM2 reticle which is optimized for long range shooting at 10x. At 1x it appears as a simple “T” reticle but at 10x the central dot enlarges to become a circle-dot and with a finer long range reticle with MOA subtensions, wind holdovers, and a range estimation ladder at the base of the ‘T’. The 10x reticle lilnes isn’t as fine as higher end etches scopes like the Riton Tactix or Vortex Razor. The center dot is 1 MOA but this may still be too large obscure long range targets.
Like many other FFP LPVO reticles, the CM2 isn’t as useful a reticle at both extremes of its magnification range. The 1x configuration of the reticle is a tad too thin unlike more graphic SFP tactical reticles. The CM2 reticle appears very similar to the Vortex Razor but lacks the Razors brighter illumination (and the Razor’s $2500 retail price).
The Panzer offers red and green illumination with an intensity range from 1-5. Oddly, unlike their other LPVO’s, the red appears more visible than the green at 1x. In fairness, the Panzer illumination brightness is typical of most LPVOs; not daylight bright but visible in low-light or CQB.
Its overall clarity and sharpness is pretty good but no in the same league as premium 1-10x offered by Vortex, Athlon, or EoTech. But it is perhaps one of the best scopes in its price tier and punches well above its weight. With a price tag just under $200 the Panzer offers features and optical clarity found in LPVOs that cost 2 to 3 times more (certainly better glass than the SIG Tango I recently reviewed). It comes with Monstrum’s Lifetime warranty on workmanship (but not damage). It remains to be seen if the Panzer lives up to its tank-like name in terms of durability.
This LPVO is available on Amazon through this Affiliate link which helps support my channel: https://amzn.to/3REH6yF
RESOLUTION
@50yrds: Element 3 / Group: -1
SPECS
Reticle: CM2 Lens Coating: Full Multi-Layer Materials: 6061 Aircraft Grade Aluminum Magnification: 1-10x Objective Diameter: 24 mm Rail Mount Torque: 20-25 in/lbs Scope Ring Torque: 18 in/lbs Tube Diameter: 30 mm Max Windage Adjustment: ±70 MOA Max Elevation Adjustment: ±70 MOA Click Adjustment: 1/2 MOA Eye Relief: 4.0-4.5 in Weight: 17 oz Length: 11 in
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.
