Eastern manufacturing of red-dot sights in the budget and mid-range market segment has reached almost inflationary levels, with an endless supply of devices that are now extremely similar in performance (and price), with manufacturers desperately searching for that "something" that essentially serves to stand out from the pack. So we get optics with more or less functional tiny solar panels – cloned from much more famous and better performing manufacturers – multi-colored selectable reticles, systems with alternative batteries and inductive charging...
But we also have a manufacturer – Olight – that uses its own proprietary magnetic charging system, already used with great success in the production of torches and portable lights, as an element of distinction and has therefore decided to launch a dedicated brand, immediately traceable to the parent company: Osight.
At present, Osight only offers a couple or so models on its website, with some color variations, and a few accessories. I received the Osight S model for review. This is the smallest and most compact model, offered in an extremely rich package with a wide range of accessories, which unfortunately lacks a very important accessory: the Picatinny mount. In fact, the Osight S red dot has a standard RMSc / 407k footprint, which many handguns use as standard, or they can use adapters. Of course, I can buy it online, it costs around forty euros, but for the suggested retail price of $199.99, I make no secret of the fact that I would have preferred to find it included.
But we will see this later. The Osight S features a buit-in (and non-replaceable) battery charger via a waterproof, bipolar magnetic connector on the top of the optic, which allows charging via a cover equipped with a power bank and USB-C power adapter. In practice, the cover protects the optic and keeps it charged at all times using another battery.
The Osight S is an enclosed design: the reflective surface and the LED are enclosed in a housing with a rear glass. Zeroing is achieved by acting on two screws with clearly audible clicks. The dot's manual brightness adjustment, setting of the automatic adjustment functions according to ambient light, motion sensor and selection between three different reticles, is instead achieved by acting on two rubber keys on the side.
From this alone, the sight undoubtedly offers some interesting features, including 20,000 hour run time, IPX7 waterproof rating, and a housing in OAL alloy – an Olight proprietary aluminum "superalloy", which the manufacturer claims is 1.77 times stronger than the classic 6061 aluminum alloy.
However, I got an RMSc adapter to try the Osight S on a Benelli Endurance rifle, taking advantage of the very low line of sight it provides, hoping to keep the same aiming position... which unfortunately didn't happen because the Picatinny adapter plate adds 4 mm of thickness which, added to the 15-mm height of the red dot in the center of the window, required me to raise a little the cheek rest, which I solved with an Ergo pad, as can be seen in the images accompanying this article. The sighting line of my Endurance came up extremely instinctively, the bright reticle of the Osight S magically appearing on the aimed point with a celerity that amazes. Target picture is excellent, the reticle, both the dot and the two variations with the circle/dot, is razor-sharp and the sight lenses do not introduce any deformation or chromatic aberration, on a par with much more renown reflex sights. In short, an excellent optic that does, however, suffer a little from the price, to which I had to add a Picatinny base.
