TFB Review: The Big Affordable Window - Vortex Defender XL

Pistol red dots are a fairly common thing these days. We’ve come a long way since the early days of mounting gigantic optics like the early Aimpoint and Tasco red dots to the frames of 1911s. We can now mount some excellent optics, directly on our pistol slides, and the options at this point are virtually endless - it just depends on what you want to do with it. Vortex has been putting in a lot of work lately to expand its pistol and rifle optics line to be as comprehensive as possible. Standard RMR-type designs were some of their first ventures into the pistol-mounted optics category, but Vortex quickly upped the game by putting in their bid to the “large window” pistol red dot category. Primarily intended for competition shooters who value a large viewing window, the Vortex Defender XL is the company’s equivalent of Trijicon’s RMR HD, Holosuns 507COMP, or Shield’s RMSX. Today we’re going to check out what it offers, how it’s priced for its specific sector of the pistol optics market, and some of my thoughts on my experiences with it over the last 9 months.

More from Vortex Optics @ TFB:

• Vortex Optics offering Custom Turrets for Razor HD LHT and Viper HD
• TFB Behind The Gun Podcast #101: Well-Rounded Training from Vortex Edge
• TFB Review: Vortex Defender CCW Red Dot 3 MOA

TFB Review: The Big Affordable Window - Vortex Defender XL

As stated earlier, the Vortex Defender XL is entirely catered towards competition shooters. The optic’s singular window is quite large, almost an entire inch square. This gives the optic the appearance of a large TV screen with a meat tenderizer built into the front of it. Like all of the other red dot optics in the Defender line, the XL also features an easy battery change system, two night vision compatible brightness settings in addition to 8 regular daylight brightness settings, and of course is waterproof, fogproof, and low-glare matte black anodized for durability. All this retails for $600 MSRP which is a full $130 more than the 507COMP’s MSRP. However, it does come with a few extra items and features that make it worth the few extra bucks for some people.

Vortex Defender XL Specs, Features, and Details

Product Link: https://vortexoptics.com/reddots-defender-xl-micro-red-dot+reticle-5~MOA~Dot

Description

“Other red dots are made for competition. The Defender-XL™ is built to win. Target to target. Stage to stage. Designed for toughness, speed, and accuracy, it withstands unexpected drops and the rigors of dynamic shooting. The ultra-wide sight window enhances field of view for quicker target acquisition, faster follow-up shots, and greater flexibility in unconventional shooting positions—all positioning you to dominate every round.”

Specifications

• Magnification: 1x
• Reticle: 5 MOA or 8 MOA
• Adjustment Graduation: 1 MOA
• Parallax Setting: Parallax Free
• Max Windage Adjustment: 115 MOA
• Max Elevation Adjustment: 120 MOA
• Dot Color: Bright Red
• Battery Runtime: 25,000 Hours
• Mounting Footprint: DeltaPoint® Pro
• Mount Type: Picatinny
• Eye Relief: Unlimited
• Length: 2.03"
• Weight: 1.93 oz.

Features

• Window Size: 25.5mm W x 23.3mm H
• Large Hard Coated Aspherical Lens
• Large Distortion Free Sight Picture
• Motion Activation With 10 minute Auto-Shutoff
• Automatically activates with motion while 10 minute auto-shutoff saves battery life
• ShockShield™ Polymer insert absorbs shock to the 7075 aluminum body protecting it for everyday abuse
• Fast-Rack™ Texturing - Aggressive texturing on face of optic for racking slide off any surface
• Top Mount Battery -Easy battery change without having to rezero your optic
• 10 Daylight Bright Brightness Settings
• Parallax Free - All red dot and holographic sights will exhibit some small amount of parallax. Matching current industry practice, this small amount would be considered "parallax free" and will make a negligible difference in performance.
• Unlimited Eye Relief - Non-critical eye relief for rapid target acquisition
• Night-Vision Compatibility - The lowest 2 settings are night-vision compatible.
• Waterproof - O-ring seals prevent moisture, dust and debris from penetrating for reliable performance in all environments.
• Fogproof - Designed to withstand a wide range of temperatures.
• Low-Glare Matte Black Anodized - Corrosion and wear resistant anodization provides low-glare matte surface and helps camouflage the shooter's position.
• Single-Piece Chassis - Compact and lightweight.

MSRP: $599.99

First Impressions

Last December I had the chance to go train with the guys at Vortex Edge - Vortex’s dedicated training facility and service that’s available and open to the public. While I was there, I was introduced to the new pre-production Defender XL. I had pretty recently checked out the Trijicon RMR HD and recently released Holosun 507COMP so I wasn’t entirely surprised that Vortex was set to unveil their own offering. While I’m not a huge fan of its appearance, the Defender Fast-Rack texturing that’s on the XL makes sense in a world where clearing malfunctions with sweaty hands is a common occurrence.

The Defender XL is the tallest of all the big window optics I’ve checked out so far, and this is a nice feature as it allows your eye to recapture the dot much earlier in your firing cadence than other dots. The Defender XL does lose a few points, however, for being a bit chunky. The bezel and or frame surrounding the optic is quite thick in comparison to my 507COMP which has a nice slim 0.10” thick sidewall at its thinnest point versus the XL’s beefier 0.12” thick sidewalls. The COMP is also slightly slimmer by about 0.05” than the XL as well but still fits in my standard Safariland ALS holster without issue. Given how big the window is and that the extra thickness probably contributes to more durability, I’ll give this slight “beefiness” a pass.

Windage and elevation adjustments are nice and clicky and are in 1 MOA adjustments, perfect for the shooter only expecting to engage targets within the confines of a USPSA shooting stage. Similarly, the brightness adjustments are tandem mounted on either side of the optic and are very tactile making it easy to make quick adjustments even with gloves on. With everything that comes in the box, its feature set, and first-impression build quality so far I am in disagreement with the optic’s MSRP of $600. However, the actualized price you’ll probably end up paying for one of these is much closer to $370, rather than $600 meaning the 507COMP and Defender XL are basically the same price but offer slightly different features.

I found the optic to have a very good range of adjustability with the dot getting bright enough to show up even against brightly lit targets, and with increments that don’t exacerbate my astigmatism. The glass clarity is great and for the most part, is glare-free. However, when the sun is almost directly overhead, part of the interior can reflect a reddish color on the inside of the lens. This isn’t enough to fool you into thinking it's a duplicate dot like with some optics, but it does add a bit of clutter to an otherwise pristine almost tint-free optic window.

Of course, probably second only to the size of the optic’s window is its durability - how has it held up for the last 6 months? I shoot my Glock 45 MOS quite often - even if it's not for review purposes. Over the last couple of months, I’ve put probably 1,500-2,000 rounds of standard 115-grain or 124-grain 9mm ammunition through the Glock/Defender XL combo. The optic has not shown any signs of malfunctioning or early battery death (the 10-minute auto-off function helps a lot with that). Also during this time, the hardware hasn’t shown any signs of loosening as indicated by my witness marks, nor have the brightness adjustment buttons started to get a mushy or loose feeling.

The optic window on the XL sits much further back than the Trijicon SRO or RMR HD but still has a small roughly 0.15” shelf that helps deflect gas in pistols where the optic sits closer to the ejection port. I’ve never encountered any issues with the optic window getting fouled from shooting, but this could be largely due to how far back the optic sits from the ejection port. This is a feature that the 507COMP lacks and also has trouble with on the pistol it's mounted to right now - the Stacatto C. All in all, the optic works, is reliable, and has a gigantic window that’s perfect for quickly reacquiring that pesky bouncing red dot.

Final Thoughts

I haven’t subjected the Defender XL to an Arron Cowan-style bashing, but I figure the primary thing we’re looking for here is that the optic operates, is pleasant to use and shoot through, and makes sense for our intended application. I was curious to see what other people who shoot a lot thought about this optic. Ben Stoger seems to have a pretty favorable view of the Defender XL. I think he said it best in that we should expect dots to “just work” these days. Vortex has managed to do that, at least with the handful of examples I’ve seen from myself and other shooters around the web.

In comparison, the 507COMP might be a better recommendation for someone who wants the flexibility of multiple reticle options in a package that is ever so slightly more compact but still features a big window. The Defender XL is a much better fit for someone who just needs a dot, and an affordable, durable, no-nonsense big window pistol dot. It might not be as flashy and high-tech as the new Trijicon RMR HD, or as affordable as Swampfox’s big window offering, but it does strike that perfect balance that big window pistol red dots like the Defender XL are aiming for. In short, I like the optic and I think I’ll probably keep it on the Glock 45 MOS at least until the end of the year. I’ll be Interested to hear your thoughts on this one. What do you guys value most in the recent trend of big window pistol-mounted red dot optics?

Pros and Cons - Vortex Defender XL

• Priced reasonably at an average asking price of $370
• Big Window
• Virtually tint-free glass
• Responsive and tactile windage, elevation, and brightness adjustments
• Gas deflection shelf
• Neat novel quick-release battery tray design
• Lots of extras!
• Vortex’s USA-based, lifetime VIP warranty

• The optic frame and bezel are pretty thick and bulky
• Optic Length is comparable to the SRO and RMR HD meaning it could induce malfunctions in some firearms where there is ejection port overhang
• Some glare when in direct overhead sunlight or bright range lighting
• No extra reticle options