well that’s kinda my point - if there is enough light on your target that it washes out the illum of the scope, then the reticle appears distinctly as black.
and if the target is dark enough that there is no contrast between the reticle and the background, then the illum shows up. it’s kinda automagic…
That’s why the illum could ideally be a bit brighter in the day though…down here on a normal bright day in sunny Florida, if you are shooting on a black target, even with the illum at max, the reticle is still black. I personally don’t have any trouble with it even then as the reticle contrast is still distinct - but as I said earlier, would be nice to have the option.
and I agree - if you’re going to light the thing in the first place, make it bright enough to see in all possible conditions. especially if other manufacturers are able to do so.
the reticle is a crosshair with MIL or MOA stadia lines, combined with an “interrupted donut” and center dot, with only the donut and dot being illuminated.
but getting back to my experience of years using scopes without illum, I was never in a situation, except at deep dusk where I couldn’t easily see my reticle even against dark backgrounds. and in the case of the background being very bright, this would eliminate almost any need for illum in the first place.
again, I totally agree with you and maybe my original comment was a bit “overplayed”, but I still see this optic as completely workable as is…
Hell yes - I think it is fantastic. When you consider the price as well for this awesome glass quality, you can easily forgive this one extremely minor shortcoming. Like every product of every kind, there’s always something to improve, however! 
yes, using the 1-4 on 1x as an alternative to a RDS is where I see the illum not being bright in daylight as a limiting factor. however, the Accupoint also has been accused of this with the illum washing out on a very bright background and it has done little to dim the popularity of that scope.
I’m thinking good thoughts now about this Vortex on my BCM lightweight middy and hope it lives up to its promise.
and btw, not to clutter this thread, I’ve started a separate thread asking about the differences between the Vortex Viper 1-4 PST and the newer HS and which would be more suitable on a general use or Recce style AR…
Nice write-up - thank you. I’m on the fence between this sight and the Burris TAC-30. Any thoughts or experience on this?
Just to clarify…The Trijicon Accupoint washes out when shooting from within a dark area (fiber optics receiving little or no ambient light) at a bright target area. The Viper PST (IMHO) is the best scope in it’s price & zoom range. If only the illumination was brighter at the high end…
In corresponding with Vortex they stated that they are aware of the need for a brighter reticule in daylight but stated that the scope would cost 2x more to accomplish this. Of course, there is the Razor HD series which I would gladly purchase if it had the Viper PST’s reticule.
Well I have not owned a Burris or used one however I have spent some time playing with them at a gun shop that stocks them. My opinion on the optic is the glass is excellent! reticle is very nice, build quality seems to be good however the knobs wobble a bit and are a bit low quality for how the rest of the scope is built, the Vortex is built very well!!!
in looking at both the Accupoint and the Acog, the green reticle can lose contrast against a brightly lit background even if both are in good light. enough to be a problem? that’s up to the individual to decide but in the circumstances I have seen it, it is enough to make it a slower optic to use.
as I see it, the red reticle is better in this regard in mostly daylight applications whereas the green seems better in dusky conditions using the tritium without the benefit of fiber optics as the eye is more sensitive to the green spectrum and appears brighter.
the TAC 30 I have seen is slightly cumbersome in that there is a single illum switch that controls both on/off and brightness control with successive pushes. the reticle seemed quirky to me as well.
the construction was good and quality of glass seemed pretty good although I didn’t have anything to compare it against at the time…