Trijicon Tripower

[chazthebiker]

Anyone have any experience with the Trijicon Tripower? What are the pros and cons? Do you wish you had chosen something else?

[chazthebiker]

This is funny! I guess my questions have been answered! haha! I'll cross it off the list of candidates.

[5pins]

I just got a Tripower last week so I will give you my first impression. I picked it up new off TOS EE for $420. The way I looked at it was I could sell it and get most of my money back if I did not like it. The tritium was develop for use with night vision and it is way too dim for regular use. You can see it in the dark but not well enough. The fiber optic works well outside but you will need battery power if using inside. I have only had mine for a week so I can’t comment about the battery life but everything I have heard it's too short. Not to mention the batteries are an uncommon size and harder to find.

The only real plus is the chevron reticle. I like the concept of the Tripower but some changes need to be made in order to reach its true potential. I have not mounted it on a rifle yet. I’m in the middle of a big move so it may be sometime before I make it out to the range to see what it has to offer.

[Paulo_Santos]

Battery life is the biggest complaint. Outside, they are fine, but if you do a lot of indoor shooting where you have to use the batteries, the battery life is too short.

[hikeeba]

Chaz, I saw this thread when you first posted it up, but opted not to comment because my time behind the TriPower is very limited. But I'll share my thoughts on it, anyways, and perhaps I can help point you in whatever direction you feel is right for you.


First off, I toiled and lost sleep for quite a while over my optics choices before deciding to purchase the TriPower. I considered other RDS optics as well as a variety of 1-4x scopes. This may sound completely stupid to most folks, but I went with the TriPower for the fiberoptic batteryless operation. That wasn't the only reason I chose the TriPower, but it was a key point that factored into my decision.

I have been in the process of assembling an upper that I intend to top with the TriPower. Because the upper project has been put on indefinite hold due to the unknown release date of a pre-ordered item, I decided last month to mount the TriPower up and give it an actual test drive. Conditions were bright and sunny, the time was late morning, the range faces east and has a covered firing line with a ceiling that is about 7.5 ft above the ground and has a roof that extends about 4 ft out beyond the firing line. In those conditions, the chevron didn't really 'pop' out. I could see it fine, but it wasn't like, 'wow' bright. the reticle did show up better through a 3x magnifier (Vortex). I sighted the TriPower in at 50 yards without the magnifier, added the magnifier and fine tuned, and then played just a little bit with and without the magnifier. It worked fine for me, because I wasn't doing any speedy manuevers or fast target acquistion drills. Under the range cover the fiberoptic illuminated reticle wasn't very bright. It wasn't completely washed out, just dim, amking it harder to pick up quickl. In the open in the sun, or even in cloudy or overcast conditions, the chevron showed up fine and can be acquired quickly. I did not notice any bloom or distortion to the chevron in full sun. (I will note that the cloudy and overcast fiberoptic results were observed with the optic in hand only).

Prior to doing my initial test drive, I had mounted the TriPower on a couple different rifles in the basement to get a feel for the reticle operation. With 8 ft ceilings painted white, the reticle showed up well enough due to lamp light bouncing off the ceiling (lamps are equipped with 100w-equivalent CFLs). With the lights off in the basement at night, I found the Tritium illuminated the chevron well enough for me to pick it up easily. With the lights off in the basement during the day, with some daylight filtering in a small window at one end of the basement, the Tritium illumination was still adequate enough for me to see the chevron. I will say that I did not swing towards the window to see at what point the Tritium illumination would be washed out. I do not have a weapon-mounted light, so I haven't played with that scenario.

As for the battery illumination function, I can't comment. All I know is the illumination function works, but after checking that operation, I removed the batteries. For more information on this, please refer to the first paragraph where I say I'm completely stupid.


chaz, if the TriPower is still an optic you might consider, I encourage you to limber up and do some serious Google Fu. Read as many user reviews as you can find, and then maybe read some of them again before deciding on, or writing off, the TriPower. It isn't a perfect package, for sure, and it may work better for some that it might for others. If you do decide to go with a TriPower, make sure you have an understanding of it's limitations, and how those limitations might apply to your usage of the optic. I suppose that could apply to whatever you decided to go with, too.

I like the TriPower so far. I am looking forward to using it more and getting to know it better. But because I like it so far, I can't say it will be my end-all, forever most favorite-est optic of all time. It's like me and the TriPower just met at a party and got to talking a little bit. I like what I've experienced thus far, and I'm interested in cultivating a more involved relationship with it.


Edit: At this early point, I do not wish I chose something else. The Aimpoint CompM4 was my runner-up to the TriPower, and although I'd still like to get a CompM4 someday, I have no regrets passing on it in the here and now.

[chazthebiker]

Thanks guys! Looking forward to your impressions down the road. For me, choosing an optic is more difficult than choosing a rifle style. It's too bad we don't all have unlimited $$$$ to try everything.