scrlck from United States, VA Public Profile

Wider than normal, in terms of front to back measurement, which is very nice allowing for plenty of surface to stake the castle nut.
Super lightweight.
Greatly prefer the gray color because it is easier to glance and see the QD mount, whereas a black end plate is harder to see to insert the QD swivel.

Cons:
Fisheye effect viewing at all magnifications, 1x to 6x.
Very small eyebox at 1x, but 6x is incredibly tiny.
Eye relief is ok, but certainly not good.
Glass not clear all the way around the lens at any magnification.
Glass color distortions/prism affect on objects in view.

Pros:
Feels solid in the hand like it was built for frequent use.
Build quality on the outside seems good.

This is my first LPVO and I was expecting optics performance at least on par with other older similar priced scopes.

Every other scope listed below is superior to this one.
(years are approximate)
Redfield 3x9 Tracker 1990, 4x12 2005, 3x9 2015
Nikon Prostaff 3x9 2009
Simmons 3x9 2002

Seriously, what am I missing? Why all this hype for this Vortex SE LPVO?
None of my other scopes are illuminated nor go below 3x. So that is the one thing that the Vortex SE has going for it.

Have several of these and the grip angle and diameter are great for my size XL hands.
Fits into position without major gaps on Anderson and Aero Precision lowers.
Storage compartment door locks up tight.
Texture is great on fingers, palm and heal of hand (i.e. front, side and rear of grip).
Thumb shelf/rest present but very subtle.
Fits very tightly.

Amazing innovation with the roll-pin replacement (screw-in-pin)!
Will always use these from now on.
Low profile handguard fits over this and does not touch this gas block once barrel nut is tight.
Well made with no sloppy machining or coatings.

Misc:
I was going to try the adjustable version of this gas block but got scared away by some of the comments about that one (i.e. no way to tighten adjustment screws without loctite...)
But now that I've tried this non-adjustable KVP gas block I plan to try the adjustable gas block version anyway.

Pros:
More verticle grip angle is nice, better than stock AR15.
Storage compartment door is sturdy; won't pop open by accident.
Pleasantly smaller around than I expected, being used to Magpul MOE-K2.
Fits correctly on Anderson lower with no gaps.
Solid plastic; no sticky rubber.
Thumb "shelf" present but very subtle.

Cons:
I'll let you know if I find any.

Misc:
I thought I had large hands with long fingers (size XL gloves) but this grip feels comfortable even though it is smaller around than Magpul MOE-K2 (which I also very much like).

Very useful for smithing in general and specifcally for ar work. The hammer heads (brass, rubber, plastic) have become warn through regular use and need replacing. Very much like having the plastic head for certain jobs to prevent scratching/denting of the softer-type metal parts or plastic parts (frequently present on pistols these days). The brass head is soft too, as expected.

Needed a better handguard than the factory handguard, but the ar had a normal height (i.e. NOT low profile) gas block so a long handguard will not slide over the top of this gas block.
This handguard fit perfectly behind the gas block and provided the needed mounting points and hand holds.
This handguard would also be useful if you had a quick-adjust gas block that needed to be finger accessible.

I put ambi-safeties on all my ARs, but definitely prefer a metal safety over the plastic ones. This one is metal, as I recall.

Prefer this over all other ar-15 stocks, because the buttplate is the tallest you can buy, allowing the rifle to be mounted higher on the shoulder. This is only important for tall people, or people with a long neck. The buttplate extension does not feel flimsy, but I'm sure if you smashed it against a rock it would break off.

Used this on older, but not old, muzzleloader that was well used. Rifling in barrel starting to show signs of wear and a little rust. Took several shots of this and barrel brushes to clean it, but it worked.