There are several practical advantages that recommend the usage of a reflex sight that produces a green aiming point rather than the more conventional and prevalent red dot. The human eye is more sensitive to green color wavelengths than it is to red ones, making a green reticle appear brighter and easier to acquire (even during challenging lighting conditions like bright sunlight or fog). Green also causes less eye strain and will appear much more crisply for shooters who suffer from astigmatism and red-green color blindness than will red. Which is why Trijicon’s recent decision to introduce its new Green Dot RMR (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex), which employs a brilliant 3.25-m.o.a. green reticle, is such a good idea and a welcome addition to the optic market.
Identical dimensionally to the rest of the models in the company’s Type 2 Adjustable LED RMR line, the Green Dot unit measures just 1.8” long, 1.2” wide and 1” tall, and weighs only 1.17 ozs. Renowned for durability, in part due to the concave shape of its upper housing, which absorbs impacts and diverts stresses away from its multi-coated lens, the optic is built of 7075-T6 aluminum and mounts atop a host pistol via the common RMR mounting footprint. Its 3.25-m.o.a. dot is well-suited to most any pistol application, given that it covers just 0.23” of a target at 7 yards and 0.81” at 25 yards.
As with the red-dot adjustable RMRs, the new green variant features eight brightness settings—two that are compatible with night-vision devices, five that are appropriate for regular daytime use and a “Super Bright” mode ideal for pairing the optic with a weapon light that would otherwise wash out the aiming point. While green lasers are known to have higher power requirements than their red counterparts, resulting in a relatively shorter battery life, Trijicon claims that its new Green Dot RMR will get two years’ worth of use from a single bottom-mounted CR2032 battery (included) when set at brightness setting No. 4. Further extending battery life, the new model can also be put into a Battery Conservation Mode that causes the unit to auto-adjust to the ambient lighting conditions after 16.5 hours without a button press, and Button Lock Out Mode prevents accidental contact with the adjustment buttons from altering your preferred brightness setting.
While the new RMR is a great first step, here’s hoping that more green-dots find their way into Trijicon’s catalog in the near future, as the difference they make is substantial. Green lasers are typically considerably more expensive than red ones, so kudos to the company for setting the model’s MSRP at $810—only marginally more than the comparable red-dot unit. For more information on the Green Dot RMR, visit trijicon.com.
