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Primary Arms 5x MicroPrism
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- Reticle
- Battery Life
- Brightness Setting
- Price/Value
4.1/5Overall Score
Specs
- Weight: 8.5 OZ
- Magnification: 5X
- Eye Relief: 2.70 in
- Battery: CR2032
Pros
- 5x Magnification
- Small and Lite Package
Cons
- Eye Relief can be dicey
You might have heard of Primary Arms 5x Prism scopes, they are pretty awesome but have you put your paws on the MicroPrism scopes?
Well, I’m a big of the MicroPrism scopes they come in three flavors: 1x Micro Prism, 3x MicroPrism and now 5x MicroPrism. Since I have the first two powers of MicroPrism, I had to finish out the collection!
First Impression
Many may overlook the first impression of any product but not I. I think it’s part of the experience of buying and owning anything. There’s a reason people puts lots of time and effort into delivery and presentation.
I’ve also been a big fan of how Primary Arms takes the time and effort to package their optics.
Opening the Box
Opening the box, I got that familiar manual and microfiber cloth. Can you ever have too many microfiber cloths?
Once you move those, you are treated with the specifically gun foam, and each component is wrapped individually in plastic.
I went ahead and removed everything from the plastic wrapping and laid it out so you can visually see everything the prism comes with.
The Micro Prism
The most important part of this equation is the Primary Arms 5x MicroPrism. First thing, it’s a bit longer than the 1x and 3x, which is expected to get the increased magnification.
With the longer body, it has a little more weight to it but overall, it is still not very heavy.
Time to dive in feature by feature!
Primary Arms 5x MicroPrism Features
Much like any good optic, the micro prism 5X has to be packed with features to be a contender for your latest gun or build.
So let us dive into each feature and control of the MicroPrism, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Materials
While none of the optic specifications include the materials this prism optic is made of it’s clearly a quality aluminum. The 5X micro prism appears to have the same metal as the 1X and the 3X.
The glass looks clear and the mounts feel very solid. They use the same risers screw caps as the others as well.
If you’re not familiar with those, they are very good.
Weight
The weight of the 5X micro prism is right at 8.5 ounces which is pretty good to get a 5X magnification.
The 1X micro prism comes in at 5.5 ounces, so there’s only a 42% increase in weight, and while that percentage seems big when you’re talking about ounces, it’s really not that much.
I think for the amount of magnification that much weight gain is pretty good. You’re not even going up half, and you’re taking the magnification from 1X to 5X, so you’re getting 4X more magnification for 3 ounces.
Reticle
You have to keep your eye on Primary Arms because they’re always releasing new reticles for these types of optics.
Right now, they are shipping the 5X micro prism with the Aurora ACSS-556 reticle. I really like these radicals because they’re etched.
If you’re unfamiliar with it, the whole selling point of the prism is the etched reticle.
The etched reticle allows you to always have a reticle no matter what, so if the battery dies, the reticle is still there, but there’s no illumination.
If you have astigmatism, these reticles are fantastic because you can see them and they’re not blurry.
They’re very crisp and clear, and that’s really the biggest selling point for the reticle to me.
the other big benefit for me is the actual reticle design I love Chevron, which was made famous but the ACOG style scopes and has always been my favorite.
With this aurora reticle, you get the Chevron, you get the windage and elevation markers, so it’s really a great reticle.
The other nice thing is that the reticle illumination is just the Chevron, so you don’t have a lot of distraction when you do have the illumination on.
Dot Adjustment
Dot adjustment is very easy and very dummy-proof if you will.
I like the fact that they put the click MOA value on the turret I also like that the turrets are recessed and don’t require caps.
They also label them well so you have an “UP” indication for your elevation and then you have an “R”, right indication on the turret for your windage.
These are very easy to change. All you’ll need is a Phillips head screwdriver, or you can just use a coin or anything rounded that’s somewhat thin and even the size of a quarter would work. (I used a spent 5.56 round, so you don’t have to be fancy)
Power source
The power source is a single CR 2032 battery, and it’s located just underneath the illumination setting dial.
In the past, I’ve had trouble getting these caps off and marked up the surface really badly trying to use the slot with a coin however, this one just screws off I think I might’ve overtightened my previous one, so far this one is good.
Also, I think it’s worth mentioning the dial has been improved a good bit. It has a really solid audible click on each setting and you can go either direction with it so you can go straight through the night vision settings and into the low powers, or you can go straight to the highest elimination setting, the daylight setting.
Durability
In previous assessments, we’ve mentioned that our evaluation process doesn’t include a formal durability test for these optics, so we’re unable to comment definitively on their durability beyond our general experience using them.
The construction of these optics is robust, using high-quality materials, and the micro prism is notably well-crafted. Additionally, the optic boasts an IP67 waterproof rating, indicating a strong resistance to water and dust.
Similar to many optics in the market, this one is also nitrogen-purged, enhancing its resistance to fogging, a common issue in varying environmental conditions.
Sight Picture
One of the most important assessments for any optic is the sight picture and how the eye relief is for any particular model.
The sight picture is surprisingly good. I thought I would really need a riser for this optic, but after using it, some of the eye relief is good even at rail height.
Sighting this in was actually easy. While it was off nearly 9 inches it was easy to get dialed right in. The windage was actually nearly spot one and the elevation was massively off.
After a quick 5-10 minutes of tinkering, I had it pretty dialed in. I did have to walk up the target with groupings but the final grouping allowed me to put 5 in the x ring.
Mounts and Mounting Options
The SLX 5x Micro Prism comes with several different mounting spacers that allow you to get it just how you want it.
Personally, I like the mount it comes on, which is the medium spacer. Some may like the medium spacer, but for eye relief reasons, you may need to opt for the cantilever mounting options.
I also have the Mini Reflex 12 O’Clock mount, which is almost a must for a 5x with no iron sights.
If you want to be able to shoot targets closely, you won’t be able to use the 5x for everything, so the reflex mount gives you the option to add a red dot at the 12 O’clock position on your optic.
Primary Arms 5x MicroPrism Conclusion
All in all, I like what the PA 5x Micro Prism brings to the table. I think it’s a fantastic optic that has a slew of useful features.
I don’t think this is for every application. For example, if you want to build a CQB gun or a short barrel rifle, I don’t think this fits as well.
This is the perfect compromise between an LPVO and a red dot for a 16″ 5.56 rifle or intermediate rifle.
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