Review: G&P Aimpoint Replica

[JLiang]

Hello again!

After the relatively small success that was my FAMAS review was, I decided to make another review to follow that up.

Hail the G&P 30mm Military Style Aimpoint Replica!


Remember to keep it frozen.

Also known as the G&P Aimpoint for short, this optic is, indubitably, a replica of the Aimpoint CompM2 Red Dot sight.

Short RS lesson: The Aimpoint CompM2 is a battery-powered, non-magnifying red dot sight manufactured by Aimpoint AB. (AB is Swedish for "Aktiebolag", or "Registered Company.") Designated the M68 Close Combat Optic by the US Military, it is used across all branches of the US, French, Swedish, Norwegian, and select other NATO countries' military groups. Designed for the M4/16 family, it can still be used with any rifle with an upper Picatinny Rail system.





Now, onto the G&P version.


But before that, a quick note: I got this used for $25, and as such I cannot quote an original sales price, due to variation between retailers and the fact that I didn't buy it at full price. As such, I will be judging value on the price I paid, $25. This is also why you don't see a box.


The G&P Aimpoint is a very solid replica, both inside and out. Externally, it boasts a full-metal construction of painted steel and hard rubber lens caps. Internally, a small laser is powered by two 3-volt Lithium type 2L76 or DL1/3N batteries, and the sight itself is very low-profile. The laser is very small, only about 4 MOA, so your target will not be obscured. Not only this, the semi-reflective coating on the front lens does a wonderful job, and there is no visible red dot outside the sight, even at close ranges in the dark.

The sight is a standard tube-style sight with a twist: the battery compartment is not on the top or bottom, but rather, on the side, attached at a relative 45 degree angle in accordance with the bottom of the rail. The two Lithium Batteries are stored in this smaller tube, and it is also here that you make the brightness adjustments.



As you can see in the image, there are two batteries stored inside the tube.
Be cautious, however, as there are no +\- signs on the inside of the battery compartment. You'll need to use the above image as reference, use the manual, or guesstimate it.

This is an image of the button batteries:




The G&P gives you 5 brightness settings, all in a red reticule colour.



Although there are variants of this in other G&P Aimpoint replicas, such as a Red/Green Dot version with two brightness settings for each reticule colour and a magnifying version also with 5 brightness settings, the one currently has ample settings for a myriad of usages.

Be advised that you'll only need two, however; Setting '1' for indoor usage, and Setting '5' for outdoor usage, especially with the sun out. With the sun out, the dot may be blinded out, though, so be careful then.


The G&P Aimpoint comes with a ruby-glossed front lens and a blue-tinted anti-scratch back lens.


(Image taken from Airsoft Retreat)

These provide a lot of lens glare, but that can be circumvented quite effectively, explained later.

Zeroing the sight uses standard screwdriver dials on the top and relative left side of the sight.



The dials give a very solid 'click' when dialed in, and also give convenient "---Up --->" and "---L--->" decals to help you zero it without turning it the wrong way.



The dial covers are made of plastic with brass lining, and are held together by a hefty rubber strap; This is a nice touch, as on the Samurai Aimpoint, one made by another company, there is only string holding them together. This is much better, and I don't foresee any breaking anytime soon.


The lens covers are made of a semi-hard rubber, which locks into place with a muffled 'phlut'. Once locked, they cannot open unless deliberately pushed, which is very easy to do because of the two tabs on either side, at a relative 90 degrees apart and a split 45/45 degrees in relation to the diameter of the lens cover.



The lens cover rubber is hard enough to protect the lens, but not hard enough to damage the casing and paint around them. This is very convenient, because little scratches around the part where I'm looking distract me, and generally pull my focus away from the target and to the scratches. None of this with the G&P.


Semi-flexible.

The lens covers are also spring loaded, which you can see in the first lens cover picture. Although the springs aren't all that strong, with a small flick, the lens covers will snap up and stay up, greatly reducing time to get your sight ready, and also eliminating sudden lens cover drops from above.

To mount it on a rail, the procedure is very simple. The mount is held onto the rail with a small screw-operated clamp, and held in place by the very screw in a cross-bar fashion.



However, this means that the screw clamp, on the relative left side of the sight, is going to be smaller than the mail rail clamp on the relative right. It's not that apparent from afar, and detracts nothing from performance, but is just a small nitpick that I have.

To mount it onto a standard 20mm rail, either Picatinny or Dovetail, simply unscrew the screw on the screw clamp, remove it, the spacer underneath, and the clamp underneath that, place it on your rail, and rescrew everything back together in the correct order.



The mount itself is held to the sight by a six Torx Screws, which create a kind of vise between the battery bulge and the Objective Lens. I believe it's a pretty standard mount type, and there are a variety of different mounts for this sight out there, such as a riser mount, a higher L-mount, and more.


The mount.


The six Torx Screws. Unfortunately, I do not have the size of the Torx screws, so you'll have to find out what size Allen Key you'll need for this by yourself.

Like mentioned above, the dot size is around 4 MOA to a very long distance, meaning that your target will not be obscured by the dot, a thing common with Iron Sights.

Here are some examples of the dot size at short range:


And long range:


Another unique thing is that the Aimpoint, like the EOTech, is parallax-free, meaning that your eye can be at any distance and still perceive the dot and image in full. Not only this, but, also like the EOTech, it has the ability to project it's dot into 'real-time'. To do this, simply flip the front lens cover down (To cut lens glare and double-imagery) and aim with both eyes open; The dot will appear as if it is floating in midair, and you can use that to aim, with a fuller FOV than in the restricted tube.

Another unique thing about Aimpoints is how their dot remains on target. From 50 yards and on, the sight is completely and utterly parallax-free (even more so than that when used at short-range), meaning that as long as the rifle (and subsequently the sight) is pointed at the target, one can look however they wish into the sight and the dot will remain perfectly on target with no deviation at all. Because it is impossible to take photos of either of these phenomena, you will have to buy one to see what it's truly like.

Also keep in mind that G&P included no trades. I personally don't care, as it adds to a cleaner look, but avid enthusiasts may find a problem with this.

The externals are also a matte texture, similar to that of my FAMAS. It's kind of rough, kind of smooth, but not too much of either. When I thought my FAMAS plastic was delicious, Whoa. This one trumps it by a mile.

I believe that concludes my review for now. As always, if anything comes up, this info will be updated, and things will be added.

Pros and Cons time!

Pros:
- Cheap ($25 used)
- Great Value
- Full Metal
- Zero Parallax
- Multiple Brightness Settings
- Can Be Used With Any Gun With An Upper Rail Without Looking Like A Complete Doofus
- No Trades (could also be a con)
- Zero Laser Leakage
- G&P (God with all products involving lights, lasers, and reticules)
- Delicious Matte Texture

Cons:
- None in and as so much. It's perfect.



And a couple pictures of it on my FAMAS.






And just to prove that I am not an idiot and that this layout is historically accurate and politically correct,


That's pretty much it. Thanks for reading!

[GSK88]

Nice review!

Could you check something for me? I noticed on mine the elevation markings were actually opposite of what was marked. And the windage dial actually had "Up -->" instead of left or right. Don't know if that's the norm or I just got a weird one.

[JLiang]

On mine, the brightness goes from [1] on the left to [5] on the right if [0] is on the top.

The windage dial has a [---L-->] Marking on it.

I'm not sure what's up with yours, but I know another company, Samurai, makes an Aimpoint CompM2 replica as well, and that may be yours.

[JLiang]

Just a new note: Some of you may be wondering what the difference between the Samurai and G&P Aimpoints are.

Well, to begin, the G&P is better.

But seriously, there's only really one large defining factor: The dial cap straps are thicker on the G&P.

That's it.

Everything else between the two Aimpoints come pretty close, so I believe everything in this review also applies to the Samurai.

[bobotea]

I use this clone on my WE M4 open bolt and it holds zero, pretty impressive for a $25 china optic.

[JLiang]

Oh, is the full price $25? I thought I read somewhere that it was $75, or even $40.

I guess I didn't get that huge of a deal with the guy who sold it to me, then...

[JLiang]

Update: Just because I can.



Actually, that was just a test to see if the optic can fit on non mil-spec or slightly more 'special' rail types, and, lo and behold, it can. It is a bit wobbly, but it holds nonetheless. I'd still advise you to get a gun with a full-size replica rail, though.

[kalnaren]

^^

I'd like to say I've never done that, but I'd be lying.

[solidgear34]

adding 1 point love this red dot, one of the only dot other than arrow dynamic trijicon sight i used that can work in day

[JLiang]

^A bit late, but a good point nontheless.

The dot on this model is actually quite bright, much brighter than most other clone optics I see floating around. The Zero Hold is actually quite nice as well, as bobotea mentioned earlier.

[chaosrealm93]

have one myself. only wished the dial for the brightness was a little smoother and had more positive feedback

[JLiang]

Hm. Interesting.

But considering there are only 5 brightness settings, I think they can't be much smoother than they are.

Also, 'smoother' and 'having more positive feedback' are kinda antonymistic concepts, I think. :P