I dunno, just seems as though you have formed and ‘internet based’ opinion and are now getting negative on something with witch you have no experience. Why?
You don’t seem to be seeking anyones advice on a potential or soliciting experience, just on something of a rant.
Ultimately, there are literally dozens of Glass/RDS makers out there. Few even claim they are for combat. Aimpoint, Trijicon and EOTech are among the few that do. The rest are geared to sportsman. There is nothing wrong with a ‘mainstream’ optic as long as you use it under its limitations.
They (Vortex) seem to have found a market niche for themselves, do it well, do it politely and customers seem happy. Why step all over that?
I have a 1-4 PST on backorder. Based on Shot Show reviews posted here and on several other sites, it “sounds like” an excellent choice for it’s price point. I don’t have it in hand so IMO, there is no way a reasonable and fair opinion can be formulated by me or anyone else that has not actually handled one.
If the 1-4x PST delivers on half its spec sheet without glaring failures, it’ll actually be a very solid budget optic. Yes, I have one on backorder too - but there’s already improvements that I can see that would make loads of sense.
I have had a chance to use my brother in law’s Vortex binos and they are pretty nice. His dad has a pair of $2,000+ Swarovskis and we spent a lot of time going from those to the Vortex and back again when he got them. They are not “as good as” by any means, but they are not as far behind as the price difference would suggest. The glass is bright and the image is clear. If their scope glass is of the same quality the variable power PSTs may not be a bad deal. I am thinking of trying one out after they are out for a little and there is more real world info on how well the internals function. Good customer service is fine, but I don’t want to spend more time at the UPS drop off with something than I do using it.
I don’t think I would want to mess with their red dot on a serious rifle. A used Comp M2 or older EOTech would fit the bill if that’s all the cash you have to work with.