Best 3x Magnifier for under $100

The sightmark t3x magnifier is probably the most affordable magnifier on the market. Sightmark gets a pretty bad rep because of their reputation as a big box store budget option. However, could this magnifier be a hidden diamond in the rough? We'll check it out in today's video.

But before we do that let me ask the community, what do you think is the best magnifier on the market?

The sightmark t3x actually has some solid features for its budget price tag. The mount that comes out of box has a QD system that works really well. If you aren't familiar with magnifiers, a big advantage of them is that they don't need to be zeroed to work. The red dot is zeroed, the magnifier just magnifies your view of the already zeroed red dot, thus you can swap them on and off rifles. You can even pass them around to your buddies at the range.

The windage and elevation adjustments are just for getting the optic better centered on your red dot, thus while these turrets are manual and have no click capability, counting clicks doesn't make sense since you aren't zeroing a magnifier. Analog turrets make sense in this context.

The mount itself is really easy to slide open and close. The detent is very friendly. Other magnifiers I've tried in the budget realm aren't as smooth, but this one really is.

I few hundred rounds fired through multiple rifles with this magnifier since it was the first magnifier I ever purchased. The magnifier itself actually has a little bit of play after a few hundred rounds. The screws for the detents need to be retightented frequently. While it doesn't matter in a pinch since the red dot is what is zeroed, and all magnifiers have a little play. This one bounces around a little more when shooting than others, and that can be distracting.

The eye relief is also crazy crazy short. Your eye has to be almost right up on the glass. The eye box itself actually isn't the worst I've used, its comparable to a Vortex 3x magnifier that I've tried, but it isn't the best either.

Glass clarity is the weakest point on this optic. The image can be a bit blurry even after adjustment with the diopter. This paired with the

Overall it actually is pretty functional, but it certainly isn't the best. It is the best one that I've used for under $99 though, although I only have this old model Primary arms one to compare against. The primary arms one kind've sucks to be honest, I think their updated newer ones are quite a bit better.

That said, it doesn't really compare to the next level up, like Vortex's 3x magnifier, or Holosun's which is consider the gold standard for budget magnifiers. But the sightmark routinely comes in at half of the competitors MSRPs, so it might be right for a range build in someone's budget.

Overall I would recommend spending a little bit more and going up to that next level, especially if you can get a sale on Vortex or Holosun.

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