Sig Romeo 5 Review
Whether it is for personal protection, combat situations, recreational use, or hunting, you want to make sure your rifle is equipped for success.
One of the best ways to do that is to help increase your accuracy by adding in a well-built sight. While there are a wide variety of sights, one of the most popular is a reflexive red-dot sight.
Of those available, the Sig Sauer Romeo 5 is one that keeps popping up at or near the top of the best-sellers lists. So, let’s take a look at the Romeo 5 and see if it is the right sight for you.
The Build
The Romeo 5 is a compact, electro-optic red dot sight that has a durable all-aluminum construction.
The sight itself is more of a tube style, but overall it has a relatively low-profile design and size-wise is slightly larger than most of the micro sights available, but small in comparison to some of the other red dot sights on the market.
The weight is around 5.1 ounces, which is excellent for the affordable price point. Elevation and windage can be adjusted using the turrets without any difficulty.
It has an integrated M1913 Picattiny interface, making it able to suit a wide range of rifles and has an already built-in elevator mount to make clipping it onto your firearm a breeze.
When ordering, you will get both a low and co-witness mount, though the co-witness suits AR-style guns iron sights best. As a note here, With the combination of the Romeo 5 being IPX-7 waterproof rated for up to 1 meter, and the lens being fog proof, it’s obvious the Romeo 5 was built with durability in mind.
Swapping out the battery takes but a few seconds thanks to the side-loading battery compartment; though with a battery life of between 40-50,000 hours depending on the brightness setting, you shouldn’t have to change them too often.
This focus on ease of use and durability is not surprising since Sig Sauer intended the Romeo to be suitable for civilian, law enforcement, or military use.
The Sight
The sight is one of the areas where the Romeo 5 stands out. Since it only has 1x magnification, it has unlimited eye relief, so the red dot can easily be seen, and the target can be acquired regardless of your eye position.
1x magnification also means you have parallax-free sight, so you will always be sure that the point of aim and point of impact are the same. The sight itself is a 2 MOA red dot that is powered by a CR2032 lithium battery.
There seems to be an even split on preference between a 1 MOA dot and a 2 MOA dot, but ignoring the fact that the dot on the Romeo 5 is crisp, clear, and easily seen without obscuring your target, the larger dot gives you a better advantage in longer-range shots.
No matter what the head position, the red dot was easy to find and zero in on no matter your head position, and once the sight was initially zeroed held true even after quite a bit of abuse.
The Romeo 5 has ten brightness settings, 8 for daylight and 2 for night vision, where 1-2 are for night vision, and 10 is the brightest setting.
For an average day, a setting of 6-8 worked well, though, against a white background, 9-10 would have better visibility. The sight itself has a surprisingly wide range of view, making rapid target acquisition very simple.
When using the Romeo 5, you will not be distracted by any glare thanks to the Spectracoat on the lenses. The Spectracoat is a, ‘highly efficient, ultra-wide broadband, anti-reflection lens coating “that reduces surface reflections until they all but disappear.”
It should be noted here, that while the Spectracoat is exceptionally effective, it does not render the lenses fully reflection-proof.
The Spectracoast is also handy because it allows you to use a lower brightness setting while still having maximum visibility.
The MOTAC
While the Spectracoat is an impressive addition, the real MVP of the Romeo 5 is the Motion Activated Illumination or MOTAC. The MOTAC is a perfect addition for those of us who sometimes forget to turn our sight on or off.
When the sight is placed in standby mode, the Romeo 5 will turn off the motion sensors automatically, followed by the red dot.
After 2 minutes of no movement, the sight will turn itself completely off. However, as soon as you grab your firearm, the motions sensors will pick up the vibrations and immediately turn illumination and your sights back on.
There is also an additional option to manually turn the sight entirely off as well, which is a plus for really bumpy roads or flights.
Conclusion
Overall, the Sig Sauer Romeo 5 is incredibly impressive. The red dot is crisp and easy to locate no matter your head position, and the lens was clear without “fishbowling” at the edges.
Installation is extremely quick, and it holds its zero like a champ. The additional perks of being water and fog proof only make what was already a reliable electro-optic red dot sight even more impressive.
However, there are a few cons to the Romeo 5. The first one is the MOTAC system; while it is excellent for prolonging battery life, it doesn’t have the quickest response time, which can be an issue if you are planning to use the Romeo 5 for home defense.
The second con isn’t a huge deal, but is something potential buyers should be aware of. While the battery life is pretty good, the 40-50,000 hours only applies with occasional use.
For those individuals who have frequent use, you may either want to stock up on batteries. Aside from those minor grievances, though, the fact that you get this level of quality and performance at a very reasonable price makes it even more attractive as an option for those seeking a quality red dot sight.’
Check Out the Price On Amazon Here
Interested in the Sig Sauer 5? Make sure to check the price out on amazon here.