A couple months back I emailed Athlon with a few questions. They got back to me in a timely manner and seemed like they cared about their product. What I learned from the email was that...
1. Everything they sell, short of the Cronus line, comes from China.
2. They weren't willing to say if specific illuminated optics were daylight bright or not.
3. They weren't willing to say if any of their 1x optics were really 1x.
So yeah, not a ton they were willing to put on the record with me. Now, that's not to say I am down on them, and am actually considering their 4-14x44mm Talos. I'd like to try a Horus style reticle without breaking the bank, and the used market is too proud of their Primary Arms R-grid scopes to come down in price a bit. The place I have seen Athlon discussed the most is OpticsTalk, which is hosted by SWFA. Now, SFWA doesn't stock Athlon, so consider it a tough crowd there.
http://www.opticstalk.com/athlon-rifle-scopes_topic42523.html
The number one complaint I have heard about Athlon is that their turrets are mushy, and after a bit of dialing, they no longer stop on the hash marks. But, the people who have complained to the company have been taken care of. For people who say something along the lines of "the glass it better than it's price point", well... I have heard and read that a lot. So much in fact, that I take it with a grain of salt. Unless people are saying the glass is bad for the price point, I tend not to let that be a major factor in my purchasing decisions. Also, it is worthwhile to think about at what price point is a scope made in China just no longer an attractive option. $300? $500? $700?
Things to think about.
