I’m curious if most people like them, or if buyer’s remorse has set in? I see a lot in the EE.
Poll is Public, Multiple Choices possible.
It was my last attempt at using a variable optic on my do-it-all carbine. It was a magnificent little scope, I just could not get used to the extra weight up top. I went back to a red-dot setup.
I had an NX8 and an ATACR and performance-wise, I liked everything about the ATACR better. The NX8 was a little hard for me to get behind and I didn’t like the reticle or the image quality on 1X. For the size and weight, the NX8 is the at the cutting edge.
I’ve always had a little trouble with LPVs on 1X. Even with a Razor Gen II and ATACR I see double a lot of time when engaging targets in a ‘cold’ setting such as search ID shoot/no-shoots. In a match setting where I can plan (game) the stage I do very well with a LPV. The extra weight mitigates recoil.
I ultimately got rid of both and stuck with an Aimpoint since it’s the best tool for my application.
I bought both the atacr and nx8 at the same time to compare. Just like 17K, I found the atacr better in every aspect other than weight and length. Neither of those cons were deal breakers for me. I found I liked the atacr reticle more, the eye box more, eye relief more and my perceived FOV seemed better with the Atacr as the scope body disappears for me just like a razor. Sold the nx8 and bought another atacr.
My only experience of LPVO is with the MK6, Vortex, and the NX8. The NX8 is my favorite out of those. After getting it focused outside on the range, 1x was flat and the reticle at 8x was crisp. It fills all my needs and the eyebox didn’t bother me too much. But, I plan on training a lot with it, so in the future I will be even faster. It is an awesome little scope.
It is good for such a small scope. Brightness… Well on 5, indoors with a magnifying class you could light a cig. outdoors it’s still bright enough… Still brighter than an accupower turned all way up.
For shooting mansize targets the reticle is great at all mag ranges, for shooting smaller stuff, not so much unless you dial it up. It’s not until you hit 4x when the reticle opens. Which is why I like the razor, because you still get that small dot if you just need that 2-3x without having the thing wobbling everywhere on full zoom.
Eye relief is average. With a razor you worry about mounting it too far back, this is the opposite. I think the eye relief reports are coming from guys who are making the jump from red dots and haven’t flipped their buis up ever, it’s really not as bad as some are making it.
If I sold it I wouldn’t miss it, but i am still very pleased with it. If I could do it over again though i would have just got another razor or ammo.
As much as I wanted to like the NX8, I didn’t. For 1-8x, the NX8 just wasn’t as easy to use as an ATACR or CQBSS. It is lighter and smaller, than adding the weight of those, but I did better with some 1-6x options for a similar price and weight of the NX8. For that matter, depending on the role, it wasn’t as good in my opinion to simple Aimpoints or Eotechs with the option of a magnifier running the gun.
Maybe NF will change some things on the NX8? I am open to that and I would like for them to do so.
Hard to compare those. The NX8 is a great scope with a lightweight footprint and easliy commands its marketplace. The ATACR is on another level, and provides red dot point and shoot and the ability to magnify to 8X.
I prefer the quality 1-6 offerings over the NX8. Hard to beat what the Kahles offers in it’s package. For the ATACR, I much prefer the CQBSS still and even the Minox and the 1-6 kahles.
This could very well be the most honest thread on LPVO I’ve read in a while, but it also makes me think I should save myself thousands of dollars on even more expensive compromises by going with the Vortex Razor 1-6.
Nice. I am a chocolate ice cream guy, and every time I go into our village ice cream shop, someone orders mango. I cannot image mango in my ice cream. Probably the mango guy cannot think of something so think as chocolate in his ice cream…
Lots of really good choices in the 1-4x to 1-8x realm, that is for sure.
I agree re: k16i. It’s a great choice and I would pick it over a nx8. Interesting that you prefer the cqbss over the 1-8 ATACR. After using one, I was not a fan of the cqbss. All of these 1-6/1-8 lpv optics have positive and negative attributes. There is no one perfect optic, though to me the atacr comes very close to perfect.
Random thoughts and I didn’t actually vote in the poll but like the NX8 overall. 1x isn’t like looking through an aimpoint, 8x eyebox is tight but workable. .2 mil clicks are a bit course. Weight and footprint are winners, coming from two pig votex razor 1x6 that made my rig way top heavy. I think 2x and 3X are quite usable for close in work and keep the reticle dot small. Illumination is lacking in all the lpvo I’ve used, nightforce included across the NXS scopes I own, but you can use the things without power which is a win. Mechanically NF owns. I think it beats an aimpoint with a magnifier behind it. IMO lpvos are a collection of engineering compromises. Price is a solid $1000 less than ATACR version. Love the included power throw lever and smoothness of variable adjustment is better than razor.
I love my NX8, but I have some issue with my scope. My zero stop cap won’t come off, it doesn’t matter what I do, the cap stuck there. Called NF CS, they willing to take the scope back, but that’s kinda annoying…sigh 
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I finally got my hands on an NX8 and here are my thoughts:
+'s
[ul]
[li]Fantastic size and weight - The NX8 weighs 17.5 oz with battery, but is so compact and centralized that it seems lighter.[/li][li]Great mechanics - Zoom ring (eye-piece doesn’t rotate) is super-smooth with just the right amount of resistance, .2 mil turret clicks are close together but well defined.[/li][li]Bright “red dot” - The brightness seems on par, if not brighter, than my Trijicon MRO.[/li][li]Versatile reticle - Segmented circle dot for fast shooting, vertical sub-tensions for distance holds or dial elevation and use horizontal sub-tensions for wind holds. For shooting groups, dial down one mil and use the cross-hairs instead of the big center dot.[/li][li]No direct competition - The NX8 is in a class of its own, you have to cherry pick the best of other class scopes to compare against. (Razor 1-6x SFP for optical clarity and price, K16i SFP for optical clarity and weight, ATACR 1-8x FFP for optical clarity and 8x mag.)[/li][/ul]
-'s
[ul]
[li]Not “red dot” fast - At 1x, I’m reminded that I’m looking through a scope. Eye piece is just 40mm OD with 7.9mm exit pupil (vs 9.6mm of K16i or 11.26mm(!) of ATACR 1-8x).[/li][li]Crappy flip covers - Included rubber covers are only good for shipping/storage.[/li][/ul]
I think it’s unfair to market this as a 3gun scope since it isn’t as fast as the SFP 1-6x scopes that seem to dominate the sport. If it has any advantage at 8x over the 6x scopes, it would only be at longer distances but the faster scopes would gain time on unconventional shooting positions and all other targets.
The NX8 is a jack-of-all-trades scope that trades a bit of up-close speed for longer distance accuracy, lightweight and compact size. It does everything fairly well in a reasonably priced package. I think it’s a great DMR-type scope and would definitely be worthy as the one scope for an general-purpose carbine or SBR. The most frequently cited competitors to the NX8 just have different design compromises but none of them are clearly better than the rest. Ok, maybe $$$ATACR$$$.
I’ve compared a Swarovski Z8i to a NX8… I got rid of the NX8 before the Swaro and I’d say that the Swaro is better than the NX8.
The Z8i is as close to Kahles K16i, Swaro Z6i, Vortex Razor HD Gen 2 1-6x performance I’ve seen to date with a 1-8x in a 30mm format. The housing disappears leaving only a thin black housing ring unlike the NX8. You have some issues with flatness but that is something that I’ve come to expect in almost all 1-8x scopes.
The optional covers for the Z8i are the most amazing covers I’ve used. Machined aluminum and magnetic flip closure… They’re like Leupold Alumina covers except way better quality.
I might be the odd duck but I like the illumination controls of the Z8i as well. Flip to the left for dim illumination in twilight or flip right for high power mode in direct sunlight/daytime. Memory for what illumination setting you were at last and what seems like an endless amount of adjustment possibilities for brightness.
The Z8i 1-8x looks to be priced around $2400-$2700 at Brownells, which is closer to the ATACR than NX8. I think it would be the underdog if going up against the ATACR. It appears to be SFP with unobtrusive reticle options designed more for hunting. Things could get interesting if they come out with a Kahles K18i version with a mil-type reticle.
I think that is a very thoughtful summary.
Here’s a wordy but still interesting video demonstrating the effects of parallax and shooting outside the eyebox on an NX8 at distances from 5 to 100 meters. Skip to the 7 min mark for the shooting demo.
[video=youtube_share;2s4aiUHhG3c]https://youtu.be/2s4aiUHhG3c[/video]