ZeroTech’s compact Thrive HD 1-4 Prism might just be the best bargain of the year for an everyday carbine optic.
Think of it as a variable-power ACOG. Taking up about as much space as a TA31, ZeroTech’s newest model gives users a true 1x bottom end, with just enough magnification to consistently hit torso-sized targets out to 600 yards in field conditions. Best of all, it does it at a very affordable price.
Optics are one of the few areas of the gun space where we’ve seen steady, consistent improvements in the past couple of decades, to the point where if you showed someone from the mid aughties what they could have for their (Biden-flation adjusted) money, they’d shake their head in disbelief. LPVOs are prevalent on general-purpose carbines, and for lots of good reasons—there’s a model for every budget, and with 10x magnification now available on Chinese-made scopes for less than a grand, you’d be entirely justified by asking why make the seemingly retrograde step of choosing a 1-4 instead.
ZeroTech Thrive HD 1-4×24 Prism Specs
Length: 6 inches
Weight: 19 ounces
Click Value: 0.5 MOA
Field of View: 131 / 31 feet at 100 yards
MSRP: $600
URL: zerotechoptics.com
If you’ve ever tried to use a cheap 1-10 at low light and in a less-than-perfect setup, you’re probably a couple of sentences ahead right now. Although glass quality and lens coatings have come a long way, there’s still a significant performance gap between those used in high-dollar rigs, and those in bargain-priced optics. It’s like expecting AMG performance from a Kia—yes, both will get you around town, but there’s a reason one costs more than the other for four wheels and a couple of seats.
At 10x, the eyebox becomes so tight that unless you’re bang-on in terms of cheek weld and head alignment, it’s much more time-consuming to line up, especially compared to a medium-powered optic at the same magnification. It’s less noticeable at lower magnifications due to the larger exit pupil, but it’s our contention that most folks use the throw lever on an LPVO as a switch—it’s either at 1x, or they turn it all the way up. If, like Nigel Tufnel’s amp, it went to 11, that would be peachy, too.
We’ve come to appreciate the Thrive HD 1-4 in the weeks we’ve played with it. Glass quality is very good, delivering crisp, edge-to-edge images across the magnification range. The unfortunately named RAP-R reticle offers enough information to make fast hits close in at 1x. Dialing up the magnification, it was relatively simple to connect at distance in breezy conditions, and once you figure out your holds, it can be used out to the effective range of 5.56. We found that with a 50-yard zero, the lowest stadia line corresponds to POA/POI at 500 yards, sending M193 from a 16-inch barrel.
We’re kinda glad that the manufacturer didn’t endow this optic with a BDC reticle, as they’re usually calibrated for one specific ammo and barrel length—most commonly M855 analogues paired with a 16-inch tube. When you get to shooting 77-grain OTMs from a 12.5, then things don’t line up too well. But by using a ballistic app to choose an appropriate zero distance, you can align the hashmarks with known distances and then verify in the field.
Where this scope really shines is on short, barreled carbines, with limited rail space. Most times, with an LPVO and rail-mounted laser, there’s no room to add a clip-on thermal or I2 device, so if you want to make best use of your setup at night, other compromises must be made. Speaking of compromises, the scope could use a little more eye relief. We had to set up in the rearmost slot on our 1919 rail, which means there’s no room for a set of backup iron sights. You could solve this problem with an offset red dot, but if you’d prefer the low-tech solution for a secondary aiming system, you’re SOL.
Our Thrive HD was packed very neatly in its padded shipping box and arrived with two different clamps for its integral mount. At first, we just slapped it on an AR and headed to the range, where we quickly became frustrated due to the locking lever partially blocking access to the carbine’s charging handle. About to write the optic off due to its incompatibility with America’s favorite rifle, we noticed a second clamp lurking in a corner, which reversed the locking lever and cured the problem. Eureka!
At 19 ounces, the scope’s weight is in line with LPVOs, and you won’t have to source a set of rings or cantilever mount, as scope body and mounting system are integral, machined from a single forging. There are pluses and minuses for everything of course, and while this increases rigidity and reduces failure points, it also limits adaptability—if you want an extra-tall mount for use with NVGs, then this probably isn’t going to be your first choice.
If you have vision problems such as astigmatism, red dots are usually a no-go. With its crisp, etched reticle, ZeroTech’s baby can be used by everyone, and when your battery eventually fails, the black reticle’s still there. So long as you have power, you can choose between red and green illumination, but be warned, despite this being a second focal plane scope, it’s not daylight bright. At 1x, its field of view is enormous and outclasses most other LPVOs, even our beloved Kahles and Zeiss 1-6 models.
We’re pretty impressed with the feature set ZeroTech have managed to cram into the Thrive HD 1-4 Prism. The more we use it, the more it grows on us, and the combination of image quality, seemingly bombproof construction and small footprint is very appealing, particularly on our 12.5-inch barreled work guns, which seem to get used for just about everything these days. If you’re in the market for a versatile carbine optic, we believe it’s worthy of a look.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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