Not what i expected(good and bad) - Steiner T432 Reticle 5.56 Cal Battle Sights

3.5 STARS

Let me start by getting these things out of the way:
-This is my first Steiner product
-This is my only prism optic
-I purchased mine from a site that listed it as a 'Demo' model and a decent discount. After I ordered mine and received a notification it was being drop-shipped by Steiner. It arrived in a box from Burris in CO which concerned me at first, but after a brief search I found Berretta owns both, so that cleared that up somewhat.

Prior to ordering, I reached out to Steiner USA concerning the claims of faulty mounts and to make sure the glass is German as some say. They stated they weren't aware of any issues, and proceeded to give me units sold to units returned ratios and assured me there shouldn't be an issue. Did not answer my question exactly, but whatevs. I reached out to Steiner in Germany asking the same. They replied that the first batch they tried what turned out to be an inferior alloy and has since corrected the problem. THAT'S what I was looking for. Their answer to the glass was they outsource, but every piece that comes in must meet a certain criteria. About the glass, mine is crystal clear with no distortion.

Pros:
-Glass is crystal clear and sharp. I can see decent detail of a tree line approx. 300 yards from my house.
-Seems solid and well made
-Eye relief is about what they say it is. However, I can still see the reticle and clearly through the optic at 6(ish) inches(my face far back on the stock). If you are proficient with your setup and have a good, natural point of aim, this works great. Obviously the closer you get with your eye, the greater field of view you have.
-Illumination is daylight bright for those who care. Personally, I do not. There is no bleed over in the reticle on the highest setting which I thought was nice.
-Lightweight given the size of it
-Comes with 2 different sized height spacers should one need it
-Tethered adjustment caps fro those us prone to losing stuff(I fit this profile)
-Clear flip-up lens covers. This is good and bad

Cons:
-The flip up covers. While handy and the fact they're clear, they create a good deal of fisheye effect when looking through the optic. That said, might as well not be there. I will be reaching out to Steiner about this and ask if they at least have a killflash available or in the works.
-The mount. My tension plate, is what I call it(the bracket that sits behind the 2 thumb screws that tightens against the rail) to me does not fit properly against the rail. Best way I can put it, without being able to add pics is that the plate does not seat fully under the lip of the rail like the other side(which is fixed) does. This makes me believe that if the unit were to get a solid bump from the side, it could come off the rail. I will be contacting Steiner about this in a few days(it's weekend ATM).
-The illumination settings. The optic has 5 intensity settings and and 3 NV settings. I do not have any NV equipment, so I don't know how that end of it works. On the normal settings, the first setting might as well not exist as it can only be picked up in a ultra dark(almost pitch black) environment. To me, setting 2 should be setting 1 and the ultimate cure to this issue would be an OFF setting between each number. The dial for the illumination is somewhat in a weird spot to me as I have back-up irons(flip-up) on my rifle and between the rear sight and the back thumbscrew of the mount makes it difficult to use. I wasn't sure what to expect with optic when I ordered it, so I ordered a set of offset sights too and that should help.
-The 'armor' around the unit. This comes with a silicone/rubberish protective sleeve around the optic. It's a good fit, but the drawbacks are it could snag on something and this design allows moisture to be trapped between the sleeve and optic which can rust out certain aspects of the unit. Upon purchase, I was under the assumption the body had been coated in this and and not just a slip on piece.

All this said, for what I paid, I'm mostly satisfied. Would I pay full price for this, no, but that's why I shop around on things I have yet to try. I believe I could trust my life to this optic and I think it's solid.