Chad Wallace

August 5, 2022

Review, Optics

Athlon Midas TSP1 Prism

Chad Wallace

August 5, 2022

Review, Optics

I’m starting to convert some rifles over to 1x prism sights from red dots. This is because they offer a reticle without the need for a battery. Thus, the Athlon Midas TSP1 prism sight was right up my alley. Prism sights usually have an illuminated reticle option. As does the Athlon TSP1. The Athlon Optics Midas TSP1 prism sight has been out for some time now, I just finally have one I’ve been using, for about 3 months, with good results.

Let’s start by why I am converting over to prisms. The main reason for this is that, if for some reason the battery happens to die, prism sights have an etched in reticle. Similar to your typical scope. Some prism sights, as with the TSP1, have a non-magnified option, or 1x. This makes them an ideal replacement for your everyday red dot optic. Prism sights are also usually pretty compact.

The Midas TSP1 comes feature packed. Like any good scope these days, it has all the fancy lens coatings, is nitrogen purged, fog proof, shock proof, and waterproof. The TSP1 has a 21mm objective lens that gives good light transmission. It even comes with both hi and low mounts. Zeroing adjustments are made in 1 MOA click increments by using the top side of the turret caps. Just unscrew the cap, flip it over, and the flathead built into the cap fits perfectly into the adjustment screw slot. Lastly, it uses a single AAA battery for the reticle illumination.

Most prism sights aren’t as small as a comparable red dot. However, the Midas TSP1 is not much larger than your current, tube style, red dots. For one, the TSP1 is only 2.7” long. Height is always determined by what mounting base you have on it. But with the high base, it measures 2.5” to the top of the battery compartment, from the mounting rail. I measured the width to be about 1.9”, this is from the battery compartment to the outside of the adjustment buttons. As you can see, it’s not very big at all. It also isn’t very heavy, weighing in at 6.25 oz’s.

Now for the most important part, the reticle. The Midas TSP1’s reticle is top notch. It is mainly calibrated for 223/5.56, but should work reasonably well with other calibers. For reference, I mounted it on a 5.56 AR15. The reticle design works really well. It is a horseshoe style with a few usable differences. The outer ring is 66 MOA, or the equivalent of an average size human at 100 yds. In the middle of the ring is a 3 MOA dot. Sight the 3 MOA dot in at 50/200 yds for the rest of the holdovers to work properly. Below the 3 MOA dot, is a 2 MOA dot. This is your 300 yd aiming point. Having a smaller dot below the main dot may seem odd, but it isn’t. The smaller dot actually makes it easier to see your 300 yd target because it doesn't obscure it as much. Below that dot, is a vertical line with a couple of hash mark lines. The top of the line is your 500 yd aiming point. It is also your human height range estimation for 300 yds. The wings on the edges of the reticle really just let you know how level the gun is, or where the center point is for range estimation. The actual MOA numbers for all the dots and lines are in the Midas TSP1 manual, or online, if you are curious. The TSP1 also has a fast focus eyepiece to get that reticle crystal clear.

The Athlon TSP1’s reticle is also illuminated. But not just your normal red illumination, the TSP1 also has green illumination. Most other prism sights only give you the option of one color. One can switch between the two colors by pressing both the up and down brightness buttons at the same time. I really like the options of green or red. I usually leave the TSP1 on green, as the reticle is clearer for me in that color. Not to be misunderstood, the red illumination is also clear, but I prefer the green in this case. To initially turn the illumination on, just push the brightness up button. To turn it off, hold the brightness up button for 3 seconds. Once it’s on, just use the +/- buttons to increase or decrease the reticle brightness. There are 10 brightness settings to choose from. Both colors are daylight bright and neither washed out for me in direct, bright, sunlight. The Athlon TSP1 also has a 6 hour auto off function. So if you haven’t pressed any buttons in that time frame, it will turn off. The TSP1 does not have an auto on function. Remember, it has an etched reticle, so you will still have an aiming point. Of course, once you turn the TSP1 back on, the brightness is where it was last left. The soft touch brightness buttons are large enough that I don’t have trouble using them, something I can’t say about some of the other optics I have used.

I am really enjoying the Athlon Midas TSP1. It is super clear. The etched, illuminated reticle also doesn’t affect my astigmatism like red dots do, so no “starburst”. Which is another reason I am switching over to prism optics. The somewhat limited eye relief didn’t seem to be a problem. When I say somewhat, the reticle is still visible at 12” of eye relief, it is just harder to locate because the window size gets smaller. The TSP1 also performed very well for me when I used it in a big local shooting match. Athlon doesn’t state battery life, but the initial AAA battery is still going strong. After all, the AAA batteries are super easy to find, even at a tiny store in the middle of nowhere.

Athlon Optics did a pretty good job with the Midas TSP1. The MSRP may seem a little high, but street price is right on par for a 1x prism sight. Plus you get multi-colored reticles and it uses that AAA battery. If you are like me and want a good 1x prism sight, check out the Athlon Midas TSP1. It’s a good all around prism to replace that fully battery powered red dot.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

1 power prism scope with green or red illuminated reticle

Target Market:

Those wanting a non magnified optic with the benefits of having an etched reticle

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

Obj. Lens - 21mm
FoV ft @100Y - 66ft
Red or Green illuminated etched reticle
1-10 illumination settings
Center Height - 0.88” Low mount / 1.50” High mount
1 MOA windage/Elevation adjustment
AAA battery
Weight - 6.25 ounces - 7.8 ounces with high mount
Length - 2.7”
6hr auto off
Multi-coated lenses
Has Aimpoint T1 mounting footprint

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

3 and 4 power

What others are saying?:

5/5 stars at Athlon Optics

Really nice optic. It needs more information,

A representative told me the mount is proprietary. It however does in fact work on Industry standard T1 Micro Style mounts. Fits good in an ADM Mount, RS Regulate for AKs, or even a low mount for Shotguns or PCCs like the Scorpion/Stribog.

Athlon if you were open about this tidbit, you'd sell a lot more! It's a prism scope with a similar size to other micro red dots and it takes T1 mounts. Almost perfect for what it is.

Link to other reviews:

Nothing worthwhile found

Price point:

MSRP = $337.49

Retail = $269.99 at Brownells

I need it now! Availability:

Athlon Optics or Brownells

Our Rating:

Pros:

Etched ranging reticle
AAA battery
Green or Red Illumination
T1 compatible mount

Cons:

Eye Relief
No auto on

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link: JSD Supply

Chad Wallace

December 22, 2019

Review

Meprolight Foresight

Chad Wallace

December 22, 2019

Review

Meprolight has come out with an Augmented holographic style sight. It is called the Foresight. Along with the Foresight, is a downloadable app to work in conjunction with the optic. The Foresight is really unique in how it gives information to the user. When we first talked about it on the Gun & Gear Review podcast, I was so intrigued that I asked for a Test & Evaluation unit.

This brings us to the actual Foresight, a 1x optic. It is not a small sight, coming in at 4.6” x 2.35” x 2.68”’. Think Eotech size. It does however come with quick mount levers, built into it’s picatinny mount. It also does not have a removable battery. The battery is rechargeable using a USB-C connector. A short USB cord is provided, but not a charger. I just used my phone charger and it worked fine. The viewing window is extremely large at 1.3” x 0.79”. Operational buttons are mounted on the top front of the sight, in front of the window. The whole unit weighs 9.9 ounces.

Let’s get into the features of the Foresight. It uses a green projected information and sighting display, not your typical red. But that’s not all. In conjunction with the APP, you have a choice of 20 different reticle options! One downside, you can only upload 5 at a time to be used in the sight. That does however give you 5 different sight in the optic itself. All of which are zeroed to the same point of impact. To cycle through the 5 in-sight reticles, just press the left or right arrow on the control pad.

Along with the different reticles, other information is also displayed. The Foresight has a built in level displayed on the left side of the screen. The level is 6 lines with a triangle pointer in between. There is another pointer just to the right. When the 2 pointers line up, the sight is level. Otherwise the right pointer moves, up or down, as you tilt the sight left or right. Right moves it down, Left moves it up. The level really helps when sighting in a rifle. I found it useful without being too much in the way. Another feature of the heads up display, is the built in compass. The compass displays in the upper left corner. It reads in degrees from 0 to 359. North is 0, South is 180, etc.

When first turning on the Foresight, or cycling buttons, even more information is displayed. This information is only displayed for 3 seconds and then disappears. In this info, is battery capacity, brightness level, and bluetooth. The battery display is in the upper right hand corner. It has both a battery percentage and battery icon. However, it does not tell you how much time is remaining at the current setting. Below the battery indicator is the bluetooth symbol. If you see it, the bluetooth is on, if not, then it is off. The Foresight uses bluetooth to communicate with the app. Last up is the current brightness setting, from 0-9. This is displayed on the right of the window. Brightness is adjusted by using the up/down keys on the control pad. Since we are discussing brightness, the Foresight also has an auto adjust brightness setting. To enter the auto brightness mode, just hold down the up, or front arrow, on the control pad for 3 seconds. The number on the right will disappear when in auto brightness mode. Auto brightness will also turn off if you cycle the sight off and then on again. If all the displayed information is too much, you can put the sight into “low power mode” by pushing the middle button on the control panel. In low power mode, only the reticle is displayed. However, auto brightness does not work in the low power mode.

Lastly, there is a control menu in the display. Push the center control button twice to access it. Here you can also turn off all the on screen displays, except the reticle. This is also where bluetooth can be turned on or off. You can also calibrate the compass here. Or factory reset the optic. But more importantly, this is where you can adjust the sights zero. Access the “zeroing” option, then you can adjust the zero by moving the sight left or right, displayed as “Y” and “Z” axis. Each number is a movement of 1 MOA. I would have liked finer adjustments, but it is only a 1x optic. You can also adjust zero from the APP.

The APP has a bunch of different abilities. For the app to work, it must be in range of the Foresight. As mentioned previously, you can zero the optic in the APP also. It pretty much works the same way, select the proper profile, click “Zeroing”, then adjust zero with the arrows. Once done, it will sync with the sight. The APP allows the creation of 10 different profiles. Thes can be different firearms, or different shooters. Each profile has its own individual zero and reticle choices. So if I take the Foresight off of one firearm, install it on another, I can just upload the new profile to the foresight. It will be zeroed and have the 5 chosen reticles for the new firearm. This of course only works if your new firearm profile has been previously zeroed. I love the ability to do this. Especially when installing a .22lr conversion kit. Just bring up the 22lr profile, and it’s zeroed and has the 5 reticles I want for that firearm. In each profile, you can also choose the 5 reticles that you want in the actual Foresight. There are a total of 20 to choose from. Some are courser than others, with the 1 moa dot probably being the finest.

Meprolight has impressed me with this sight. It is durable. It may have bounced off of some concrete once or twice. When switching between firearms, it has held zero. At least from what I can tell with a 1x sight. The quick mount thumb levers are a nice touch, especially if you do want to move the sight from firearm to firearm. The sight window is huge and easily picked up. I could live without the compass. But for military applications, it probably can be useful. The angle indicator is pretty awesome, it would really be more useful with a magnifier attached. The Foresight is supposed to have an auto off, shake awake. Either this one doesn’t, or it doesn’t work. It will auto off after hours of non use, but won’t turn on when moved. I tried contacting Meprolight twice, by email, about this, without any luck. I was also curious about stated battery life. So much for tech support. My favorite aspect of the sight is the different reticles. Not just the 20 available, but having 5 options in the sight is amazing. Supposedly a shot counter is in the works. I’d really like to see how that would work.

I would hold the Meprolight Foresight up against other top tier 1x optics. It would look, function, and be geographically correct on an IWI product. The Foresight worked extremely well for me. If you are interested in an optic like this, definitely look into Foresight.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points