Aimpoint ACO VS Aimpoint PRO : Which One’s the Best Deal for You?

Both Aimpoint ACO (Aimpoint Carbine Optic) and Aimpoint PRO (Patrol Rifle Optic) are affordable version of Aimpoint red dot sights. The ACO is the cheaper of the two.

Since Aimpoint is the go-to optics for military, law enforcements and home defense situations, one wonders whether the ACO is as reliable as its predecessor, Aimpoint PRO.

Certainly with ACO’s cheaper price, some features must be omitted or less effective. But are those features critical to you?

In this article, I’ll help you spot the differences between these 2 optics, so that you can make an informed decision and don’t end up disappointed, saying “I should have known”.

Aimpoint AB is a Swedish optics company manufacturing red dot sights for civilian, police and military use. Aimpoint red dot sights are currently used by numerous armed forces around the world, including the US military.

PROS and CONS breakdown

 

Aimpoint ACO and PRO open up choices for affordable Aimpoint’s red dot

In the past, anyone who wishes to get Aimpoint quality red dot must be willing to spend more than $500. People with tight budget need to wait for exceptional deals or go for second-handed optics.Then came along Aimpoint PRO, which allow you to spend only something $400-ish for those SHTF rugged quality.

With the new ACO, which is currently the lowest priced Aimpoint product, quality red dot is ever more affordable at less than $400.

Let’s dive down into the details

Optics Showdown : ACO VS PRO

Pretty much the same glass

Aimpoint ACO’s dot and glass are pretty much the same as the PRO, except that the ACO is not night vision compatible.

On the PRO, 1-4 brightness settings are night vision compatible and can’t be seen with the naked eyes. This is not the case with ACO as those settings are just low brightness dot that can still be seen.

For both optics you need to use 7-8 brightness on most outdoor conditions and 8-10 on bright sunny days.

PRO has 3x battery life

Super reliable batteries, “always on” battery or motion-activated feature are critical for home defense and occupational optics. The failure of your red dot could spell disaster for you, your family or your team.

Summary of Batteries for each Mentioned Optics

Aimpoint PRO has around 3x battery life expectancy compared to the ACO. This is a significant advantage in my book, as you can be relatively sure with the PRO that by replacing battery each year, you’d have no running out of battery issue.

Brightness control and Battery compartment of both the ACO and PRO are located on the right hand side of their tube housing.

Mount and Lens Covers Included with Aimpoint PRO

Aimpoint PRO comes with a QRP2 rail grabber mount which can be used on a Picatinny rail. Once mounted, turn the knob until it clicks 3 times and you’re good to go. It has torque-limiting twist features which gives optimal level of pressure and will not deform the rail.

Mount height is easy to 1/3 co-witness on an AR platform, and you can remove the spacer and lower the unit for absolute co-witness.

Even though reliable, the mount is a bit heavy. Another thing to complain for this factory mount is its big protruding knob that could be annoying for some people. That said, it doesn’t affect performance. Plus, you can buy a quality 3rd party mount afterwards if you don’t like the included mount.

Flip covers for both rear and front glass are already included with Aimpoint PRO, helping protect your red dot glass from external environment. Front cap is opaque while the rear cap is transparent.

No mount nor lens cover is included with Aimpoint ACO. Note that a quality 3rd party mount and lens cover would already cover or exceed the $40 price savings of the ACO (price at the time of this writing).

Thus the ACO is a favorable choice only if you intend to discard Aimpoint PRO’s mount and lens covers in the first place.

ACO is slightly lighter

Superb durabiltiy for both

Durability is where Aimpoint really shines. The ACO, even though not as proven as the PRO, is supposed to be as tough and reliable.

Personally I have a great run with both optics and have experienced no durability issues. Aimpoint’s warranty is 10 years for civilian use, 2 years for professional use.

Admittedly, the best warranties are the ones that you *don’t* ever have to use them. And you can count on Aimpoint products to fall into that category.

PRO higher price is worth it

Price fluctuates due to demand and supply. But at the time of this writing :

• ACO – $397
• PRO – $436

Aimpoint ACO is currently cheaper by $40, but I personally don’t think it would be worth the inferior battery life, lacking of night vision, the cost of buying mount and lens covers.
 

Conclusion : Go PRO

Get Aimpoint PRO as price difference is rather small such that the you’ll save more with just the included mount and lens cover. Note that Aimpoint PRO also has longer battery life and night vision capability.