Vortex has made quite a name for themselves in the industry by producing high-quality optics at a fraction of the price of the competition. Let’s check out Vortex Sparc AR Review.
What started out as a small home bred venture of an American couple is now a company with over 200 employees. They also offer what is probably the best and most comprehensive warranty in the industry, their VIP warranty.
Vortex’s VIP warranty is lifetime and fully transferable. It is really impressive that Vortex offers this to their customers and shows that they are willing to stand behind their products. This reflects Vortex’s commitment to their products and to their customer service.
Today, I am going to dissect the Vortex Sparc AR Gen I (Sparc – AR I). Now, since this scope has come out it has succeeded in making a mark in the industry, without any struggle. It’s compact size and high functionality managed to impress shooters from all fields. Like, all Vortex scopes, this one too has lived up to the Vortex promise of reliability, accuracy and functionality.
Customers all over the world have put this scope to a variety of torture tests and this scope has aced through them all. This might just be one of the best Vortex scopes on the market. As i delve deeper into the review, you will see for yourself that this scope is worth all the hype.
Vortex Sparc AR Review
Vortex Sparc AR is an all-rounder hunting scope which is engineered in a way to suit all your needs.
Optic
Let’s get into the optics of this scope. The Sparc AR Vortex is a hunting scope but it not restricted to only hunters. Shooters from all fields can use this scope and just as well. The device is a single red dot sight. The red dot is bright and clear and has no additional flaring on the sides. The daylight bright dot works at 2 MOA and is precise and accurate. In this compact scope, you also get ten illumination settings. The two lowest brightness settings are compatible with night vision.
Vortex recommends that the one thing to remember while using their SPARC red dot is to keep both eyes open and take aim. This is because both eyes open enable you to take full advantage of your vision. Your peripheral vision is being utilised to its fullest this way and you also get to make the best out of this device. Although, if you have astimagtization, the red dot might sparkle a little bit.
The design of the device is pretty simple and easy to use. The simplicity of the same makes it very elegant. The objective lens is of 22 mm. Some shooters may be used to a larger objective lens but a smaller one has perks of it own. The lens offers sufficient illumination even in low light conditions. You also have the 10 brightness settings to aid in this. The image remains crystal clear throughout light conditions. The Sparc Vortec has unlimited eye relief which is great as it protects you from recoil and the backward motion of the rifle.
Magnification & Range
As I said before, the Sparc Vortex is true 1x scope. Low magnification is best suited for close-range shooting. More magnification means that dialling the scope down to the lowest magnification will take a few seconds. The device will take a little time to hold aim. But with a lower magnification scope, like the Sparc AR, you get the benefits of quick target acquisition. Range shooters, hunters, law enforcement and amateur civilians prefer lower magnification scopes because of the QTA and because they have to consider the possibility of having targets from any direction.
With this scope, you don’t have to worry about magnification, just raise it to your desired eye level, take your aim and fire. The Vortex Sparc AR red dot reticle ranges up to 300 – 400 yards. The device is also parallax free. Most red dot sights are parallax-free, this is a significant feature of this kind of scope. Parallax free, essentially means that the reticle does not move with the target, you have to move your head to suit your requirement. This is a key feature of red dot sights as they focus at giving you an impeccable aim and target.
Adjustments
The Vortex Sparc AR red dot sight is intended for the AR platform. Indesign Vortex has greatly streamlined the profile of this scope by adding some minor changes that give you major benefits. The elevation and windage adjustments are of 1 MOA corresponding to one inch at 100 yards, 0.5 inch at 50 and a quarter inch at 25 yards. The maximum windage and elevation adjustments are 90 MOA. To adjust the windage and elevation, all you need to do is take off the caps, raise it with a tool or a coin and turn it around to your desired adjustments.
User Friendliness
The Vortex Sparc AR red dot sight is a hunting scope. The scope has an objective lens of 22 mm and is parallax free with an unlimited eye relief. The scope is a true 1x optic and holds zero in any and every condition. The scope is 2.9″ in length and its weight 7.5 oz. Like I said, it is a compact scope. The scope is multi-coated, anodized and comes in a matte black shade.
The tube is nitrogen purged and have O ring seals, which make the scope not only waterproof but also fog proof and shockproof. The exterior body is rubberized. Customers all over the internet have put this scope to the test and I can say with a lot of conviction that the scope is also recoil resistant and can withstand heavy impact.
The two buttons in the front of the scope; one for making the brightness setting go up and down on ten different levels of brightness. The two lowest magnifications are night-vision compatible. You have to hold the on and off button each for five seconds to switch the device on and off. All the adjustments on the scope are capped. The lens caps are attached to the base, reducing your chances of losing them. You don’t have to fumble with an extra part. The lens caps also clip together to keep it out of your way.
Vortex did a great thing by utilizing an AAA battery for this scope, A triple-A battery is commonly found in every house. So while heading out to the range, if your scope runs out of juice, you can quickly grab a triple and fix it right up. The battery life is somewhere between 300 hours to 5000 hours. The battery cap will come off and you can use it as an adjustment tool to get the other caps off. These caps can be used to adjust the windage and the elevation.
The design of the scope has increased the efficiency of the device by putting the battery compartment in the light intensity controls in what would normally be the riser or just wasted space. They have made ingenious use of all the space available in the design of this scope, Its great not having the battery and controls hanging off the sides. It gives a very slim, compact finish.
The only downside to this is that with the battery and controls under the optic, it makes low mounting like you would need for an AK impossible. Alas, it is an AR scope. The riser is included so that you can either absolute co-witness the scope of 1/3rd co-witness it to your iron sights. The adjustments of the scope are somewhat protected by the contours on the side of the body. The scope also shuts off automatically after 12 hours and conserves battery.
The scope is super simple to install. It comes with an instruction manual and an extra battery. Another feature is the VIP warranty that comes with every Vortex device. The VIP warranty is a lifetime warranty that covers all damages of the device and is a transferable warranty, with no receipts, no cards to fill out.
Compatibility
The Vortex Sparc AR reed dot sight can be mounted on various AR rifles, shotguns and high mounting scopes. It can be installed at a couple of different levels and witness it with your iron sights. You can get the vortex mounts for this scope or any other mount of your preference.
Pros
Cons
FAQs
Are the lens caps removable?
Yes, the lens caps are removable but they are attached to the bottom of the scope. The caps can be attached together so that they can be moved out of the way while you are using the device. Do check out Vortex Defender Flip Caps, they might be a good addition to your equipment.
What is the field of view of this scope?
Considering this scope is a non-variable magnification, true 1x scope with an objective lens of 22 mm, the field of vision is also limited. The thing about red dot sights is that you need to look through the lens with both your eyes open to be able to utilize its features to their maximum. Hence, the field of view is supposed to be unlimited.
What batteries can be used for this device?
The scope is compatible with the common, household AAA batteries.
Conclusion
The Sparc AR is a 2 MOA red dot sight. In the realm of red dot sight optics, this one definitely stands out. If you are looking for a low magnification, night vision compatible scope that has the ability to absolute co witness, this scope is meant for you! The device has a lot of wonderful features in a small, compact size. Why don’t you check our detailed review on Sig Sauer Romeo 5, it’s is one of the best red dot sights I’ve used.
The device has amazing ratings all over the internet, Amazon along has some of the highest rating for this device. I’d recommend this scope to shooters, without hesitation. It’s a sweet deal, you wouldn’t want to miss out on!