When SIG introduced their Romeo1 miniature reflex sight, I thought it was one of the most effective and user-friendly red dots I’d seen. With the introduction of the Romeo1 Pro, I was curious to see if they could improve on that design.
The Romeo1 Pro (MSRP: $519.99) is dimensionally identical to the Romeo1, with the exception of a slight (maybe 1/64-inch) extension on the lower front end. It’s available with either a 3 MOA or 6 MOA dot. The mounting footprint is the same and SIG notes it will fit the optics-ready P320 X-Five Legion. The sight window is the same 30mm size, and the top-loading battery uses the commonly available CR1632 battery.
The operating controls are identical to the Romeo1—an Up and Down button on the left side. Depress either to turn the sight on. Depress either for two seconds to turn the sight off. Turning the sight back on returns you to the same power setting previously set. As well, the sight features MOTAC (SIG’s Motion Activated Illumination System). When the sight is turned on and detects no movement for two minutes, it goes to sleep and the dot turns off. The first movement wakes it up, and the dot comes back on at the previously set brightness level. I ran several tests with a stop watch and it worked every time. Windage and elevation adjustments are the same precise, 1 MOA clicks.
That's no different than the Romeo1. But, there were a couple of pleasant surprises.
The Romeo1 Pro comes with a sturdy steel sight shield. The sight slips inside it and both are then locked into the mount. It provides almost bullet-proof protection from the normal bangs and dings that a holstered gun can experience during a match day, but allows instant access to the two control buttons. As well, there is a very effective slip-on rubber lens cover that is a major improvement over the rather flimsy lens cap provided with the original Romeo1.
The second surprise was the new light emitter package that SIG claims offers increased dot brightness, and a battery life of up to 20,000 hours. I suspect it’s the same package used on the Romeo3 Max that I recently tested (look for my review to be published soon). It now provides 12 power settings—10 daylight and two NV. And like the Romeo3 Max, when the top power setting is reached it blinks five times to let you know you’re there. That’s a handy feature at the Load and Make Ready.
The test sight provided to me was the 3 MOA model. I have no gun cut for the direct Romeo slide mount, but an accessory Picatinny rail mount gave me options. I decided against mounting it on my rimfire pistol, since 3 MOA is a bit small for me when the sight is 20-plus inches forward of my eyes. Instead, I slipped it on to my Ruger PC9 PCCO gun and headed to my range. When I got to the range and started the sight-in, I realized I could have put it on my RFPO gun.
SIG wasn’t kidding about the power of the new emitter package. It was brighter than any 3 MOA dot I’ve seen. Dialing it down four stops from max gave me a precise dot to quickly zero the sight, and three stops down gave me the dot I wanted during a subsequent Steel Challenge match.
The Romeo1 Pro gives up none of the positives of the original. It just adds a few of its own.
Learn more at SIGSauer.com.
See more: Everything You Need To Know About Point Shooting
