Yep, you're spot on if memory serves. I never said their stuff was bad, just that a lot of it is made in China. And I fully believe some of it is reverse engineered clones. The Chinese are famous for this, in RC as well. Some Chinese stuff is great, and some, not so much. And I know some of their red dots don't get great reviews for various reasons. Like most companies, they have multiple price points for their products. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. I'm not telling anybody to go out and spend $600 on a legit Trijicon RMR for a $400 handgun. Just be prepared that a $100 RDS or RMR is going to have some things you may not be completely happy with. Or it might not be acceptable at all, a lot of it depends on your eyes. I know the Vortex red dots I've looked through seem to have more bloom and halo than other brands to me, and some of the red dots the emitter is actually visible when looking down the tube. All of that relates to the materials used, and the build quality and QC, and ultimately price point. None of those flaws are acceptable to me, but I'm spoiled because my first RDS was an Aimpoint. Now that I've had that, I'm not personally willing to go backwards in optical quality. And that sucks for me, because I'm on the hunt for another RDS currently.
Their high end rifle scopes seem to be very, very well regarded. And all their stuff has a lifetime warranty that I know they will stand behind.
At the end of the day, it all comes to down to the same thing it always has; there are a lot of options out there, you just have to figure out what you're willing to spend to be happy.
