Reviews & Ratings for Athlon Optics Helos BTR Gen II 2-12x42mm 30mm Tube Rifle Scope, First Focal Plane — 38 reviews — Page 1

Highly recommend!!! Good glass and very well made!!! Definitely recommend it!!!

Excellent optic for the money. Perfect for my 12.5 6mm ARC SBR to reach longer distances. And with enough illumination on the reticle at low magnification for short distances.

If you’re looking for something in 2-10 / 2-12 zoom without breaking the bank, this one is it. And if you wait for a promo, holiday or coupon code, you got yourself a great deal. It has great glass, zoom tension is set just right, weight is just right, turrets seem pretty solid and I love the Christmas tree reticle.

Cons: I don’t love the elevation numbers inside the reticle, especially when it’s illuminated, it just seems way too big and way too bright and a bit distracting. I do wish it had a diopter locking ring, but it’s not a huge deal breaker. The turret knobs are also very beefy compared to the rest of the scope, so if you’re attaching an acro like dot directly to a mount at the 12 o’clock, it won’t work because it’ll be blocked by the elevation turret. You’d be better off getting a little higher and utilizing a larger dot like a T1/2 on a pic attachment. This isn’t a required feature to make the scope better or worse, but it came with a plastic (like) throw lever. Initially it feels pretty sturdy, but It doesn’t feel like it’ll hold up with rigorous or tough abuse, but only time will tell.

With all of that being said, for around $450 bucks, I’d totally buy another and recommend this. I’d like to see Athlon come out with this same scope but in a 34mm tube.

ThIs optic is a great balance between magnification and weight. Paired with clear glass and a great reticle that can be used through all magnification. I would recommend this for all applications from hunting to just going out and shooting on the weekends.

Great scope. Purchased for an SPR build. Cannot recommend it enough. Accurate, and easy to use.

Literally everything about this scope is flawless, except the illumination ring. It has been all but impossible to turn, and I have very strong finger strength. I tried to express my concerns to Athlon, and the email response was "twist on it a bunch, it'll loosen up". How about owning up to a bad product, and fixing it? I'm so sick of lazy people.

So the glass clarity falls off around 800 ish or if you have bad lighting but for the money it provides an excellent picture and usability for a 5.56 long range rifle. Struggles at the 1000 a bit but at that range it’s not generally the thing that makes you miss.

Compact & solid turrets. What more could you ask for? Some CA at 12x but not bad. No other scope in this price point can compare from my research. Illumination knob is stiff, but the buttery zoom dial makes up for it.

Solid scope have yet to take it out beyond 200 yards but it's easy to get behind and feels good to shoot.

When mounting it I used a plumb bob and spirit level and had some issues finding a level surface on the scope cap so was initially worried that the reticle might have been canted (as they didn't line up). Turns out the turret cap didn't have a level surface, ran a tall target test and it seemed to be fine.

It's a bit heavy which is not a surprise but something to keep in mind.

Recent releases (bought mine in 2025) seems to come with more 'goodies' and if you're didn't come with sunshade, flip caps, and throw lever you may want to reach out to Athlon customer service they were responsive and quick to provide a solution for me when I tried to install the throw lever and stripped the screws.

Unfortunately I drew the short stick in terms of quality control, while the optic looks very nice, the battery door was cross threaded from the factory and needed to be sent back to Athlon.