Lucid HD7 Red Dot Rifle Sight Review
The LUCID Red Dot is a low priced, simple and straightforward red dot scope with a set of interesting features that make it a worthwhile look for the budget consumer. Its setup allows for 1/3 co-witness while also being parallax free, a welcome feature for the price. Surprisingly a picatinny rail mount is built in, taking some of the cost and frustration with installing it on a compatible setup.
The unit is 100% waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof tested to 458 SOCOM. With the great feedback from the ½ MOA adjustments, making a choice between the 4 operator selectable reticles is a breeze for a complete and easy configuration. One of the more advanced features is the reticle auto brightness sensor that makes any environment or condition a comfortable one for the shooter.
The unit auto shuts off after 2 hours to ensure maximum quality of battery and unit life. Compared to scopes of triple the price this has comparable and much desired features, all with similar craftsmanship. Most of the features found in the market are in this and perform very well in tests. Durability is top notch with the aluminum frame with rubber armor, to act both as a deterrent for damage and to absorb shock when being used.
The entire package is only 13 ounce, with the 4 selectable reticles with two modes of brightness operation being made with 2 MOA in mind. Over a thousand hours of battery life can be had on a single AAA battery, but it is not included. Lucid stands by this product with a limited lifetime warranty, which covers just about what is needed to get by. Also one of the more robust and detailed warranties is included in the package, a welcome addition for beginners.
Accuracy
It’s not full co-witness, but 1/3 is still better than none at all. It really helps in more situations than users think, and works well when needed. The 34mm objective lens is crisp, clean, and makes it easy to find a target when used correctly with the other features.
An add-on 2x magnifier is available to double the range, and works even better than expected. So far that is the max at 2x, but the extra that it does add works to the benefit of the shooter and offers extra options to those that felt limited by the defaults.
With 1x unlimited eye relief and being parallax free, this really carries some of the better features of a higher end red dot sight. It also functions well when switching conditions, as the transition is smooth and not jerky at all.
Accuracy when compared to its core functions gets the most out of the current environment without need for too much input, making target acquisition an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. The better part of this scope was spent on gearing it toward great performance in the accuracy department, and it shows.
Features
It’s pretty durable with its cast aluminum frame and chemical rubber armor, striking an interesting balance between being structurally sound without being too heavy. The rubberized portion absorbs some of the shock, although the look may be a bit distracting to some. The 1/3 co-witness lends itself well to the laundry list of features, and doesn’t feel like it was an afterthought to make the customer happy.
The mounting pins are reversible in the waterproof, shockproof, and fogproof design, for some great customization options. Brightness can be controlled manually or automatically as it switches through the 7 levels, with an auto shutoff feature after 2 hours.
MOA adjustments are capped at ½ but feel great to the touch, with a FOV of 35 ft. at 100 yards. When adding in the 1x unlimited eye relief to the many optional accessories, the features list almost doubles. In some instances the list is more exhaustive than more expensive products on the market.
The Lucid Red Dot is a very reliable optic will exceed expectations with easy windage and elevation adjustments as well as ease of use. Icing on the cake is the built in picatinny rail mount for an easy addition to all compatible firearms.
Accessories
Other than the built in rail mount, instructions, and some small tools this is pretty barebones. The unit is meant to be barebones and only include essential things, rather than things a user may not want or use. This keeps the price down and lets a buyer decide how and when they want to modify the sight in order to fit their needs.
Available accessories are the 2x magnifier, to double the power. This will help for targets further out than what the user is able to comfortably sight. The QD mounting kit allows for a bigger range of usable guns to use it on, and is pretty easy to install after a quick glance over of the instructions.
The kill flash filter cuts down on the reflection on the lens when viewing it from the front, and may be hit or miss in usefulness for some users. It is also as durable as one can get for an accessory, with some interesting advantages in bad conditions. The leashed turret caps are pretty straight to the point and worth the small price that they are asking, to the point it should have been included with the original product.
They are of good, not great quality and get the job done. There are other mount sets available that should fit the majority of weapons, with some fun experiments from some users that are posted online.
Disadvantages of LUCID Red Dot
The cast aluminum frame and chemical rubber armor look cheap, and is far from sleek when compared to other units in the same price range and higher. The functionality exceeds the beauty of it, but it would have been nice if they could have made it look more polished and less bulky and distracting.
For the price with the limited warranty included it does a decent job of protection. The auto shut off can’t be manually turned off, which can lead to some frustration for shooters that lay in wait.
It does come instantly on with the power button, but in the case where someone is locked onto a target and it turns itself off, there is going to be some regret. Even with the auto brightness sensor scanning through 7 levels of compatible brightness, sometimes the manual setting is better.
It works well in most conditions but can be very off the mark in others, making the manual switch a more desirable option. And with only 7 brightness levels, even the manual setting can be extremely limiting at times. Although shockproof, and even with the rubberized portion, it could stand for a little better shock control. It’s not bad, but it’s also not on the top tier like others.
Most users won’t be bothered by some of the shock that gets through, but remember that it only takes a bit to throw a good shot off. But the biggest glaring error is the amount of extra accessories that were not include and are instead made as separate purchases.
Some of those accessories like the leashed turret caps would have been better included with the unit, as the separate purchase even at the low price seems a bit gimmicky. And with the include picatinny rail mount built in, some beginning users may have trouble removing it without some help as shooting tips are necessary for the hunters.
Summary
This is a really good budget red dot sight that will appeal to a lot of users, and not just the beginners. It’s an amazing deal that incorporates some of the better features of other red dot sights while separating lesser use features into purchasable accessories, for better or for worse.
The features that aren’t available within the unit or as a purchasable accessory, however, will frustrate some of the more advanced users. For the price the Lucid Red Dot does what it is supposed to do, is a respected brand, and will last a good while in any arsenal.
The decent limited lifetime warranty is a nice add-in that many will appreciate, and even without some of the more killer features of higher end red dot sights, it still manages to go head to head with them and win in some cases. This unit will not disappoint, and if taken care of, should last a very long time in a buyers set of tools.
