Another new addition to the L3 EOTech family is the Zombie II Holographic Weapon Sight (HWS). The Zombie I by EOTech brought “un-dead†hunters the unique biohazard reticle. The Zombie II, Model XPS2-Z2, will have the same biohazard reticle, with 20 different brightness settings. EOTech advertises this as the same reticle seen in Call of Duty Black Ops II. The Zombie II will also have the same biohazard symbol on the top of the hood like the Zombie I.
The biggest addition to the Zombie II, over the Zombie I, is the addition of the “Reaper Z†camouflage pattern. I’m not a real big fan of the Zombie-pocalypse offerings, but this camouflage pattern actually has some potential with me.
The color is the standard “zombie†neon green, which is actually a little darker or deeper than a standard neon green. However, it is the pattern that really makes the “Reaper Z†a winner. As you can see from the photos the pattern is not just a simple painted design. Instead, the “Reaper Z†has a water-color-on-glass effect to it, or perhaps a psychedelic pattern. This “zombie†neon green pattern is not so stand-out as some of the predecessors have been. The subdued look could then afford a more “tactical†shooter a useful camouflage pattern in a green terrain.
Although the biohazard reticle has its obvious coolness factor, from a shooting standpoint I find it to be too busy to have fast acquisition. The purpose of red dot sights is to come on target very rapidly. The biohazard sight is pretty busy, and can actually take the focus of the shooter’s eyes off of the (1) MOA center dot.
Perhaps a better sighting method with this HWS would be to simply bring your target into the bigger circle of the biohazard symbol, and not seek to focus on the center red dot. The biohazard circle is smaller than the standard XPS2 65 MOA circle, so this should afford relatively good accuracy on body targets at greater distances.
Of course every zombie hunter knows that to truly eliminate the zombie threat the shooter needs to hit them in the head. This will require more distance and a better aimed shot, using the center red dot.
The Zombie II sight has all the same features as the standard XPS2 sight, including the battery running perpendicular to the barrel. I talked about the advantages of this feature in my article on the EOTech 300 Blackout/Whisper. The one difference in measurements between the most common XPS2 (including the 300 BLK/Whisper) is that the Zombie II is only 2.2†in height, where most of the other offerings are 2.4â€.
MSRP for the Zombie II is going to be about $588, and the EOTech representative at SHOT Show said to expect availability in April, 2013. This puts it in the same price range as the Trijicon MRO red dot optic.
Although the zombie styling might be a bit silly, EOTech is a serious name in the holographic sight business. Take the newest product from the company: the EOTech 518. The 518 is an AR optic that runs on AA batteries, has been ruggedized and moves the controls to the side of the unit for easier access. According to what I am hearing, the 518 is fast becoming one of the top sellers in the AR optics market.