Protecting your optics
 

Hell ASC,

What do you use to protect your optics from incoming fire (if anything)?

I previously had an ACM EOTech, and used the ACM EOTech plastic protector. I hated it. It was wavy plastic, thus distorted my image and drove me mad.

I buy vortex optics. The warranty is bulletproof. Hence: good for airsoft!

Top one is Airsoft with a Viper PST 1-4x and illuminated reticule. Great unit. Flip down covers for transport, just open the glass up for play.

http://distilleryimage9.s3.amazonaws...0a1e9f9b_7.jpg

For any red dot just use the flip up covers or for the eotech line the black front cover. You never need to open up the front cover to use a red dot. That is if your using it properly (with both eyes open).
You will still see the dot projected on your target.

I run a protector on all. Tubes get a honeycomb killflash and odd shapes get a lens cover. Since bulletproof doesn't always mean BBproof.

If you're using EOTech sights, Modify makes a really good lens protector. No distortions and I believe it's made out of polycarbonate. Duy from Airsoftparts sells them.

can anyone tell me what material is the honeycomb of aimpoint killflash made of. is it metal?
more specifically this: http://www.laruetactical.com/aimpoin...h%C2%AE-filter

thanks!

1/4" plexiglass + dremel + hockey tape = universal optics protection.

Currently keeping a bushnell red dot, a real eotech red dot and my PVS14's glass lenses BB-free for over a year now. Cheap and effective, I don't find it distorts my image or results in any perceivable impact to the PVS14's ability to amplify light.

Ran a $13 lens protector I got from ebay. Saved me some grief within the first skirmish. There wasn't any noticeable image distortion.
http://i.imgur.com/VTcs0T6.jpg

I purchased one of these, received it the other day. It was tinted green. I'm a little upset since the description said nothing about coloured glass. Ah well.

I'm thinking of getting a cheap aimpoint micro or RDS for my AK. The Eotech is too heave on the front end of my AK.

You can find killflash for eotechs on ebay. They work great and stopped multiple impacts at UA.

Saw this video on GI TV awhile ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vft-...ature=youtu.be

Glad to hear it! I've been doing some experiments with protection for NV and thermal systems. Thermal is proving to be tricky! Do you use a de-mist shield on the back end of your PVS-14 too?

I custom mold 1/8" polycarbonate to snap into place, I've done a few EOtechs with it too. Big problem for most is you need to know how to use a file and you need some dexterity lol

These come with a coloured film applied on both sides to protect it from scratches during transport. Just peel the film off both sides

I cut an old piece of plexiglass I had laying around to fit inside my aimpoint t1.

Added a thin layer of plastic to the cap the screws into the lense (whatever you call it) to prevent future scratches to the inner plexiglass.

Works well so far

I had a custom piece of polycarbonate (lexan) cut to fit inside the scope cap of my nicer scope.

just call up any place that makes acrylic, polycarb, plexi displays or stuff and see what they'll do. Here in ottawa we have canus plastics. I just called up, asked them if they could cut me 2 circles of 1/4" lexan in x size and boom, it was done a couple days later, picked them up for 15 bucks or whatever.

The only issue is they will fog since you're not sealing it completely and vacuuming it, so use a bit of anti fog or leave a way of ventilating the space between.

Good to hear. Will you be making a pair for $15 to ASC members soon and possibly include a rail mount?

Airsoftparts.ca is now carrying Black Watch Optic Shields (Ultimate Airsoft has had them on site for a while)
Full disclosure, I make these with a friend at his CNC shop.

They're made out of UHMW and rated for 1 joule. they take multiple hits and don't scratch or fog
they do have a "mesh goggle effect" on unmagnified optics but that pretty much disappears with both eyes open or on magnified optics like the ACOG or Elcan Specter

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/im...ens-prot_2.JPG
this one has taken multiple hits at UA

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/im...ens-prot_1.JPG
Doctor mounted on top still has a clear poly carb guard (not shown)

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/im...ens-prot_1.JPG

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/in...rd=Black+Watch

didn't even see this reply :I


Answer: no, I don't make stuff, I no haz machine shop.

Also, polycarb is a bitch to cut, you need specialized tools to cut it cleanly and smoothly, otherwise it sort of ends up melting.

Slick. If one of those will fit the zombie stopper I want one!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

Thanks Longstone. I'ma gunna wander over there now to check those out

In case your optics are too big or too small for the optic shields, you can look into the rail mounted lens protectors. They're not the prettiest thing, but they get the job done.

http://airsoftdepot.ca/catalog/produ...oducts_id=1201

http://airsoftdepot.ca/catalog/image...rotector-1.gif

these are the sizes we offer (so far) use a pair of calipers to measure your optic housing

37.5mm
35mm
34.2mm
33mm
23x32mm (EoTech)
27.5x37.5 (SightMark Holo. discontinued unless there is demand, airsoft parts and UA may still have stock)

Does the honeycomb pattern Blackwatch one distort you view at all or block your vision? Maybe im just not understanding how they work but idk. Id deffintly like to buy a holo sight and try them out.

No not at all. When you're aiming, your eyes are focused on the object that's farther away, and the honeycombs disappear. The honeycombs are actually very thin.

It kept popping out before I sanded mine down, now it fits, but can easily fall out, probably because the EoTech clone that I have, the glass is slightly curved so it won't really fit in all the way?

I ended up just not using it since I didn't want to try and glue it or something to keep it there securely... I also found the plastic mesh on this quite noticeable? It is more noticeable than say the metal killflash that come on most clone aimpoints.

I now use the transparent plastic covers that I had before for eoTechs though, and that works great except for some distortion T_T.

Sanding doesn't work very well on the material, the best way to reshape it that I've found is by scraping with a very sharp straight edge (either a utility knife or a burnishing tool, that info should be on the insert sheet as well). make sure the edge is still "square" and not angled. test the fit OFTEN, a couple 1000th's of an inch can make a big difference whether or not it will fit securely. If the sanding created some "fuzz" scrape it with a blade or give it a very quick pass with a torch (more than 1/2 second and the material will start to melt) to remove that, any "fuzzing" can actually act like a lubricant because the material is pretty slippery.

It shouldn't need to seat "all the way" for a secure fit, but they need at least 1.5-2mm of surface inside the housing to fit securely, so the housing should also have a shape like this:
||_____||
rather than like this:
|\_____/|

One of mine (pictured in the EoTech clone above) sticks out about 1/2 way and I've never had it fall out. When I tested the fit with some of Duy's scopes I ended up bruising my hand trying to knock it out and the guard didn't budge.

For the curve of the lens you can take a drill bit a little larger than the holes (must be very sharp!) and drill out the center area so that it follows the contour of the lens a little better.

If you're going to play at Finch's field this summer or we can co-ordinate meeting at airsoft parts send me a PM and I'll come over and check it out and see if I can get it to fit or bring you a replacement.

if your zombie stopper looks like this:
http://s4e5fc2d16a332.img.gostorego....ontrighthr.jpg

it won't fit (see the "housing shape" info in the post above)

if it looks like this:
http://img01.militaryblog.jp/usr/ech...OP-121-2-1.jpg

it should have the standard EoTech shape and fit

it's about time we ran a contest here!
Show us your broken optics!
Post a video to YouTube 1-3 minutes in length telling us why you need a Black Watch Optic Shield and post the link to the video under this status update on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/BlackWatchO...97107410398571. We will choose a winner to receive 1 Optic Shield for every 10 videos posted there! See http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/in...rd=Black+Watch for styles available.
Contest closes Friday July 5th, limited to US and Canadian residents.

Hey Longstone,

Do those Black Watch shields cut down the light and make the image darker?

if armyissue gets around to adding them to the catalogue they have some photos looking through the optic with them, there's a mesh goggle effect but there's not tint to them

That one looks like this one in the video.

SPEED BB Shield vs other brands Impact test - YouTube

I tried plexiglass, it shatters too easily, and BB makes a hole in 1/8.
Use Lexan, it much stronger on impact. And you can cut it using just metal cutter, no any tools required.

Anyone got a protector for the zombie stompe rds?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4

I've got the sightmark zombie RDS and use the lens protector Superhog linked

Has not been shot at yet, but it does cover an 1/8" over the RDS

Really looking for a cleaner option than the rail mount.
Can't get a solid answer on the Eotech option.
Longstone only one of your photo's is showing. mine how ever does not look like the second photo you posted?

Best option for the EoTech is the Lens protector from Airsoftparts.ca. Seriously, that thing is crystal clear (even though all the crystals I've ever seen have been opaque), and mega durable.

This one? It can really take a bb hit?

http://www.airsoftparts.ca/store2/in...oducts_id=2504

Yes it can take a hit. I used one of those when I owned a Hurricane 553.

Can it take several hits without cracking? Mine completely split after two shots.

Did you get THAT ONE from Airsoftparts? 'Cause the one he sells is extremely thick, durable plastic. The other one's I have seen are quite thin, and flimsy.

No, but I'm assuming these shields are all from China. I bought one from Evike and the other form ASGI, both cracked are 1/8" thick. Mine was crystal clear but certainly not bb proof.

When you say extremely thick, how thick? I would like to see a video of the Airsoftparts one being shot at.

Mesh is good only on magnified optics. I prefer a crystal clear view on a Eotech.

Can you make a clear mesh protector?

lexan is polycarbonate.

plexi is plexi.

Lexan is a registered trademark and a brand name for polycarbonate sold by GE.

Do you actually think China uses quality polycarbonate, they use cheap plastic.

The Speed ones from Capital airsoft can take multiple hits easily. https://store.albertaairsoft.com/sea...q=optic+shiedl


Watch the video.

SPEED BB Shield vs other brands Impact test - YouTube

I couldn't find a video, however, the one I bought from ASP is about 1/8" thick, whereas the one I got from TO Airsoft was about 1/16".

The one on Evike.com looks like the same model as the TO Airsoft one.

Just 'cause something is from China does not mean it won't work.

I have not had any issues with the ones from ASP, and I have seen many people using them, and never heard of one being cracked. But honestly, it's a $15 upgrade, even if it does crack, at least you're only buying another $15 part, instead of a $50-$600 optic.

If it breaks on the first shot, and you have to buy a second, and third..... it is no longer $15 bucks. I would rather buy once.

Magnaroth, would you shoot yours with a video? There is no video on the ASP shield, because it will break. I am sure if you break it, ASP will send you another if it is warrantee against bb breakage.

of course not... china is china lol.

There are different grades of polycarb all can withstand varying levels of impacts... military eyewear for example is often referred to as ballistic rated polycarb, so there must be something special about it. You'd have to ask someone who engineers the stuff to be sure though.

Yes and no, military eyewear and paintball masks are manufactured to ballistic standards.

For airsoft, China can not make safe goggles to protect your eyes. They sell you mesh goggles. So I don't believe for one second their optic bb shields is worth sh$$

I honestly thought about it. However I'm in the process of selling my 552 with the protector.

One or two shots for a video and you can still sell it with the 552. Good for the new owner if it does not break.

If it survives I will buy one from ASP. To be honest, it probably break on the first hit.

The place where I got my EOTECH 552 from says it has a "built-in" lens protector, anyone know if it actually works? Or should I still get an external lens protector?

http://tactical-mod.ca/red-dots/eo-5...-od-green.html

It says Polycarbonate lens protector included.

I don't see any lens protector included in the box. It says it's "built-in". Does that mean that the front lens consists of two layers? With the outer layer being the lens protector? I can't really seem to notice this either. Unless the front lens itself IS the lens protector??

Is there glass that is flush mounted with the outer hood of the eotech? If so that is it. If you only see the glass like in the picture on the website, I think you got scammed.