ok… no thread hijacks here. i hear this and i hear that. i have always feared eotech simply because of the reported battery life. however, they advertise 1000+ hours on a nominal setting. I WANT TO HEAR YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH EOTECH HWS AND THEIR BATTERY LIFE. include which model of sight and what kind of batteries you were using. i don’t want to hear anything about trijicon, aimpoint, s&b, etc. eotechs and their battery life. that’s it. go.
You sound as though you already know the answer. I had an “F” Eotech that sucked batteries down like cheap beer. Did not matter what I used, never lasted more than a couple of months if I used it weekly. Ditched for a (oops you don’t want to hear).
Just my experience…
Buckaroo
right on, buckaroo. shame, i like the eotech reticle, too. thanks for the review!
Believe what you want. If you buy an EO-Tech, be sure to only buy one that runs on AAs. I have had a 552 for about 6 years, use it a bunch at the range lately. Originally I used it for an hour or so then put it up in the safe for about 1.5 years, got it out and used it for a weekend course. Ran fine all weekend without changing batteries. There were standard Energizers in it. About 4 months later, of using it a few hours a month, it finally died. The other EO-techs that use the Aimpoint style batteries do not last long at all. However the AAs are the way to go, and you can still get a NV mil-spec model that takes AAs like the 552. I did have an Aim-point M68, it was ok, I couldn’t focus as fast on a target close or far away. For my eyes the EO-tech is superior, however my friend I sold the Aim-point to swears by it. I feel like I lose a little field of view looking through the Aim-point, my eyes have to adjust when trying to use the Aim-point under 30 yds. I don’t have that issue with the EO-tech, and I can still hit a 4 inch steel plate all day long shooting off hand at 100yds in rapid fire. It is really a preference. Check out both, both are quality, see which one your eyes like best, then go with that and you’ll be happy. Just remember a lot of people that post reviews are Internet Rangers that are only veterans of the airsoft field. Worse case scenario you buy one, don’t like it sell it for 50 less than you paid, and it won’t collect dust. People love finding deals on gently used optics. As long as you stay with a quality name, and stay away from gun show special chinese junk, you will be happy. 
I hear the Eotech XPS models are doing much better in terms of battery consumption. But it still does not compare to the Aimpoints. YMMV.
I don’t get why everyone tries to make a direct comparison about battery consumption - the two use totally different technology. It’s like bitching your Corvette runs like crap on diesel.
i understand that if your’re gonna buy one, to get the newer “rev f” models, correct? they advertise 1000+ hours of continuous battery life. i get what you’re saying, heavy duty. i don’t understand why people try to compare the two, either. it’s like apples and oranges… that’s why i said “no hijacks”. i specifically want to know peoples first hand experience with eotech sights and their battery life… specifically the rev f models.
We had just over 300 Revison F EoTech Model 552’s in Iraq and they sucked. Battery life was nowhere close to advertised, battery packs often failed and some lost their zero.
Battery packs? What kind of batteries did the govt spring for? And really, lets be realistic…how many people on this forum are going out for a 1000+ mission? Besides, most people on this forum shoot for fun or training, or we wouldn’t have these same basic questions all the time. Besides all of the “ARs” out there now come with all kinds of storage space. Operators swap batteries at a certain interval, usually after a mission, you know when you are SUPPOSE TO CLEAN YOUR WEAPON…so whats the big deal about battery life? If EO-Tech is so crappy as some people have been stating on this forum, why are they still around? This is the same ol’ chevy vs ford debate. Come on, lets be non-bias for once and answer the man’s question. Which reticle do you feel like your eye focuses best on? That is your answer to all your questions about which to buy. Both are great quality items. By the way…(lethal dose) which one does your “local pro” sell? That’s what I thought. Another used car lot salesman pitch…oh how I hate it!
I have a 511 with the N batteries. Lets just say I use a lot of batteries. I tried to send it back to eotech thinking something had to be wrong and they said if you store them for any long time to remove the batteries because the unit will always draw power, even when in “sleep” mode. Thats what they called “off”. The only reason I keep it is cause the reticle works good on my 870 police its on and I cant afford a trijicon for my SBR…
Edit: as a side note, they are freakin wide. Why can we send a monkey to space but they cant make the eotech slim and not kill batteries?
I have a 552 that has been on my patrol rifle for about 5 yrs. I just change the batteries every couple of months and haven’t had any problems yet.
The problem with the battery packs was that the contacts inside come loose and when you switch out batteries they would stick to the bottom of the battery and then get discarded. Once they come out you can’t just drop them back in.
Our guys didn’t get anywhere near 1000+ hours with a set of batteries. Also, in case you missed it this isn’t AR15.com. We tend to be more serious about the use of weapons and the accesories here than other sites.
I agree that swapping batteries before a mission is the smartest thing to do, but it may not always be possible. Just consider being an LEO, checking your EoTech before you go on shift and then having something happen half way through. We experienced that first hand in Iraq.
Of course the bigger issue was the units that failed to retain zero or the units where the reflective prism actually came loose within the housing.
Whether or not I like the reticle better or not (which I do) makes no difference if I don’t have confidence in the product or I have to wait 6 months for the problem to get fixed as I did.
1000+ plus hours?!?!? We had better than 2 dozen 552 Rev. Fs in service, maybe 200 hours of battery life at best, some much lower. I had spare battery compartments brought in, and asked the end users to “relax” the battery springs and buffers by taking the tension off the compartment.
If the reticle works for you, great, go with it. If you want a dot, buy a different RDS. Buy what you want, and spare batteries. Something will go wrong, be it human error or product malfunction. Do your own research, learn the quirks, work around them and let the sight work for you.
In 04’-05’ I ran a 552 on both my M14 National Match and M4A1. If you look at the M4 pic you’ll see I’m running it forward up against the front sight tower. Reason for this was two fold. Mounted ACOG on flattop if needed (this was before the magnifires came out) and when were NVGs on top of helmet I could see thru the NODs and EOTech (using the NV button). By doing so, I didn’t need to carry a IR laser (course couldn’t fire from the hip at night). When I had to swap out the batteries every other month I had to dismount as the battery box was against the FST. Recomform zero and move out.
CD
Also have rev “f” using N batteries - returned twice for battery draw complaint and could never determine if anything was fixed - recently bought new batteries and kept them in buttstock - went to range and the batteries were dead; might be as much an issue with battery life as battery consumption; sort of a confidence killer - M4 and T1 don’t miss a beat
That’s the same problem I’ve had with Type N batteries and my Rev F 511 - the batteries generally suck, even fresh ones can go flat in the package. I wish some battery manufacturer would develop Lithium Type Ns but I think the form factor is an evolutionary dead end.
If EOTech had started out with a 123 powered sight like the XPS I suspect things would have turned out very differently.
I had a 512 Rev F. The batteries lasted less than 400 hrs (being very generous). The battery contacts would fall out when changing batteries. It also died on me several times.
After talking to their support, one reason for it dying on me was using alkaline batteries in below freezing temperature (30 F). The sight would come on, but every time that I fired a round, it turned off. They recommended switching to lithium batteries.
I dumped it and got a sight that I can’t mention and has been left it on for unmentionable number of years without any problems. I also won’t mention that the unmentionable sight has an alkaline in it and has worked in far colder temperatures that I won’t mention.
Just a note on Rev F. Rev F has been out for YEARS so if you are buying a new sight, it should be Rev F.
If I were buying an EO Tech, I would only buy an XPS with 123 type battery. If nothing else, they transverse battery compartment minimizes recoil effects on the battery springs.
+1 Agree, IMHO: XPS is the only way to go w/ EoTech.
Using my Rev F 552 set to the brightest possible setting . . .
New alkalines gave me more than 80 and less than 88 hrs.
New lithiums gave the same.
Many of my guys have 512s. I’ve seen several sets of NEW alkalines last less than 8 hrs when used during training classes in cold weather, in several different 512s.
I run H1s on my “social” guns now.