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Vortex Defender-ST Enclosed Solar Micro 1x22.5mm Reflex Red Dot Sight
$529.99 $309.49 Save 42%
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Most Helpful Positive Review Vortex Enclosed Defender dots are amazing
I bought both a Defender ST and the Defender CCW. I've owned Holosun, Gideon, Trijicon, and Meprolights enclosed pistol dots and I like these Defender enclosed dots the best. The glass has minimal distortion, the red dot doesn't flare out and gets extremely bright for those very sunny days, the shake awake works very well, and lastly I tested the solar by removing the battery and it performs very well. I'll highly recommend both Defender enclosed dots.
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Impressive

by Someone, Verified Owner from KS, United States Written on February 8, 2026
This optic was everything I was wanting in an optic. The solar panels to help with power are a neat idea but if you're wanting to carry it concealed not sure what the panel are gonna do for you. I really like the reticle options and you can't beat Vorfex warranty.
Pros:
  • Warranty
  • Reticle options are all good
Cons:
  • Solar panel may be a gimmick
Best Used for:
  • Any use
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

large clear windown

by Jeff, Verified Owner from FL, United States Written on February 8, 2026
Replaced a Holosun and couldn’t be happier. Window is clear, adjustable brightness and enclosed emitter. Definitely worth it
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Excellent device

by Ralph the Wonder Llama, Verified Owner from AR, United States Written on February 7, 2026
First, the glass is so clear it's invisible. Installation is very easy, just make sure you use the longer screws for the Glock MOS if that's what you have. Having multiple recticles is also beneficial. I put this on a Glock g40 (10mm) and it handles wonderfully.
Pros:
  • clear glass
  • solid construction
  • easy installation
  • Included tool
  • Enclosed emitter, circle dot, clear glass
  • Multiple recticles
  • Wide brightness settings
Cons:
  • None for me
Best Used for:
  • Accuracies for bench shooting and/or hunting
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Accesories galore

by LA, Verified Owner from PA, United States Written on February 6, 2026
Very solid optic for price point. Includes mounting screws for most major manufacturers, a pic rail, Glock MOS plate, battery, protective cover, cleaning cloth, tool, etc. Appears to be solidly built. Mounted it to a gen 6 Glock with no problems. Sight was centered perfectly for windage upon installation. Needed adjustment for elevation that only required a few rounds. The dot was crisp and held zero. There are multiple reticle options as well. Price is very competitive and standard shipping arrived within a week.
Pros:
  • None
Cons:
  • Deck height will require aftermarket sights for co-witness
Would recommend: Yes
1 of 1 found the following review helpful.
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Good choice

by DP, Verified Owner from NC, United States Written on February 5, 2026
This is really the perfect size, big enough to see through without being overly bulky. The dot and window are clear. It also come with the needed screws and tools.
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Amazing Red Dot Highly Recommend!

by Chris G, Verified Owner from NY, United States Written on February 1, 2026
I simply cant like this Vortex Defender ST Enclosed Solar Micro red dot enough. They hit this one out of the park. I own many other Vortex products, some great, some meh.. This one is my favorite. For $250-300 you're not getting anything remotely close to this sight. I own a few Holosun sights and this beats them 10/10 times. The shake awake feature significantly surpases Holosuns. I find their's works about 8/10 times where the Defender-ST works 10/10. The field of view is amazing, the dexterity is optimal, the design is hardcore looking and rugged. The size is perfect in my opinion, its slightly taller then my Holosuns but smaller then my ACRO. You can easily rack your slide off the front of the optic no problem. I'm a huge fan of the ability to use the 2 MOA dot and the 32 MOA ring. No Sunbursting or bleedthrough either. The glass is as crisp as my high end Trijicon and Aimport ACRO sights. Personally, I plan on switching all of my Holosun over to this Vortex. Also wil be purchasing more for future gun purchases no need for the Trijicons and ACRO. This is where its at. Hoping the sight lasts, time will tell though, it certinally feels tough enough to last through time. But another positive, the lifetime product warranty Vortex offers.

Another huge plus - Comes with Glock MOS Mounting Hardware and Standard Picatinny Mount.

I have this sight mounted on the Gen 6 Glock 19 (at this time, you have to use the factory glock mounting plates since the Gen-6 was just released).

M...
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Pros:
  • Everything from my perspective. Design, price, quality, application.
Cons:
  • Nothing worth mentioning
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Great Dot for the Money

by Jon, Verified Owner from NY, United States Written on February 1, 2026
This dot absolutely does all that is advertised for a reasonable price. I think the window size is great for a carry gun and battery access is easy! Can't comment on battery life yet but have not heard any negatives to date. The only real negative, it doesn't come in green as of yet (my eyes prefer green due to my stigmatism).
Pros:
  • Price
  • Quality
  • features
  • American Company
Cons:
  • Doesn't come in green
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Beautiful Optic

by Mayo, Verified Owner from TN, United States Written on February 1, 2026
First of all, I could not believe what a deal Optics Planet had on this optic. I caught it on a sale but even that sales price was insane. I then combined it with my Veteran's Discount. If you didn't know, now you do. Shipping was very fast. Vortex ships this box with everything you need to install on a picatinny rail or almost any pistol that accepts optics. In my case in installed this on a Glock 47 gen 5 MOS. It came with the adapter plate to install on the pistol's MOS system and then it has bags and bags of screws labeled for the pistol they are designed to match with. Installed this bad boy and the glass is super clear and the adjustable reticle is tight and bright. Throw in it has solar power back up and shake awake and it will hold a charge for a long time. And of course rule #1 is look cool, this thing looks sick mounted on a full size Glock. I also installed the CCW version on a 43X MOS and it is equally DOPE!
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Works as expected

by Casey, Verified Owner from MT, United States Written on January 29, 2026
I thought an enclosed Red Dot would be too large and hard to use - not so with the Defender-ST. The fit to the Optic Mount Plate was perfect and clean. The view thru the Red Dot Optic is perfect with very little parallax or distortion with respect to movement. The controls work as stated in the user manual. The enclosed emitter is important for EDC because any dust or debris that gets into the emitter well will make the view and aiming of the weapon impossible. Vortex did a great job designing this sight! My only critique is that the screw heads for the windage and elevation are pretty shallow and the tool supplied doesn't work very well but once adjusted it holds great.
Pros:
  • works well
Cons:
  • Adjustment tool could be better
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No

Good quality and decent price

by HubbNDubb, Verified Owner from WI, United States Written on January 29, 2026
I bought 2 Vortex Defender ST Enclosed for both my Glock 19 and Glock 45 Gen6. Optic is light and I like the ability to switch to different reticles. Came with a lot of nice features and a good abundance of mounting hardware for different type of firearms. Plus lifetime warranty if anything would go bad. Have not run it yet but seems to be very durable. I love the fast rack texture grip feature as well on the optic.
Pros:
  • Quality
  • lifetime warranty
  • Fair price
  • A lot of mounting hardware
  • Fast rack texture grip
Cons:
  • na
Best Used for:
  • Handguns and rifles
Would recommend: Yes
Was it helpful to you? Yes | No
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