Lucid HD-7 Red Dot : First look

We were fortunate enough to recently acquire an interesting fixed power red dot optic, the Lucid HD-7. Now as we all know the market for any sort of red dot style optics is extremely crowded and has over two dozen major brands and models to wade through when searching for one. Lucid was a company that I had never really looked into until recently, and that was because I was told that someone wanted an easy to use and see red dot on her AR-15. So the search began and we looked at all of the traditional major players in the optics market. We looked at the old favorites, Leupold, Aimpoint, Trijicon, Vortex and then we noticed the Ludic HD-7 in the cabinet.

When we first started looking for an optic we set ourselves a budget of under $200.00, that isn’t a lot of money but it gave us a manageable number and limited our choices. This was actually a designed part of the process and made the hunt for an optic fun. The first thing we noticed about the Lucid HD-7 is that it is not a light optic in any sense of the word. The HD-7 came in at 13 ounces, but does include an built it twin screw mount. The outside of this particular optic features a nice rubberized black protective coating, but it is also available in Desert Tan as well.

There are features to this generation of Lucid HD-7 that were not on earlier models, this is the Gen III configuration. The earlier models of this optic were well received by most people in the shooting community in spite of their heavier than average weight. In order to get a complete look at the features that Lucid packed into this red dot lets take a look at the breakdown.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Manufacturer: Lucid

Model: HD-7 Generation III

Objective Lens Size: 34mm

Ocular Lens Diameter: 20mm

Weight: 13 Ounces

Case Material: 6063 Aluminum (One Piece, no seams)

Battery: One size AAA (Not included)

Available Colors: Black or Tan

Reticles:

Single Dot (Aimpoint Style)
Single Dot with Circle (Eotech Style)
Dot with Bar-T
Triangle with dots (ACOG Style)

Other Features:

Shockproof (Tested to .458 SOCOM)
Waterproof
Lifetime Warranty
Manual & Automatic Operation Modes
Available Kill Flash
Seven Brightness Settings.

As I mentioned this is the Generation III of the Lucid HD-7 and some of the changes from the first generation to this current third generation were as a result of user input. The Gen III features covered adjustment caps where the original incarnation of this optic featured exposed turrets. The major change to the scope was when Lucid decided to change the variations of the available reticles. I think with this Gen III model Lucid really thought about their clients and what they wanted and adjusted accordingly. The fact they decided to copy the reticle patterns of much more expensive optics and still offer a lifetime warranty on a sub $200 optic is a fantastic deal for users. It could also help the sales of the other companies in a strange way.

Say for instance a shooter knows they like the Eotech style reticle and wants to try an ACOG style without the risk of spending $1000 on an optic they can’t shoot well. The fact that they can try it out on their rifle and switch back to a different more familiar reticle without losing their zero is a nice feature. If the person finds they like the ACOG style in this scenario then they know they can save up and purchase one later. The four reticle options also allow a shooter to just change reticles based on their preference for that particular range session or competition. It may seem trivial to some but to some of us we think its a great feature that consumers also seem to enjoy. All these features at a sub $200 price point is pretty impressive.

Mounting the optic to a standard 1913 style rail that seem to be on every military style sporting rifle is easy. If you have installed one optic with that type of mounting system you can install any of them. The one interesting thing about the Lucid HD-7 is that you can also turn the screw around and make them fact the opposite direction. So if you want the mounting nuts on the side of the rifle opposite from the ejection port you can make it happen. I don’t know of any other optics that currently have that feature, if I am wrong I expect our readers will let me know very shortly. It may not be unique to the HD-7 but I think it is handy.

The HD-7 can be operated in both manual and automatic modes, if you chose to manually adjust the brightness of you optic there are seven settings that you can choose from. The cleanly laid out control panel on the left side of the optic features an on/off button as up and down illumination control. The controls are located just being the AAA battery compartment that lies under the objective lens. A final feature that Lucid incorporated into the HD-& Generation II is the availability of the kill flash accessory. The incorporation of this accessory was a constant request from user groups who fielded the optic.

In closing I will say that this red dot isn’t light, but it also isn’t expensive in relation to other optics on the market. If weight isn’t a huge concern for you but a lifetime warranty, great craftsmanship, and a easy to stomach price point is, then this is one optic you should look at. I plan on letting my wife run this on her Smith & Wesson 15/22 and on her Spikes Tactical AR15 and see which one she likes it better on. If you shop around you maybe able to find one on sale or part of a “Black Friday” sale but I would just check Primary Arms of Texas, they sell the HD-7 for $189.00 all day long. We intend to run this optic threw the Alaska winter if it ever arrives, it was +43 today and we have no snow left. While I am not complaining about no snow yet it does put a damper on winter testing of guns and gear.

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