Aimpoint and Trijicon are two of the most trusted names in optics…
They both produce extremely high-quality sights, and they’re both used by law enforcement and military units…
Two of their most popular models are:
- The Aimpoint T2 (Check Price On Amazon – Over 85 Reviews)
- The Trijicon MRO (Check Price On Amazon – Over 341 Reviews)
And in this Aimpoint T2 Vs Trijicon MRO comparison, we’re going to put these two sights up against each other in the following categories…
- Toughness And Durability
- Lens Clarity And Reticle
- Battery Life And Brightness Settings
- Extra Accessories Included With The Sight
- Price Comparison
In the end, I’ll tell you which of these two optics I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which sight will work best for you…
Let’s get started!
Durability And Toughness…
Aimpoint T2
Aimpoint has a reputation for creating some of the toughest optics on the planet, and the Aimpoint Micro T2 definitely lives up to those standards…
To start off with, the sight housing is made from a tough aluminum alloy, and it’s hard anodized to help protect the optic from the elements.
In addition to that, the sight housing is built-up over the windage and elevation turrets, which is important because it helps prevent them from accidentally getting snapped off under hard use.
The T2 is also submersible in up to 15 feet of water, which means it can handle rainy, snowy, or wet conditions without having any problems at all…
…and last, it can easily handle the recoil from high-powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines. All in all, it’s a very rugged micro red dot sight.
Trijicon MRO
Just like Aimpoint, Trijicon is known for making some of the toughest optics available right now. They’ve actually supplied the U.S. military with ACOGs for many years…
…and they put the same standards for durability into the Trijicon MRO (which stands for Miniature Rifle Optic – their version of a micro red dot sight).
Now the sight housing on the MRO is made from forged 7075-T6 aluminum, and it has a hard anodized finish to help protect it from the elements.
In addition to that, the windage and elevation turrets are actually recessed into the sight housing, so there’s no way they can get snapped off accidentally.
The MRO is also waterproof in up to 100 feet (30 meters) of water. So you could actually take it SCUBA diving with you if you wanted, and it can easily handle rain or snow.
Last, just as with the Aimpoint T2, the MRO can handle the recoil from shotguns, high-powered rifles, and pistol caliber carbines without any problems, and it really is built like a tank.
Durability And Toughness Conclusions…
As I mentioned before, both Aimpoint and Trijicon are known for making incredibly durable optics, so this is going to be a pretty close match up…
Both the T2 and the MRO are made from super tough aluminum, and both can easily handle the recoil from practically any rifle you could mount them on…
That being said, the Aimpoint T2 is submersible in up to 15 feet of water, whereas the Trijicon MRO is submersible in up to 100 feet…
So because of that, I’m going to give the edge to the Trijicon MRO in this category.
Winner: Trijicon MRO
Lens Clarity And Reticle…
Aimpoint T2
The lens clarity on the Aimpoint T2 is very good. The lens is very clear without any annoying bluish or greenish tint (which you get with some red dot sights)…
…and you’re able to get a very clean sight picture when looking through the optic.
The reticle on the T2 is a simple 2 MOA (minute of angle) red dot. I think the 2 MOA dot is a great choice of reticle for a red dot sight.
The reason why I like it is because the 2 MOA dot is very easy for your eye to pick up quickly (when you need to take aim quickly)…
…but at the same time, it’s small enough to give you precision when aiming at smaller targets in the distance.
It really is a simple reticle that’s just fast and precise, and I’m glad that Aimpoint decided to go with a small 2 MOA dot reticle over something larger like a 4 or 6 MOA dot (which I think cover up too much of your target).
Trijicon MRO
The lens clarity on the Trijicon MRO is fairly good. You do notice a distinctive blue tint when looking through the optic…
Trijicon says that this blue tint gives you greater contrast when looking through the sight, which there is a little bit of truth to…
…but personally I would prefer to have a more clear lens like you get with the Aimpoint. That all being said, the blue tint isn’t too distracting and I don’t think it’s a deal breaker.
On a more positive note, the MRO has a 25mm objective lens which is HUGE for a micro red dot sight. This is a great thing because it gives you a greater field of view when looking through the optic…
…and being able to see more allows you to shoot at multiple targets faster and to have greater awareness of what’s going on around you and your target.
Now just like the Aimpoint T2, the Trijicon MRO has a 2 MOA dot reticle. Like I said before, I think this is a great choice because it’s simple, fast, and precise.
Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…
This is a really tough category to compare these two optics in… For one, the Aimpoint T2 has a very clear lens, and the Trijicon MRO has a slight blue tint…
But the MRO also has a huge field of view because of it’s 25mm objective lens. Now they both have a 2 MOA dot reticle (which I think is a great choice), so that doesn’t really factor in…
I’m tempted to call it a draw because the MRO’s lens tint isn’t that distracting and I really like that large objective lens.
But I’m going to give the slight win to the Aimpoint T2 because it definitely has a more clear lens.
Winner: Aimpoint T2
Battery Life And Brightness Settings…
Aimpoint T2
The battery life on the Aimpoint T2 is very good. It uses 1 CR2032 battery which can power the sight for 5 years.
I really like ultra long battery life like this on my red dot sights because it means you can keep your sight turned on all the time…
This is important because if you ever have to grab your rifle in an emergency, you don’t want to be stuck fiddling around with the buttons on your optic just to get it turned on…
You want it on and ready to go, so you can focus on dealing with the threat. In addition to that, I’ve actually had red dot batteries die on me in the middle of trips to the range, and it really is annoying.
When your optic has really long battery life, as long as you swap out your battery once a year, you can keep your sight turned on all the time and never have to worry about it dying on you.
Now the T2 has a total of 8 daylight brightness settings and 4 night vision settings. The daylight brightness settings get very bright, and you shouldn’t have any problems seeing the reticle even on a sunny day.
Most people won’t use the night vision settings, but some people will take advantage of them, and I like that they’re included in this Aimpoint model.
Trijicon MRO
The battery life on the Trijicon MRO is also very good. It also uses 1 CR2032 battery that powers the sight for 5 years (when on daylight setting 3).
Like I mentioned earlier, I really like ultra long battery life like this because you can keep your sight turned on all the time and ready to go.
Now with the MRO you get a total of 8 settings… 5 daylight brightness settings, 2 night vision settings, and 1 extra bright setting.
Just as with the Aimpoint T2, the daylight settings get extremely bright, and you shouldn’t have any problems with the reticle washing out on you.
You do have the extra bright setting if the lighting conditions get really extreme, but you’ll probably never have to use it.
Last, you also have those 2 night vision settings, which again, most people won’t use, but Trijicon includes them at no additional cost, so I think it’s nice to have them.
Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…
Ok, so in this category both sights use 1 CR2032 battery which lasts for 5 years… Long battery life on a red dot sight is pretty much a requirement for me, so I like that they both have that as a feature.
They also both have daylight brightness settings that get very bright and night vision settings… I don’t see much that separates these two sights in this category. So I’m gonna call this one a draw.
Winner: DRAW
Extra Accessories Included With The Optic…
Aimpoint T2
The Aimpoint T2 comes with flip-up lens covers. The lens covers are actually a bit unique too because the front lens cover is blacked-out but the rear lens cover is clear (so you can see through it)…
At first, this might seem silly, but there is an actual purpose behind it because in an emergency you can still see the reticle and take aim through the optic.
All you have to do is keep both eyes open, and when you aim, the red dot will be superimposed on your target even though your front lens cover is blacked out.
Again, this isn’t a method for aiming that you’d want to use all the time (even though there were some old optics that functioned this way), but if you had to make a quick shot up close, it could get the job done.
Now in addition to that, you can purchase the Micro T2 with no mount, a high mount, or a low mount, and the cost increases if you choose to get one of those included mounts.
The high mount is perfect for use on an AR-15, and the low mount will pair nicely with a shotgun, an AK, and many other firearms platforms.
And if you choose to get the sight with no mount, there are a number of aftermarket mounts specifically made for the Micro T2.
Trijicon MRO
The Trijicon MRO can come with no mount, an absolute co witness mount, a lower ⅓ co witness mount, or a low mount…
And just as with the Micro T2, the cost increases if you choose to get one of the mounts included with your optic.
Now as I mentioned, there are two high mounts you can choose between… an absolute co witness mount or a lower ⅓ co witness mount…
Either one will work great on an AR-15, but I personally like to go with an absolute co witness if I have the choice between the two.
Also, just like with the Micro T2, the low mount will fit nicely on an AK, a shotgun, or any firearm that requires you to mount your sight low.
Last, the Trijicon MRO has a ton of aftermarket mount options as well. So if you choose to get the sight with no mount, you’ll be able to choose between a variety of high quality mounts including QD (Quick Detach) mounts.
Extra Accessories Conclusions…
I think these two sights are pretty evenly matched in this category. Both can be purchased at their lowest price with no mount, and both will cost you more if you get the optic with a high mount or a low mount included.
The good thing is that if you choose to get either sight with an included mount, the mount will be high-quality, which isn’t always the case with included optics mounts…
All that being said, the Aimpoint T2 comes with flip up lens covers and the MRO does not. So because of that, I’m going to give the slight edge to the Aimpoint T2 in this category.
Winner: Aimpoint T2
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time…
That being said, even though these are both considered premium red dot sights, there is a significant difference…
You’ll usually find the Trijicon MRO for around 300-400 dollars less expensive than the Aimpoint Micro T2. So the clear winner in this category is the Trijicon MRO
Winner: Trijicon MRO
Aimpoint T2 vs Trijicon MRO – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, in the Durability and Toughness category the Trijicon MRO took the slight edge because it was much more waterproof than the Aimpoint T2…
In the Lens Clarity and Reticle category, I gave the win to the Aimpoint T2 because it has a more clear lens.
In the Battery Life and Brightness Settings, I called it a draw because both sights have very long battery life and similar brightness features.
In the Extra Accessories category, I gave the slight edge to the Aimpoint T2 because it comes with flip-up lens covers.
And last in the Price Comparison, the clear winner was the Trijicon MRO.
So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Trijicon MRO…
I prefer the Trijicon MRO for many reasons… First of all, the MRO is built like a tank but still a very small and compact optic.
Even though I wish the lens had less of a blue tint, I don’t find it too distracting and you’re still able to get a very clean sight picture.
It also has that large 25mm objective lens, which I really like because I can see more through the sight, and last…
The MRO is a lot less expensive than the Aimpoint T2 (so you’ll end up saving a lot of money).
Now, if you want a super clear lens and an even more compact optic (that’s still very durable), then go with the Aimpoint T2 because it’s still a great red dot…
Either way, I hope this comparison was able to show you the major differences between these two premium red dot sights!