Trijicon MRO [Review+Video]: Go-To Duty Red Dot
Crazy durable, clear glass, insane battery life, and large field of view. We love the Trijicon MRO and we hands-on test it for everything that matters.
Gucci gear nerd. Recreational shooter. MilSim Airsoft enthusiast
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Is the Trijicon MRO's combination of fast target acquisition and a huge FOV in a rock solid package enough to justify the price?
Let's find out!
If you’ve been with us for any length of time you’ve probably noticed that we’ve done our fair share of optics reviews.
Sometimes it’s a little difficult to find something new to talk about with optics that aren’t necessarily groundbreaking...but still combine durability, function, and affordability into a package that we think is worth telling you about.
And personally, we find that the MRO (or Miniature Rifle Optic) falls pretty squarely into that specific niche.
In fact, it’s sort of sitting in a bit of an in-between, in a few different ways.
Let's walk through some comparisons, view-throughs, and numbers to see if it's the right duty-rated optic for you.
And yes...we have a full video review as well!
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Range Time
The MRO is obviously much smaller than red dots like the larger Aimpoints or EOtech’s holographic sights, but is still slightly larger in profile than a lot of the micro red dots that have become quite popular.
Though it does generally have a wider field of view than the majority of Aimpoint Micro T-1 type optics out there.
Featuring 6 levels of adjustable brightness and two levels of night vision compatibility, the MRO is an optic that boasts total visibility in bright daytime conditions.
Which if you’ve watched any previous optic reviews I've done, tends to be a sticking point that causes me to bitch a lot. Not an issue here, thankfully.
We’ve actually got two distinct models of MRO here - both red dot reflex and green dot reflex variants.
I personally think it’s worth noting that the green dot variant’s actual shade of green used in the reticle is slightly different than what I’ve seen anywhere else.
Most optics that come in a green flavor tend to have a very aggressive ‘neon’ green tinge to them, and the MRO is a bit more of a subdued ‘lemon lime’ green, if that makes any kind of sense.
I actually prefer the MRO's color to the neon green dot after spending some time with it, as I feel like it winds up being much easier to pick up against the various shrubbery we’ve got out in the desert at our local shooting spot.
Additionally, without turning this into a science lesson about how the human eye works, the color green is up to 30x more visible to the naked eye in bright daytime conditions than the color red, which your eye is generally going to pick up more easily at night.
This isn’t a universal fact and everyone is going to be different, but if you find yourself struggling to pick up red dots during the day, consider giving a green dot optic a try and seeing if it works better for you.
The MRO features a 2 MOA dot and is offered in a variety of different mounting solutions - from a super low profile mount all the way to a taller, 1/3rd co-witness type mount.
We’ve got a Midwest Industries 1/3rd co-witness mount with a QD latch on our red MRO, and a stock Trijicon full co-witness mount that utilizes Torx screws on the green dot.
Personally, we like the QD capability of the midwest mount, but if you’re not moving the optic around often, this likely won't matter too much for you.
The MRO’s brightness adjustment knob is actually pretty huge and sits right in the center of the top plane of the optic.
It’s actually kind of nice having the thing that you’re likely going to be manipulating the most being the object that’s easiest to grab on the optic, rather than having your brightness relegated to a small side knob with oversized windage and elevation adjustment turrets.
Additionally, the red dot’s battery lasts a pretty impressive 5 years, with the green dot MRO clocking in 1 year of run time due to the nature of lasers or whatever.
The windage and elevation adjustments are recessed into the body of the optic itself, and turn with either a flathead or a thumbnail quite smoothly, adjusting for 1/2 MOA per click.
As mentioned, your field of view through the MRO is going to be a bit larger than something like a Sig Sauer Romeo 5 (full review) or similar microdots on the market right now.
Although it’s a tiny bit smaller than something like a full-sized Aimpoint PRO (which you can check out a review of here) though it is significantly lighter.
Torture Test
We recently took some high-end optics out to test and shoot up. The MRO was one of them.
It of course survived water submersion and also heating/cooling to -40 degrees and 140 degrees, respectively.
It faltered a tiny bit on the drop test onto a rock since the point-of-impact shifted to the high-left a few MOA. You'll still be fine with torso sized targets!
It then survived through rat shot, .410 #9 birdshot, and 12ga #7.5 birdshot.
However...it did finally succumb to .22LR Minimag.
But so did everything else from EOTechs to Sigs. Only the mighty ACOG survived (sorta).
All in all...still super robust and I'm confident of having it on a duty rifle for myself.
Check out the full destruction in High End Optics Torture Testing.
By the Numbers
Reliability: 5/5
We had zero issues at any point during our testing phase with the MRO - about ~1,000 rounds all told. Good to go!
Durability: 4/5
The MRO took a considerable amount of abuse during our High-End Optics Torture test, surviving a drop impact on a rock, rapid heating and cooling sessions, and being nailed by .22 rat shot, .410 bird shot, and 12ga bird shot. The optic was eventually felled by .22LR Magnum, but most other optics included in the test were as well. Bravo!
Fit / Feel: 5/5
Again, no complaints whatsoever here. The optic feels great and has the standard Trijicon flourish and toughness. The windage and elevation adjustment knobs click firmly, and the MRO interfaces with picatinny rails with no issues.
Value: 4/5
At anywhere from $370-400 street price, the MRO certainly isn't inexpensive, but it's also not gonna put you out of a home either. Personally, we all feel that the price is pretty reasonable considering the toughness and performance you're going to get out of the MRO.
Overall: 4.5/5
All in all, if you’re looking for a higher-end optic on the smaller side, but perhaps slightly larger than your average microdot, we’d say take a look at Trijicon’s MRO.
Conclusion
The Trijicon MRO's combination of absurd battery life and brightness, stellar glass quality, bombproof construction, a decently wide field of view and a green dot variant all for somewhere in the ballpark of $400 or so makes this a no-brainer if you want those things and have the cash to burn.
Also, we’re going to murder one on camera soon during a high-end optic torture test, so be on the lookout for that snuff film sometime in the near future.
Didn't catch the video yet? Do it!
Did you choose a more bomb-proof optic or did you pick up one of the more wallet-friendly options? Let us know in the comments! To get fully decked out with optics, take a look at the Best Pistol Red Dots or our huge Best Red Dots article!
