Solar powered red dot sights (RDSs) are not new on the market, but only in recent times has technology evolved to the point of making them something more than just a novelty.

Among the most outstanding manufacturers in this technical evolution is Sightmark; the firm from Texas has been offering a vast selection of RDS with auxiliar solar power, where the progenitors are the Volta and Element Mini Solar, on the market since 2020.

The most recent solar powered model is the red dot Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar, an enclosed MRDS, where the chassis encloses the whole optical system with glass on both ends, differently from smaller and lighter models that are open and with a single lens. It is this characteristic that makes it particularly suited for use on handguns and carbines at short to medium ranges and allows the integration of a high efficiency solar panel to support the single CR 1620 battery.

The Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar is 1.8" long, and being built from black anodized 6061-T6 aluminum alloy it weighs just 2.5 ounces, without mounting plate and battery

The optical glass lenses are 21x15 and are multicoated for best light transmission and dot contrast, and protect the LED emitter projecting a 3 MOA red dot adjusted for parallax from 25 yards to infinity.

Two small adjustment screws are set into the MRDS body, over the rear lens and to its right, and allow adjustment for a total of 110 MOA in elevation and 160 in windage, while on the left side is the battery bay.

The Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar has a light sensor to determine environment brightness to automatically adjust dot brightness. Thanks to this features, a single CR1620 battery can provide up to 20.000 hours of functioning. In high environment lighting conditions, when the the sight can use the solar panel to its full, the battery gets automatically excluded.

Designed for handguns and PCCs, the Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar has been certified up to .45 ACp caliber recoil, and it is IP67 rated, while it can withstand impacts up to 1m.  It comes with a Picatinny adapter of two different heigths and it is compatible with Trijicon RMR mounting plates.

During testing, the Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar proved to be very effective when used outdoors in full daylight where the solar panel can maximize the sight's advantages. The automated brightness adjustment system sets the dot in a very effective and seamless way, like you'd see on a reflex fiber+tritium sight but, differently from a reflex sight, when aiming from a dark area to a brightly lit one, the dot doesn't suffer washout, remaining crisp and clearly visible.

Another strong advantage is that the sight can work in these condition even without a battery, powered just by sunlight.  When operating indoors things change drastically, though.

As long as you are in a well lit room with a light source in front of the sight, the dot is clearly visible, but when lit from behind, the automatic adjustment system turns the dot down to the point that it becomes barely visible, even aiming at a dim area.

Same happens from a dimly lit room aiming towards a more brightly lit one, where the dot is completely washed out. When in the dark, moreover, the dot just turns off, as the sight assumes to be in storage, so that the MRDS can not be used.

For these reasons the manufacturer recommends this sight for sporting use like dynamic shooting, where one can get the best out of its features, while for tactical use other Sightmark products, such as the Mini Shot M-Spec M1 FMS are better suited to the task. 

The choice of a CR 1620 battery, not among the most easily sourced on the market, is forced by the extremely compact form factor of the sight. It is anyway easily found on Amazon, for example. Moreover, given its very long duration, getting one is not all that hassle.

The Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec M2 Solar MRDS is available at a 359.99$ MSRP.