Introduction
2 years ago, Blaser presented their first-ever red dot sight at IWA – RD17. Blaser delved into the world of optics unexpectedly, reaching for the topmost level of quality immediately. Pricewise, RD17 has been a direct competitor of Aimpoint’s popular H-2 model.
Now in 2020, Blaser has decided that RD17 needs an upgrade. A few days ago we were informed of the release of the new model, RD20.
New features
First, let us point out the upgrades that RD20 brings along. The window size has been increased from 20 mm to 36 mm, providing a wider field of view. The new model only has 3.5 mm of material surrounding the lens.
The old model came with a removable, QD-mount designed for the Blaser platform. There was an Aimpoint Micro footprint underneath it, allowing the user to mount the dot on other platforms as well (there are many Aimpoint Micro adapters on the market). RD20 comes with an integrated mount for the Blaser platform, meaning that you can use it on Blaser rifles exclusively. It looks more elegant and sits lower on the rifle. We hope that Blaser is going to launch RD20 with an integrated mount for the Picatinny platform as well.
RD17 had exposed but capped turrets for the elevation and windage adjustments. On RD20, the elevation is set with an adjustment screw that is flush with the housing, while the windage compartment, a bit bigger, is located just above the mounting platform of the device on the right side. We can assume that its outmost part is a cap that covers a windage adjustment screw similarly sized to the one used for elevation adjustment. One click moves the POI for 1 cm at 50 m.
The new model has 30 illumination intensity settings, a huge upgrade from the previous model that had only 10 levels of intensity. The buttons for switching between levels are smaller on RD 20.
At 195 grams, RD20 is almost 50 grams lighter than its predecessor.
The change in design is quite evident – RD20 is an all-new device, entirely.
General features
Some features of RD20 were already available on RD17. The first one is IIC (Intelligent Illumination Control), a battery-saving feature – if the rifle is turned upwards or downwards, the dot is turned off automatically. Furthermore, the illumination powers off automatically after 6 hours of inactivity. Both red dot sights require a CR2032 battery to run. The battery life is up to 50.000 hours.
The dot size is 2 MOA, covering around 6 centimeters at 100 m. The dot can operate in extreme temperatures such as –25 °C and 50 °C.
Conclusion
The dot is expected to retail for around 850 €. This article will be updated as soon as we get the red dot sight in stock and check it out/put it to the test.
Picture gallery
