EOTech and their parent company L3 got their share of negative publicity in the last few months. All their Holographic Weapon Sights (HWS) are affected by extreme temperature fluctuations. Such adverse changes in temperature can cause Point Of Impact (POI) shift bigger than advertised which might not affect the casual range goers and competition shooters but Military and Law Enforcement users have something to worry about.

L3 settled with the US government for 25.6 million USD and started a refund campaign where you can send your sights back to them and you get your money back no questions asked which is kind of fair game if you ask me.

First, I thought HWS sights will be so cheap after the bad news that every airsofter would be able to buy a real one but this refund program kept HWS prices on the same level, there is no noticeable drop in price because whoever wanted to sell was able to get their full price back.

It was recently announced that a civil legal campaign was launched against EOTech and people can join in to share legal expenses, probably this is for all the people who want to keep their sights and they want some kind of compensation. I own a pre-L3 552 HWS (made in 2002) and an EXPS3 but I have no intention of returning them even if they're bulky and thirsty of battery juice. Rumors say that early models and the Bushnells aren't affected by the issue but so far I couldn't find any confirmation on that.

To be fair every weapon sight will experience POI shift after extreme temperature changes, just recently Trijicon published how much their new MRO sight is affected. EOTech (and L3) allegedly knew about the issue but they hoped that no one will notice.

Until now, there was no comment about what's next for EOTech, not counting the announcement of their rifle scope line, because those aren't HWS units that are affected by the POI shift issue. EOTech thought they won't give up without a fight and they will try to save the HWS line with a refresh of their successful 518 with what they have been developing in secret giving it a project code of HWS040116AFD. The new sight is called the 618, which signals a generation change that might arrive just at the right time for EOTech. There are very few pictures of the actual sight only a few prototypes were caught on camera during range events and gun shows. It's going to be an uphill battle for EOTech and I hope HWS sights won't be discontinued.

Here now is what EOTech thinks will be the product to redeem their HWS line, the EOTech Model 618:

The best just got better! The all new 618 runs on easy to find and cheap CR123A batteries and offers all the features of the EXPS sights and then some. We listened to our customers’ suggestion and designed an extended battery compartment for the 618.

It now runs on six (6) CR123A batteries and the user can decide how the power is distributed. With the help of the side buttons user can select either extended runtime function or Anti-POI Shift (APS) function. The new APS function keeps the sight on constant temperature so you never lose your zero in case you leave your rifle in the trunk of your car overnight. The APS system remembers the temperature when zero was set and maintains it for a 24hr period after which the 618 resumes normal operation and it can be used for another 60 minutes.

With the help of the cheap and easy to find CR123A batteries you can maintain your zero no matter the temperature. After careful consideration we added a low battery indicator which can be either set to blink or beep. The unit also compatible with the latest Gen6 night vision goggles.

No pricing was provided in the press release and for interested buyers they can contact resellers who still carry their products, whoever they are. The design is also a departure from their XPS designs which are compact versions of their HWS, famous of which are their special Zombie Killer and the Model 300 Blackout. Users will be happy that with the longer battery compartment, they can use the HWS for a longer duration as they have been complaining about battery life.

With the new APS, owners of the Model 618 will never lose their zero; and for EOTech, they are now crossing their fingers that this model will not leave them zero at the bank.

Update: Happy April 1st! :)