Zerotech Thrive

1-10x24 RAR Review

ZeroTech Optics has been releasing a lot of products recently. One of these is a new base model low power variable optic or LPVO. It is a second focal plane (SFP) 1-10 power optic with an illuminated reticle. The official name of this LPVO is the ZeroTech Thrive 1-10x24 - RAR. It offers clear glass as well as a bunch of other features.

As mentioned, the Thrive 1-10 is ZeroTech’s value priced LPVO. It is currently just under 300 dollars. This makes it a great option for someone wanting to see if they want a LPVO, or anyone looking for an inexpensive option that has a 10x magnification. It also comes with a neoprene scope cover, which is way nicer than the plastic flip caps other companies give you.

Being a 1-10 power optic has some advantages. At 1 power, this LPVO has a true 1x magnification, or as close as you can get. When at 1x, the Thrive 1-10 is really close to what looking through a red dot looks like, just with an actual reticle instead of a dot. Don’t get this confused though, it is not a red dot. Then, if you turn the magnification up to 10 power, you can identify targets with ease. Or actually reach out some distance to shoot. 25 years ago, a 10 power scope was all you needed to reach out to 1000 yards and that is still true today.

Now we know what the ZeroTech Thrive 1-10 is capable of, what kind of reticle does it have? The 1-10 uses ZeroTech’s “RAR” reticle. This reticle is a second focal plane MOA reticle. Being a SFP reticle, in this case, means that the reticle's MOA marks and numbers will only be accurate at 10x. It also means that the reticle will stay the same viewable size throughout the magnification range. Okay, let me try to explain the reticle, there is a lot going on, kind of. Pointing toward the center of the reticle are three, 4 MOA thick lines that taper down. One on each side, and one on the bottom. These are to help draw your eye to the center reticle portion. The center reticle has thin lines with hash marks every 2 MOA. These hash marks are 1 and 2 MOA high, depending on where they are on the stadia lines. These can be used for ranging, bullet drop, or windage. Inside the inner reticle is a 0.75 MOA dot. Then surrounding the inner dot and part of the reticle is a horseshoe ring. The horseshoe is 12 MOA in diameter. I really like the RAR reticle as I found it super quick and very useful.

The RAR reticle is semi-illuminated. Basically the horseshoe and center dot illuminate. To turn the illumination on, tap the button on the battery cap. It has 6 illumination settings. To increase brightness, just push this same button again. Once it hits the brightest setting, when you tap the button again, it will start cycling down to the lowest setting. Then when on the lowest, it starts cycling up again. Hold the button down for a few seconds to turn the reticle off. The reticle is not “daylight bright”, but it is fairly bright and can be seen on overcast days.

Now that you know what the reticle of the Thrive 1-10 looks like, it needs to be sighted in. Having the ability to crank the Thrive up to 10 power really helps you be able to see where you are hitting on the target. The adjustment ring, to adjust that magnification from 1-10x, is fairly smooth. It also has a small, removable, throw lever. It's not huge like some others, but it is useful. The Thrive 1-10 uses capped turrets. So to adjust the windage and elevation, you must unscrew them and set them aside. Then you have standard click adjustable turrets. The turret’s clicks are not super positive. They also feel a little mushy to me. This is a base model scope, so I didn't expect them to be crisp. More just a heads up. Once the turrets are adjusted to your satisfaction, you can loosen the center screw, pull the turret up, set it to zero, and re-install the screw. Something else I noticed with the Thrive 1-10 is that each click adjustment is ¼ MOA, which is a more fine adjustment than many of the Thrive's direct competitors in the market.

The clarity of the Thrive 1-10 impressed me. For being a value optic, the clarity at 10x was nice. It didn't have any shadows around the edges, just a clear picture. The eye relief is decent, but a little tight at 10x. I'd say the eye relief falls in the middle of comparably priced LPVO’s. There are better and there are worse. At 1 power, the scopes clarity and eye relief are quite good. I didn't run into any trouble, using the Thrive, anywhere in its magnification range.

I ended up mounting the Thrive 1-10 on a 16” 556 AR. It needed something other than the red dot that was on it and the Thrive fit the bill nicely. After mounting the scope, it was off to the range. This is where I ran into the Thrive's only real problem. I pushed the button to turn on the illumination. Okay, that worked as expected. Then I shot the rifle. Every time the rifle recoiled, the illumination would flicker off and then back on. I contacted ZeroTech and they said that it can do that with certain recoil impulses. Yes, it is an inexpensive optic, but this bothers me. It's not like I was mounting the Thrive on something with heavy recoil. I guess I'll have to move it to a 22lr or not use the illumination. Besides that drawback, I really like the reticle. It is easy to use and draws your eye right to the center aiming point.

If you are looking at getting into an LPVO, the ZeroTech Thrive 1-10x24 is not a bad choice. Yes it has some problems, but it also has some great features. Personally, I think it would be a fantastic optic for a 22lr rifle. Go head over to ZeroTech and take a look at the Thrive 1-10x24 RAR.

Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Low cost, second focal plane, LPVO with decent reticles

Target Market:

Anyone wanting to get onto the LPVO game

Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:

Focal Plane - Second (SFP)
Magnification: 1-10x
Reticle calibrated magnification power (SFP only) - 10x
Objective Lens Diameter - 24mm
Main tube Diameter - 30mm
Reticle type - RAR Illuminated
Fixed parallax – 125m (137yd)
Turret Index Value - 0.25 MOA
Exit Pupil Diameter - Low: 8mm; High: 2.4mm
Eye Relief - 3.62-3.94in (92-100mm)
Windage & Elevation Adjustments - 120 MOA
Field of View @ 100 Yards - Low: 118.8ft; High: 11.3ft
Main tube Material - 6061-T6
Weight - 17.8oz (505g)
Full multi coated lenses
Reticle - RAR Illuminated
Objective Outer Diameter - 30mm
Ocular Outer Diameter - 44.5mm
Waterproof Rating - IPX7

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

G4 and PHR4 reticles

What others are saying?:

Nothing found as of publishing

Link to other reviews:

Nothing found as of publishing

Price point:

MSRP = $449.00

Retail = $299.00 plus 20% off

I need it now! Availability:

ZeroTech Optics

Our Rating:

Pros:

Great reticle
Inexpensive for 1-10 SFP
Lightweight
Push button brightness adjustment
Clear glass

Cons:

Reticle flashes on recoil
Mushy turret clicks

Score: 6.50 Okay

Favorite Link: ZeroTech Thrive HD 1-8x24 review

Primary Arms’ Classic series of optics is their budget or entry level line. But don’t stop reading just yet, this Classic series 1-6x24 still has a bunch of decent things going for it. The Classic series has good visual clarity as well as an illuminated dot in the center of the reticle. So let’s dive deeper into what the Classic 1-6x24 has to offer.

Since the Primary Arms Classic 1-6 is an entry level scope, it uses a second focal plane reticle. For anyone that doesn’t know, this means that the reticle stays the same size throughout the 1-6 power magnification range. Since the Classic 1-6 uses a duplex dot style reticle, this doesn’t really affect much. You probably won’t be trying to range target distances with it. Something that amazed me on the Classic 1-6 was the optic clarity. For an entry level scope, everything was real clear, even at 6 power. I’ve seen entry level stuff that isn’t near this clear.

The little Classic 1-6 has some other notable features. For one, it uses a 30mm tube that helps let light through the optic, plus it’s pretty much the industry standard for low power variable optics. The adjustment turrets are capped. This helps to keep your adjustments from getting changed. These caps are decently knurled to make them easy to take on and off. However, the windage and elevation adjustment turrets don’t have any marks to line up the turret with the body of the scope. So if you want to go 4 clicks, there’s no indication that you went there. Primary Arms does put a moveable “zero” piece on top of the turret, but without a mark on the scope body, it’s useless. I’d put a tiny dot of paint on it for location purposes. Even though there’s no visual reference on zero, the actual clicks on this Classic series are great. So it’s easy to count how many clicks you moved the turret. Each click is 0.5 MOA, so approximately ½” at 100 yds. There’s also a full 120 MOA of adjustment in the scope. Last on this feature list is the nice throw lever. It sticks up high enough to easily adjust the magnification, but it’s not super tall either. If you don’t like throw levers, it is simple to remove and then you are left with a standard style adjustment ring.

One of my favorite aspects of the Classic 1-6 is its reticle. The reticle is a duplex dot style (see picture). The 3 heavy duplex lines draw your eye to the center of the reticle. Then in the center are some fine lines that point to a center dot. The center dot measures 2 MOA. This center dot has red illumination, if you want it to. The illumination has 10 settings. These pretty much go from barely visible to pretty bright. I say pretty bright, because in bright sunlight the dot illumination isn’t visible. But it’s a $200 scope and 90% of the time, you will be able to see the illumination of the center dot. This reticle works great on something like a standard AR, where the cartridge shoots pretty flat out to 300 yds. Plus, being a 1-6 power, at 1x it’s almost like using a red dot. The reticle really impressed me.

I mounted the Classic 1-6x24 on a standard 16” AR in 5.56. I will say it works well for close targets. Even at 3-5 yds it performed respectfully. Moving out to 200 yds and jumping the magnification up to 6x, the Classic 1-6 still worked well. Targets were clear, but getting in the right eyebox window was a little challenging. With this Classic 1-6, you really need to have your eye in that sweet spot of the eye relief. This was the scopes biggest downfall for me. I also had to remind myself that it is an entry level LPVO. Especially since the glass was so much better than I expected. So much so, that it was easy for me to hit, and see, 4” plates at 200 yds, while using the Classic 1-6.

If you are looking into trying out a LPVO, or just want a budget one, the Primary Arms Classic 1-6x24 is a great place to start. Its reticle is simple to use and it has great optic clarity for something in this price range. I'd say, for the price, you'd be hard pressed to find something as good.