I have used EOTechs for many years. From 512s to XPS3 to EXPS3. Really liked the reticle, glass and nice FOV. Also seemed well constructed. Never had any issues with thermal drift. Never questioned it on a go to gun.

However, now that I have owned a Sig Romeo 8T I will say that Sig knocked it out of the park with this one. Great optic and I’m struggling to find flaws with it.

Battery life: The Romeo 8T kills the EXPS3. I don’t have enough time with the Sig to confirm their claim of +100k hrs of run time. But I believe it. CR123 battery, so not some hard to find battery.

Glass: The glass is very clear. I dare say it’s just as clear as the EOTech.

Reticle: Sig gives you 4 options that you can cycle through. But while the EOTech looks like a 360p/720p reticle, the Sig Romeo lights up like a 4K. It neon sign bright and clear. Works well under NV as well.

Design: both are made from 7075 and both have a titanium shroud. But the Romeo has built in flip caps/kill flash. Just a nice design imo. The Sig mount isn’t QD like the EXPS3, but really I prefer the Sig mount. I’m gonna put it on a gun and aren’t going to use the QD once it is all setup. Sig designed the Romeo 8T for their MG338 submission. So holding zero kids term isn’t something I’m worried about for my 5.56/.300 BLK use.

Price: Similar to EOTech. Street price is sometimes lower than EOTech. Just hard to find it in stock.

Real world use: Yeah the EOTech has more real world use. Only makes sense since it is an older optic.  But besides the Sig NGSW/MG338 submission there are public pictures of Tier 1 units using/testing it. If this Sig optic is as good as I feel it is, it’s use is only going to grow.

Size/weight: comparable to the EOTech.


EXPS3: 96.5 x 58.4 x 73.7 mm
Romeo 8T: 90.9 x 56.1 x 64.5 mm


EXPS3: 11.2 oz
Romeo 8T: 13.7 oz

The Romeo 8T is a little smaller than the EOTech size wise but also a little heavier. I’d call it a toss up and a wash. Not significant either way.

Again, I’m having a hard time finding any complaints with the Romeo 8T. Just a great optic. EOTech is good but it shows it’s age and the Sig is just better overall.

And the Sig is assembled in Oregon, USA. No worry about CHYNA optic.












EOTech fanboys, come in and tell me why I’m wrong.

Very good write up.

NM Found it.

But is it holographic tho.  

Doesn't look like it. Seems it'd be more comparable to an aimpoint.

You’re trying to compare a Holographic optic to a RDS.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/Why-isn-t-the-Sig-Romeo-8T-more-popular-/18-756314/

The 8T does look really good.  Kind of goofy to have such a big red dot these days though.

It has an eotech like circle dot reticle as an option.  Don't see many led red dots with that.

And I'd rather have an Aimpoint than a Sig.  

The 8T is our duty optic, it’s a solid piece of gear….

Tell us where the parts are actually made though......

Hint: they're not making circuit boards and diodes in OR......

More to the eotech than just the recticle.

Holos are faster with minimal parallax. Trade off is that their more complicated which leads to less reliability and decreased battery life.

I know.  Just saying.  Most people that like eotech tell me it's the reticle that they like.

Gotcha.  

I love mine for more than just that.  

How much did yours cost you?

I have no experience with the Romeo 8T but I know they were trying to pimp it for some pretty hard .mil contracts so I’m assuming they put their best foot forward on the optic.

I believe it's because they use a laser instead of an LED that the battery life is shit.  It's my biggest gripe.  Well, that and the loss of purge.

Holosun AMES is better than both.

I’ve never found a Holographic to be faster than a RDS on a shot timer.

Parallax?

You can debate holographic vs. laser vs. LED but at the end of the day, I don't care about the minutia of how the optic gets its performance. I just care about the performance and its use. Ultimately that is all that matters at the end of the day. The Sig has put a great foot forward with this optic and has improved on issues the EOTech has had. Namely with battery life.

Again, I see no downsides with the Romeo 8T versus the EXPS3 if you are lookin at an optic in this class (UH-II, 510C...etc.). Sig knocked it out of the park with this optic.

I love the Romeo 5

At $600, why not get the aimpoint or eotech?

NV comparison?

I have Aimpoint T2, Comp M4 and Comp M5s. Different optics for different setups. The Sig is better than the EOTech. Aimpoint does things differently than either the EOTech or Romeo 8T that makes it worthwhile for certain setups.





$520s.




No, I'm comparing two optics that are in the same class of optics and price range and that attempt to do optics in much of the same manner, even if they get to the final answer in slightly different manners.

Ask the DoD/Uncle Sam/JSOC.

I’ve had multiple eotechs and multiple aimpoints. I don’t understand the difference between holographic and RDS. They work the same for me.” What am I missing?

Nothing that I have noticed. It runs like an EOTech to be honest.




@Ghostface Anything regarding what I said above you would disagree with or add?

Oof, nice writeup but that's too close to Aimpoint territory to be interesting.

Different strokes for different folks. I'll stick with EOThingie and will happily buy your old ones. You can run the Sig.

Looks nice, but they should have put some effort into a QD mount option for that price.

My stong bias prevents me from even considering Sig optics.

IPX8 rated....hard pass.

If it ain't green, you can color me uninterested. And people really need to stop getting hung up on country of origin. I work for a federal contractor where .gov has bought thousands of hard drives for us over the years with a couple hundred more every year, and not a single one is made in the US.

Sorry, but origin is important for many people.  Where my money goes matters to me, and it should to you too.

It does matter to me, I just don't consider it to be the most important factor. If American optics manufacturers want my money then they'd better step up their game.

Does it have a one push button to switch to and from NV setting? I don't understand why all optics with NV settings especially ones designed recently don't have this.

Completely different technology. As a result the Holographic has almost zero parallax and shitty battery life.

I have used nod's.  When using them I wouldn't use non-nod settings.  And I really wouldn't want a button that could be accidentally hit that would make it non-nod.

Yup.
They're far and few between.

I meant higher end red dots. I know lots of cheap chinese ones have a lot of wacky reticles.  You don't see that in Aimpoints.

Is it holographic?  Does the reticle stay the same size when used with a magnifier?

How does it do in the cold?

Parallax shift?

Fair enough but isn't this SIG optic just another made with parts from China optic?

That's what I was trying to remember.  Holographics work better with magnifiers.

Not quite. I haven’t seen Sig release a breakdown of what they manufacture themselves vs supply from outside vendors. But I know they have been trying to bring more and more stateside.

It apparently meets DoD requirements regarding manufacture and parts country of origin.




Parallax shift performance is equal to my EOTechs.

Haven’t had winter to test cold weather performance yet.

The Sig reticle does just as well under magnification as the EOTech does under magnification. The Sig gives you 4 reticle options so you can select exactly what you want. With the BDC under magnification, it is very clear.





Haven’t noticed any differences between the Romeo 8T and EOTechs under magnification.

Why the careful wording assembled in USA? I can’t find anywhere on their site that it even says assembled in USA, please cite.  

Eotech says “Since 1996, EOTECH Holographic Weapon Sights (HWS) have been designed, developed and manufactured in the US.”

The gov can buy what it wants from where and I’ll buy what I want and from where, we have different requirements.

Who cares where it’s made. Does it work? If so, it’s better than an EOTech.

Neat.

You getting paid for this?  Because this has that greasy feeling like when a sponsored shooter starts talking to you about how great Swamp Fox optics are.

all of those components are made in china. hard pass.