Night Sight help; XS vs TFO?

[Asmodeus6]

Ok. It's duly noted for a carry pistol some night sights are generally accepted as a good idea. So I'd like to get some.

However I do not personally have a ton of experience with a wide variety of brands, and styles with which to personally compare and make a more thoroughly evaluated decision...

So I'd like to tap into large PAFOA audience on this one for a little help.


The host gun is a G26. It's not going to sit on a shelf it will be carried, fooled with, be in and out of holsters, pockets, etc on a fairly daily basis. So durability is also an issue. So is in and out snagging etc.


My initial thought is just buy some Trijicons and be done with it. But I think with that simplicity, you also give up some of the speed advantage to both the TFO's fiber optic setup, and XS's big ass dot setup.

As for a low/no light I think I'd prefer the Trijicon or TFO setup, but it is also said it's easier to use the vertical alignment on the XS setup. No guessing which of the 3 glowing dots is the front. (However that is challenged by some people as well saying the tritium in the XS sights are skewed by the size of the big dot making it hard in low light to get proper alignment)

I've seen all kinds of arguments for and against both. (and just about every sight setup in between) Looking for a little help deciding. I've also seen concerns of the TruGlo TFO's being not so durable. With FO tubes falling out and such. Plus they are a lot more bulky, being nearly 3x the length to house the FO elements.


Another reason why I'm considering these sights is also because I don't have the best eyesight any more. Well, never really did. I wear contacts from morning until bed time, but still, my near sighted tendency will immediately put my focus on the rear sight by default. So I figured a brighter or bigger front sight might help with that situation. Otherwise I would probably just go with standard sights.

I am also slightly considering the XS 24/7 sights with the standard dot. (same sights just not the big dot)

I would REALLY love to see some pictures if you guys have either of these sights on ANY pistol. And I know how hard it is to take them, but a low / no light one would be awesome. I scoured the interwebs for some but did not find much in that department.

That being said, I'm open to any LOGICAL suggestion. But please include REAL reasons to support your suggestion, and any other pertinent info about that choice.

As always thank you!

[busa dave]

IMO your first instinct was correct. get trijicons, or mep's and be done with it. The white housing around the tubes makes them good for daytime use and the glow of trijicons and mep's is hard to beat at night.

[Steve_NEPhila]

I am not a fan of the fiber optic sights. With that said, I am also not a fan of tritium rear sights. I prefer the front sight be of the self illuminating variety. The front sight is the only one you should be looking for anyway. Below is a picture, albeit a low quality picture of an xs standard dot front sight on the smith and wesson on the left and meprolight front sight on the SP 101 on the right. Both fine sights, yet I prefer the xs standard dot.

The only difference between XS standard dot and big dot is the size of the white border around the tritium vial. The tritium vials and thus the self illumination is the same. With the xs standard dot front sight you do not have to replace your rear sight, nor change what kind of sight picture you look for. Consistency, train as you fight.

[Atomic Dog]

I went with the TFO's, getting them installed this week. I run a FO front and love how bright it is, but wanted something at night. The reports are mixed as far as quality (FO pops out) but a drop of glue should make them 100%. I'll keep you posted but so far they look good.

[Asmodeus6]

Steve,
Your statements make me think leaning towards the XS big dot might be a good idea. Since it takes away the traditional rear sight leaf []_[] which can block your view of the front sight. It's also a larger front sight, and illuminated. [\_O_/] ?

Sorry my keyboard sight pictures aren't that great. But you get what I mean. The V'd notch of the XS sights puts more focus on the front naturally, and is more forgiving about losing the front behind the rear? Right?

Hard for me to really decide because I've never shot anything with XS or TFO's on them. But I do understand the theory behind them. I have watched a video at dusk with TFO's and those things freakin' POP! Which is why they are included in the decision. They are explosively bright in the daytime. Which might be an asset, plus it's a more traditional 3 dot sighting system.

EDIT:
Yeah I'd like to see the TFO's when you get them in. Botach has TFO's for like $70. - coupon for the Glock. Which is pretty GD outstanding... so I'm really considering getting them. I'm just worried about beating them up on a carry gun. I am however capable of encapsulating them in clear epoxy if need be to keep them together. I'm still just slightly skittish about them.

[CHEMICAL]

In my personal experience ( I posted about it somewhere ) the meprolight sights seem to glow brighter because they don't have that clear filler or varnish or wtf ever it is "topping off" the tritium vials.

I have also talked to former LE and military professionals that have said getting a different color front sight makes all the difference in the world to sight acquisition...such as an orange tritium front sight and green rear...I was also told the only sights that one of these guys couldn't "destroy" under heavy use was these..http://www.mmcsight.com/

I have NEVER had a problem with my tritium vials creeping or falling out and have been using meprolight sights for years and years. they are my favorite.

[Asmodeus6]

I've heard meprolight and trijicon use the same vials, but trijicon sets them deeper with that sapphire lens cover or w/e which makes them clearer but dimmer than Meprolight.

I've seen the reference to mmc's but their site sucks. And there is not anywhere near the amount of information commonly available as the other brands floating around out there either. So for now I'll pass on those.

[CHEMICAL]

I've heard meprolight and trijicon use the same vials, but trijicon sets them deeper with that sapphire lens cover or w/e which makes them clearer but dimmer than Meprolight.

right!

I've seen the reference to mmc's but their site sucks.

yeah, their site sucks big time!

And there is not anywhere near the amount of information commonly available as the other brands floating around out there either. So for now I'll pass on those.

fair enough, as I said, because of the lens cover or whatever, the trijicons don't appear to glow as brightly at night, however they still glow plenty bright enough to serve their purpose.

[Asmodeus6]

Yeah I've got the Trij/Mepro's on the back burner for now pending some more input on the TFO / XS sights. I'd like to feel those out a little more and I can always click buy on a set of Trij/Mepro's and not think about it.

I just AM trying to think about it. I don't see either the XS sights, or TFO's as a necessity, I see the increased daytime brightness of the TFO's as a true advantage. I also see the big Dot, along with the open rear sight of the XS as another potential advantage.

Will traditional sights with tritium inserts work? Of course.

But I'm not 100% sold on the idea's either because I do not have first hand experience with either of them on this pistol. (Although I have used FO type sights before and they do pick up quick.)

Basically want I want to hear from Pafoa is; who is using them and truly likes them; why - and do you prefer them over a more traditional type of sight? (Such as the Triji's or Meprolights)

And if I CAN squeeze it out of someone, are the TFO's durable enough for EDC? Are they too bulky? Are the XS sights truly faster? Is the Big Dot worth it? Is it too big? (On a small pistol with a short sight radius) Does that even matter on a SD pistol? Is the vertical alignment faster or slower than the 3 dot setup? (People who are used to Heine straight 8 sights could also tell me what they think about this kind of alignment.)

I guess I really am after a lot of input after all. lol! That's ok. I know this is the right place to ask. There's a wide variety of gun people here that have an even wider variety of experience. My only worry is keeping it on topic!

[Mtbkski]

And then don't forget the Crimson Trace Laser.