Vortex has really become one of my favorite optics companies in recent years…
I love the high-quality levels they put into their optics, and they’ve got a lot of sights you can choose from (many of them being budget-friendly)…
One of their most popular options right now is the Vortex SPARC red dot, which stands for “Speed Point Aiming for Rapid Combat”, and it comes in 2 models…
- The Vortex SPARC AR (See Price On Amazon – Over 350 Reviews!)
- The Vortex SPARC 2 (See Price On Amazon – Over 800 Reviews!)
Now don’t let the names fool you because these 2 sights have some pretty significant differences, and in this Vortex SPARC Vs SPARC 2 comparison…
…we’re going to see how they stack 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 sights I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which one will work best for you…
Let’s begin!
Durability And Toughness…
Vortex SPARC AR
The Vortex SPARC AR is a very durable micro red dot. To start off with, the sight housing is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and it has an anodized finish which helps protect the site from the elements.
In addition to that, the windage and elevation knobs are protected by raised portions of the sight housing, and it’s unlikely that they’ll be snapped off accidentally.
The SPARC AR also comes with a rubber cover that gives added protection to the body of the optic, and it’s a fog proof and waterproof sight, so you won’t have any problems using it in rainy, wet, or snowy conditions.
Last, it’s also shockproof and can easily handle the recoil from an AR-15, which is the rifle this optic is designed to be used with. All in all, I think it’s a pretty tough little optic.
Vortex SPARC 2
The Vortex SPARC 2 is also a very durable optic. Just as with the SPARC AR, the sight housing is made of aircraft-grade aluminum and it has an anodized finish to help protect it from the elements.
Also just like with the SPARC AR, the sight housing is built up around the windage and elevation turrets protecting them from being snapped off accidentally.
It’s also fog proof and waterproof, so it can be used without problems in the rain or snow, and it’s shockproof too…
…So it can easily handle the recoil from high powered rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines.
Durability And Toughness Conclusions…
Both of these sights are made by Vortex Optics, and they’re both versions of the SPARC red dot sight… So naturally, they’re going to have a lot in common when it comes to the way that they’re built.
That being said, they’re both made from the same tough materials, and they’re both waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof… So in this category, we really do have to call it a draw.
Winner: DRAW
Lens Clarity And Reticle…
Vortex SPARC AR
The lens clarity on the SPARC AR is very good. When you look through the optic, the lens is very clear and there’s no annoying bluish or greenish tint (which is something you find with some other red dot sights).
Because of that, it’s very easy to get a clear and clean sight picture through the optic. Now, the reticle on the SPARC AR is a 2 MOA (Minute Of Angle) dot.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the 2 MOA dot reticle on red dot sights. I like it because the 2 MOA dot is very easy for your eye to quickly pick it up when you aim at large targets up close…
…but at the same time, it’s small enough to give you precision when you really need to bear down at small targets in the distance.
It really is a great choice and I’m glad Vortex decided to go with a 2 MOA dot over a larger reticle like a 4 MOA or 6 MOA dot.
Vortex SPARC 2
The lens clarity on the SPARC 2 is also very good. Once again, the lens is very clear and you don’t have any of the annoying bluish or greenish tint.
In addition to that, the reticle is also a 2 MOA dot which, as I mentioned before, is a great choice for a micro red dot sight because it’s simple, fast, and precise.
Lens Clarity And Reticle Conclusions…
Once again we have a very close call because these two sights are very similar. Both of them have an extremely clear lens and give you a clean sight picture…
And both of them I have a 2 MOA Dot reticle which, again, I think is a great choice by Vortex. I really have no other option than to call it a draw once again in this category (don’t worry, we’ll be getting to the significant differences soon!).
Winner: DRAW
Battery Life And Brightness Settings…
Vortex SPARC AR
The SPARC AR uses a single AAA battery which is able to power the sight for 300 hours on the maximum brightness setting and 5,000 hours on the minimum brightness setting.
I would prefer that battery life to be longer, but I do feel that it’s adequate for a sight in this price range…
Also, to help save you some of that battery life, Vortex includes an automatic shut off feature on this sight.
It will automatically turn off after 12 hours of non-use, and I think that’ll come in handy if you ever forget to manually turn your sight off.
Now, with the SPARC AR you get 10 brightness settings… 8 of those settings are for daylight brightness and 2 of them are for use with night vision equipment.
The daylight brightness settings get extremely bright, and your reticle is very easy to see even if you’re shooting on a bright, sunny day.
Also, most people won’t use the 2 night vision settings but some people will take advantage of them, and I like that Vortex includes them at no additional cost.
Vortex SPARC 2
The SPARC 2 uses one CR2032 battery which is able to power the sight for 300 hours on the maximum brightness setting and 6,000 hours on the minimum brightness setting.
Once again, I think that’s adequate for a red dot in this price range, and it’s important to note that you do get a few more hours with the SPARC 2 over the SPARC AR.
Also just like with the SPARC AR, the SPARC 2 has the automatic shut off feature after 12 hours of non-use.
Again, I think that’s a very useful feature, and it’s going to help you extend the life of your battery. The SPARC 2 also has 8 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings…
…and just as with the SPARC AR, the daylight brightness settings get very bright (even during a sunny day), and I like that the 2 night vision settings are included at no additional cost.
Battery Life And Brightness Settings Conclusions…
OK, in this category we have some significant differences between these two sights. First of all, both sights have the same 8 daylight brightness settings and 2 night vision settings…
…but they’re very different when it comes to their batteries. The SPARC AR uses one AAA battery and the SPARC 2 uses one CR2032 battery.
Personally, I prefer the CR2032 battery on the SPARC 2 because it’s smaller, lighter, and less bulky than the AAA battery on the SPARC AR.
In addition to that, you also get a little bit better battery life on the SPARC 2… So for me, the winner in this category is the Vortex SPARC 2.
Winner: Vortex SPARC 2
Extra Accessories That Come With The Optic…
Vortex SPARC AR
The SPARC AR comes with a few pretty cool accessories. First of all, you get a rubber cover that helps give the sight a little bit of added protection.
Included on the cover are two lens caps, and the whole rubber cover is removable if you want to run your optic in a more minimal way.
Also included with the SPARC AR is a mount that gives you 2 height options. Now, to be clear, the Vortex SPARC AR is intended to be used with an AR-15, and the included mount reflects that.
I say this because you can set the mount up for either a lower ⅓ cowitness or an absolute cowitness with back up iron sights on an AR-15.
To get the absolute cowitness you simply remove a shim in the mount, but just be aware, that there is no real way to mount the optic lower than these two heights (because of where the battery is stored for this optic).
So only consider this sight if you intend it to be used on an AR-15.
Vortex SPARC 2
The Vortex SPARC 2 also comes with some accessories that are pretty cool. First of all, it comes with flip up lens covers…
These flip up lens covers are removable if you don’t want to use them, but I really like them because they’re fitted snuggly onto the optic and it’s unlikely that they’ll slip off accidentally.
In addition to that, Vortex includes what they call the “Multi-Height Mount System” with the SPARC 2.
Basically, this means that you get 2 included mounts with the sight, a high mount and a low mount…
The high mount is perfect if you intend to use this sight on an AR-15 because it’s adjustable and can give you either a lower ⅓ cowitness or absolute cowitness with your backup iron sights.
The low mount is great because it allows you to mount the sight on shotguns, AKs, .22 rifles, pistol caliber carbines, and many other firearms platforms.
And because the low mount is also adjustable, you can really dial in exactly where you want your optic mounted.
These 2 adjustable mounts are a very cool inclusion with the SPARC 2 because they make this optic an ideal choice for almost any firearms platform you choose.
Extra Accessories Conclusions…
So both of these sights come with some pretty cool accessories. They both have lens covers that help give you added protection for your optic, but the mounting systems are very different.
The SPARC AR is intended to be used on an AR-15, and it would be very difficult to mount it on something like a shotgun or an AK…
However, the SPARC 2 comes with two mounts that are both adjustable, and it can easily be mounted on an AR-15 or on a variety of other firearms platforms.
So for me, the clear winner in this category is the Vortex SPARC 2.
Winner: Vortex SPARC 2
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to give you exact numbers in this category because the prices of these sights are changing all the time.
That being said, you’ll probably find the SPARC AR at a lower price that the SPARC 2…
Typically, you’ll see that the SPARC 2 is 50 to 70 bucks more than the SPARC AR… So, the winner in this category has to be the SPARC AR.
Winner: Vortex SPARC AR
Vortex Sparc Vs Sparc 2 – Conclusions…
So to sum it all up, here’s how these two red dots matched up in the individual categories…
In the Durability And Toughness category, we had to call it a draw because these sights are so similar in the way that they’re built.
Next, in the Lens Clarity And Reticle category, we also had to call it a draw, again, because of similarities in these two optics.
In the Battery Life And Brightness Settings category, I gave the win to the SPARC 2 because the battery life was a little bit better and because it uses a CR2032 battery rather than a AAA battery.
In the Extra Accessories category, I also gave the win to the SPARC 2 because it has 2 mounts (rather than just 1) and can be mounted on a variety of firearms platforms.
Last, in the Price Comparison I gave the win to the SPARC AR.
So which of these sights do I prefer? I prefer the Vortex SPARC 2.
I prefer the Vortex SPARC 2 because it has a little bit better battery life than the SPARC AR and because it uses a CR2032 battery which is lighter and less bulky than a AAA battery.
I also like that it comes with a high mount and a low mount, so you’re not only limited to mounting it on just an AR-15.
(Again the low mount is great if you want to mount your optic on a shotgun, an AK, a Pistol Caliber Carbine, and many other firearms platforms)
Now if you like using AAA batteries because they’re a little more common than CR2032 batteries, AND you intend to mount your optic on an AR-15…
…then I think the SPARC AR is a great option for you 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 awesome red dot sights from Vortex Optics.