ATIBAL ENCLOSED

SOLAR TACTICAL DOT (STD)

REVIEW

The Atibal Solar Tactical Dot is a "closed-in" red dot sight built like a tank. Most red dots have an open lens where dirt or rain can get inside and block the laser diode, but this one is completely sealed in a metal box. It’s designed to stay on, stay clear, and take a beating without breaking the bank.

A rugged, "always-on" red dot sight that uses both a battery and the sun to stay powered up. It’s built for people who want a sight that works every time they pick up their gun, no matter the weather. It uses a 2032 battery as well as solar power.

So, I’ve been running the Atibal Solar Tactical Dot (STD) on the Lone Wolf Dusk 19 setup, and honestly, It’s a pretty slick combination. If you're used to those standard open-glass red dots, the first thing you’re going to notice is that it looks like a little mailbox sitting on top of your slide.

It’s an enclosed emitter, which is a game changer if you’re actually out in the elements. Think about it? If it’s on a standard Glock-style setup, you’re always fighting lint, dust, or raindrops getting right on that tiny laser bulb. With this thing, it’s all sealed up in a nitrogen purged tube. If the glass gets muddy or wet, you just wipe it off with your thumb and you’re back in business . You don't have to worry about the dot starbursting, because of a drop of water that is on the lens.

The STD has a 2032 side battery compartment with a round cap on the right side. It has the plus and minus adjustment on the left. The buttons are rubber coated and easy to adjust. When mounting the optic, I had to get an adapter plate because it is the Acro micro footprint. It has fairly decent clicks in the windage and elevation adjustment. It was very easy to mount and sight in.

Now, the Enclosed STD does add a little bit of weight to the slide, but on the Dusk 19, it actually feels right. That frame already has a better grip angle and flat trigger, so the extra few ounces of the optic actually helps keep the muzzle down when you’re shooting fast. It makes the whole gun feel a bit less of a handful in your hand.

The coolest part for me is that it has that solar panel on top, so during the day, it’s gathering sunlight to power the optic. Besides that it has a shake awake feature, if you leave it on the nightstand or in the holster, it goes to sleep. The second you touch the grip, that 3 MOA dot is right there waiting for you.

It’s definitely a bit chunkier than a standard RMR, so you’ll want to make sure your holster has a decent optic cut. Luckily for me the holsters I used worked just fine.

Shooting with the Atibal Enclosed STD was very easy. When I brought the pistol up to shoot, the dot was there. I didn’t have to search for it, it had fingerprints on the front of it, and the dot still looked the same. I ran numerous Bill drills, double taps, and drawing from concealment with it. The dot was always there. I sighted the dot in at 7 yards and ran about 100 rounds through it. I then moved out to 15 and did the same. I finally moved to 25 yards and that was the sweet spot. With the 3 MOA dot, I found that anywhere from 5 to 50 yards, I was always on target. I did not put the pistol in a rest, I just sighted it standing and shaking, as my old hands do. The dot was always there when drawing. During shooting, the optic seems to cushion some of the snap from the 9mm plus P defensive ammo that I was sighting in with. The fact that the big box gives you an extra area to rack the slide is a plus. With gloves, bare hands, if you rack it off the table, or your holster, there is always a place to get a good purchase.

I’ve carried the Dusk 19 with the Atibal Enclosed STD mailbox on it for several horseback trips. As we all know, if it’s tested by me, there has to be a horse involved. I fell off after my horse took a misstep. It went into the Cumberland river in May and so did . The STD was underwater for several minutes in the cold river. I had no water in the optic. I’m not sure if I hit it on anything on the way down. But it did sustain 11 hours of constant movement on the horse. Then when I got back to camp, I went directly to the bath house and stood in the hot shower for over an hour. At first I was fully clothed, then I stripped and left my pants and the holster with the firearm in it, on the shower floor with super hot water running over it. After I was able to become somewhat normal again, I pulled the pistol out of the holster and gave the optic a wipe and it still worked.

I recommend a full sweat guard if you’re going to carry it appendix or close to the body. My love handles and belly had some wear from the big optic. I pinched myself several times. If that’s all I have to put up with, so that I can have an optic that has solar and battery backup, I’ll take it. As of this writing, I found two other manufacturers that have the same style setup. The price of them is a lot more than the Atibal Solar Tactical dot. As we know, they are probably all made in the same factory.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

The mailbox advantage blocks mud, dust, rain and other elements

Infinite power loop, Solar and battery

Shake awake technology

Parallax free mounting options

University mounting options with the Aimpoint micro footprint

Target Market:

The working man’s gun that spends more time in a holster outdoors than in a safe

High end performance with an average cost

Competitive shooters

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Enclosed LED design
Solar assist illumination
Shake awake technology
50,000 hour battery life
True 1x, window size 20.5x16mm
3 MOA DOT
Adjustment is 1 MOA
Windage adjustment is 90MOA
Elevation adjustment is 90MOA
10 brightness settings 8 daytime and 2 NVG
CR2032 Battery
50000 hour run time
Lifetime warranty

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

This optic is a very utilitarian product. It’s in black, but sometimes you might find them in a FDE color.

What others are saying

Its not the First and it wont be the last

It’s a beast. I’ve been using it for both weekend competitions and some pretty messy boar hunting trips, and it hasn't let me down once. It’s tough, it’s reliable, and it doesn't cost as much as a used car. Whether I’m trying to shave seconds off my time or tracking a boar through the brush, it’s become the one piece of gear I don't have to second-guess. i will be getting more i have a few more gun i want to outfit and these are my top choice.

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found as of publishing

Price point:

MSRP: $349.99.

Retail: Around $249.99 to $299.99 on sale

I need it now! Availability:

Atibal Optics and use code “FIREARMSINSIDER20” FOR 20% off

Optics Planet

Our Rating:

Pros:

Total environment protection
Solar power and battery
Crisp high quality glass
Side loading battery

Cons:

It’s a chunky boy
Weight. 5.6 ounces
Make sure it will work in your holster. It might have to be modified

Score: 7.00 Good

The enclosed emitter, red dot sight market, is getting packed with options. One of those options is the Viridian RFX45. Because it is from Viridian, it uses a green dot, not red, as green is what Viridian is known for. The RFX45 is mainly designed for pistols, but can be used on rifles. I’m mainly going to focus on it as a pistol optic.

As mentioned, the RFX45 is a closed emitter dot style sight. Some people have nicknamed them “mailbox” sights, since they look like a mailbox sitting on top of your pistol. This is due to the square, boxy shape of the sight. The closed emitter sight has some distinct advantages over the open emitter style. For instance, the RFX45’s emitter won’t get dust or moisture on it. So the image of the dot stays clear. Yes, dust and moisture can get on the outside lenses, but this doesn’t affect the emitter itself and is easily cleaned off. I find enclosed style dot sights are easier for me to find the dot. This is due to it being easier to look down a tube, since my eyes find the center of a tube naturally. I know the RFX45 is technically a rectangle, but it still works better for me. To me there are only two disadvantages, and they really are small ones. Enclosed style sights, like the RFX45, can weigh more than open emitter style. The RFX45 only weighs around ¾ oz more than most open reflex sights. The RFX45 is still light enough that, most likely, you won’t have to change recoil springs, I didn’t. The next disadvantage could be their size. You might be more likely to hit it on something. Or, it might be harder to conceal under a shirt. Other than that, mailbox style sights, like the RFX45, are a great sight option.

Most of the closed emitter sights you encounter will have the ACRO footprint, the Viridian RFX45 is no different. The ACRO style footprint is a little unique, in that it is kind of like a mini picatinny rail. This means that you will need an adapter if your slide is not specifically cut for an ACRO. Do not fear, Viridian has different options as to what adapter plate the RFX45 comes with. Either a MOS, RMR, DOCTOR, or a low or high mount. The high mount is to mount it on an AR style rifle. The RFX45 I was sent had the MOS adaptor as the RMR ones were not out yet. I used a Primary Machine plate and it worked just fine. I do like how Viridian uses an “Industry Standard'' mounting platform for the RFX45.

Bottom dot is from the fiber optic front sight.

The Viridian RFX45 is packed with useful features. First, the RFX45 has Instant-On. So whenever the sight senses motion, it turns the green dot on. If it sits for 2 minutes, the dot goes off until it senses movement again. This feature worked flawlessly in the RFX45. I had zero problems with it. Next up is the 50,000 hr battery life. This long battery life is also attributed to the Instant-On capability and its CR2032 battery. The green dot size is listed as 5 MOA which is slightly larger than some others. Since this is a green dot, the 5 MOA dot appeared to be slightly smaller to me. But either way, the 5 MOA dot size worked fine for everything I did with it. The RFX45 has 10 brightness settings, 2 of which are night vision compatible. At the highest setting, the RFX45 can be seen in direct bright sunlight. During my shooting experiences, some in bright sunlight, I could see the green dot just fine.

Window size can play an important role when choosing an enclosed red dot/green dot sight. The Viridian RFX45 has a 24mm wide x 15.5mm tall window size. This window size is wider than most of its competition. Most are 15mmx15mm. As mentioned previously, this window size makes the sight super easy for me to pick up. This includes under recoil, the draw stroke, and transitioning between target to target. The clear green dot probably helps a little with that too. All I can say is that I pick up the RFX45’s dot faster than my open reflex sights.

Being the RFX45 is one of those mailbox style sights, I better explain some about its style. Yes, it’s square. But more on point is that the battery is housed at the top of the optic. So no removing the sight to change the battery. On the left side is a rubber pad with the up/down brightness buttons. The glass has an ever so slight tint to it. I never even noticed the tint, even on darker days. It’s super clear. Speaking of clear, the dot is extremely clear also. I have an astigmatism, and the dot doesn’t star out as much as some of my other green dots. For those of you with normal eyes, you will get a super clear round dot. I mounted the RFX45 to a Grey Ghost Precision slide that was cut for an RMR. Even with an adapter plate, the RFX45 sits level with the top of my slide. This allows me to still use the tall iron sights that are on the pistol.

So, if you are in the market for a “mailbox” style sight, do take a look into the Viridian RFX45. It may cost a little bit more than some others, but you are getting a quality enclosed green dot sight. I used it quite a bit and it never failed me, something I can’t say about the ammo I was using. You get a lot of high end features in the RFX45. You can check it out at Viridianweapontech.com