Aimpoint, a maker of red-dot sights for the US military, updated their magnifier lineup during Shot Show 2016. Aimpoint was the first optic company that developed a magnifier to use with their red-dot sight. The original Aimpoint 3XMag, a 3x magnifier, was released almost a decade ago and it’s still the best on the market today in term of optical performance.

As the follow up to the 3XMag, Aimpoint released not one but three different magnifier models. The new milspec 3XMag-1 model is the direct replacement of the original 3XMag. The 3X-C model as shown in the picture is the commercial model with a MSRP of $307 and to my surprise, it still features the Schott glass lens. The 3XMag-1 military model has better seals, stronger housing and it’s build to a higher spec, but it’s also at double the cost at $704. Both models offer 7 degree field-of-view.

At the top end, the new 6x magnification Aimpoint 6XMag-1 magfifier. At 6 inch length, it’s 1.4 inch longer than the 3XMag-1 and 1.9 inch longer than the 3X-C models. However, the weight difference is less than 1 ounce between the 6x and 3x models. The Aimpoint 6XMag-1 is not cheap with its $907 price.

Optically the Aimpoint 6XMag-1 is very good from my very brief use at the range. Its field-of-view is 3 degrees, which is good for a 6x power optic. Compared to the 3x models, the eyebox is a lot tighter on the Aimpoint 6XMag-1. Which is not unexpected on the higher magnification. I was told the 6x is optically optimized for use with the newer Aimpoint Micro T-2 and H-2 red-dot sight. It completely eliminated POI shift when using the 6x magnifier.

Also unveiled by Aimpoint is the flip-to-side mount for their magnifiers. It’s actually an add-on top-half to their existing Twistmount, which I’m not a fan of. While it’s quit expensive at $260 just for the top-half or $361 for both pieces, with the new mount, the shooter now has the options of either flip the magnifier to the side or taking it off completely via the Twistmount.