The K16i is currently the king of the hill in 1x-N optics, arguably. So, naturally, I had to have one for my "damn the cost" build...

Here is a short review of it, leading up to actually shooting with it in my review of the bobro mount's RTZ.

First, the weight. It's the first thing you notice after you get over the pain of actually paying for the thing. IT'S LIGHT! At just 17oz, it's one of the lightest optics on the market with this magnification spread (1-6x). Touching on this, it is a twin of the Z6i, however, the tube/body of the scope is exclusive to the Kahles line, and has been beefed up from the Z6i hunting optic for the "tactical market". Also of note, while the internals share a lot in common with the Z6i, they are not the "same identical parts", but are rather made by Kahles. I do not know what, if any, physical/mechanical differences exist from the Swarovski counterpart, but suffice to say that if any do, it is skewed more toward durability.

The second thing you notice is how substantial it feels at 17oz when you manipulate the adjustments. With a few caveats...

First of all, the magnification ring has a wonderful "fin" in place that removes the need for aftermarket throw-levers. It is perfectly sized. The stiffness of the magnification ring prevents it from being easily moved, while not being what anyone would call excessive. The "fin" is sized perfectly for the force required.

The diopter has a much "coarser" adjustment than my Nightforce NXS 1-4 FC-2 scope has. This, I MUCH prefer. Instead of endlessly ****ing with it, you can dial it in in 30 seconds or less, and leave it be. I personally wish that the diopter was a bit stiffer and had a locking mechanism, but it DOES have a handy arrow on it which allows you to reference it with the occular, should it be moved inadvertently.

The turrets...now the caveat. The turrets are rather firm. Firmer than I'd like for a capped-turret scope. Also, they are less tactile than I would prefer. I called and spoke with Jeff Huber (president of HPS importers, Kahles USA). His explanation shed a lot of light on things. A scope's adjustment is determined by its "lowest power". If you have a 1x optic, the adjustments must be VERY! precise and VERY fine, as only the SMALLEST of movements will net a result at 100 yards regarding crosshair movement as compared to say, a scope with a 4x bottom magnification. This works the same way that holding your finger right in front of your face and moving it 1" vs. at arm's length and moving it 1" works. Do that while looking at a 100 yard target, and see how far "off" the target your finger is moving 1" laterally at both distances, and you get the picture. To that end, the turrets are adjusting parts that have roughly 120 threads per-inch. They are as tactile as they can get "geared down" so low, as it were, is my understanding. Which is to say they feel about like a "crisp" Aimpoint's turrets. Not the best in turret feel, but they do get the job done, and you aren't dialing dope with this optic.

Next up, and part of why you buy a K16i, is the illumination. It's pretty darn good! You get about 35 hours on 1 battery, it has a 2 or 4 hour auto-off (I have read both, Kahles USA says 4 hours, other sources say 2, I have not tested it). This is, in my mind, a good thing, with said battery life. To that end, there is a spare battery under the windage turret cap. Yes, Kahles ships it with 2 batteries in the optic...when you pay this much, your toys come WITH batteries...

The illumination is pretty darn good for an illuminated reticle. I would put it at similar to an Aimpoint T1 or T2 at 8-9. If it's a white target with direct noon sunlight on it, you might want to just turn it off and use the black reticle. Otherwise, it's awesome, and out of direct sunlight, it's brighter than necessary at full brightness.

The next thing is...how is the glass? Well, it can't be captured in photos, but let's just say this thing feels more like a worm-hole that moves you closer to the target when you dial the magnification up than it does a set of lenses in a tube.

Eyebox? It's the most forgiving eyebox I've seen on a 1-6x variable. This includes the MK6, Razor HDII, VCOG, and SWFA offerings. The width and depth of the eyebox on 1x is VERY impressive. On 6x, it does get a bit more cramped, with depth being a bit more restrictive, but at 6x, you should be in a more stable position, anyway. On 1x, you can punch the rifle out on the sling from on your back, and still see enough reticle to make hits without it being a circus trick. Especially illuminated. I personally, and I know some will argue with me, so I made a video...find my Nightforce 1-4's eyebox to be a bit more forgiving...in exchange for a LOT of FOV (almost 30% less), and 2x less...I made a video to compare on 1x.

Anyway. All that aside...is this optic a legit 1x? Is it REALLY 1x? Well, honestly, no. It's not.But it's as close as your going to get outside of an Aimpoint, and it's closer to 1x to my eyes than the Trijicon MRO. It's so close to 1x, that the only time you will notice that it's NOT 1x, is when doing a bench-review like what I did. In actual running and gunning use...it's going to be 1x. However, no, it is technically not 1x, and I have never held a variable power scope that was.


6x

1x
*all photos on full illumination, clear sky, 4pm CST, sun is bright!

K16i vs. Nightforce 1-4 NXS - YouTube


* some of you may recall my illumination issue when I got the optic. Jeff Huber personally handled that issue, 1 week door to door. The Electronic components were gone over with a fine toothed comb and pronounced g2g.