They are OK mate, don't think of them as being a precision optic though.  They sort of (for me anyways) fall between iron sights and a decent optic.  The Brits came out with them (so the story from a retired Brit WO1mate of mine goes, he was a weapons instructor at Warminster) to assist in "target identification" in Northern Island.  Some magnification and pretty good field of view.  This is also the reason the aiming point comes dwon from the top, so as not to obscure the target.  Seems they wanted to stop the troopies shooting the wrong folks.

 

If you look at the means by which the optic attaches to the base you will realise why they are not a precision piece, those little zigzag springs loose tension too fast and all the older ones I have seen for sale here were so weak that by the time you had the screw down tight enough that the optic was not flopping around  your rounds were hitting the ground about 30m infront of the muzzel..  Probably the father of the "combat optic" that seems so common now.  The eye cup takes a little getting use to as well...I always thought it was going to get a plunger effect happening and suck my eye right on out.

 

Neat enough little unit provided you understand the limitations, and look as groovy as hell....

Does anyone have a line on replacement springs for the SUIT?  My springs are really weak. 

 

GunThings.com has replacement rubber eyepieces for the SUIT for $20.  TAPCO has repro L2A2 SUIT manuals for $0.99 (MAN2406); go to www.tapco.com for repro manuals.

 

The SUIT was a first generation quick-reaction sight contemporary with the Armson OEG.  It is overly designed (IMHO) for its use and is heavy for its size.  The average red dot sights now on the market are much superior to the SUIT, but that's because there has been 25 years of progress with this kind of sight since it was fielded.

 

My suggestion for a rugged red dot setup would be an A.R.M.S. No. 3 cover to replace the sheet metal one.  Then you can mount an Aimpoint ML2-2X red dot sight with A.R.M.S. 22M68 throw lever mount or a EO Tech Series 550 red dot holographic sight.  These are state-of-the-art, NVD compatible sights -- but not original equipment for the L1A1.

 

One thing I have yet to figure out is the bloody rubber eye cup.  What kind of idiot designed this optic so you cannot get a decent stockweld to look through the scope?  One thing for certain, it is not designed for glasses. 

 

I have one of the red LED tritium insert replacements in my SUIT and it works well.  The battery has lasted for years -- but I haven't used it very much either.

I have never seen replacement springs mate.  should you find a source do let us know though..!!

 

$20 is a bloody lot of money for a bit of eye rubber...!! 

Gosh, Andy, we in the colonies only get the Commonwealth stuff third hand.  You Commonwealth guys get first dibs.  You mean YOU haven't seen spare springs either?  There's probably somebody, someplace, siting on a huge box of these springs wondering what in blue blazes kind of equiment uses these goofy springs!  LOL

 

Well, yes, $20 is a bit much for a rubber eye piece.  But, if its the only game in town -- you're sort of stuck -- I guess.

 

Meanwhile, here's a look at the available replacement technology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i must say there may not be many people in this forum . but the people that are here a great for info . thanks all . and i have a battery/ switch on the way from gunthings.com via a contact in the US.

 i only got the scope because it fits my L1A1

 and i collect old stuff like that.

 thanks again all who replied to my question

 hope you all are safe and have a hppy new year .

 -4 hours to go here till 07

 Kevin

I didn't notice this mentioned, but another real-world "feature" of the SUIT that I have found rather frustrating is the poor quality of most of the topcover mounts.  There are at least three versions of this mount, and the very earliest of these I think is excellent.  However, the later two varieties are bordering on junk, in my opinion. Unfortunately, the later ones are all that are ever seen on the market. 

 

The topcover mount assembly is made from 3 major components.  1) the topcover, 2) an inverted-U shaped "adapter" piece of sheet metal spot-welded to the topcover, and 3) the "cradle" or "T-bar" casting which the SUIT actually attaches to, it is rivited to the inverted-U shaped "adapter" piece.  If you acutally use the SUIT much, you should expect the "T-Bar" to shoot loose in a few hundred rounds, and if you don't notice it loosening up, the SUIT will eventially just fall off the rifle! It is held on with rivits which are not up to the job.  It can be carefully re-attached with screws and nuts, or welded on.  Then, in a few thousand rounds, the spot welds which hold the metal inverted-U shaped peice to the topcover will start to pull through.  fixes for this are to braze or silver solder it back on, thereby increasing the area to spread out the force, as apposed to the small spot-welds.  There's a pretty good description of all these fixes on the FalFiles. 

 

I find it interesting that the SUIT has so many very good qualities, but is lacking in such basic ways.  In my opinion, the build quality of the optic sight itself is excellent.  And the concepts incorporated into it are not bad either.  As already mentioned my others here, these innovative features included the inverted post reticle, variable tritium illumination, offset objective to avoid mirage and allow stripper clip loading (in case on a C1), rubber eye cup, quick return to zero mount, excellent environmental sealing, and exellent optic quality.  Unfortunately, the crappy eye relief, heavy weight, and poor design and build of the mounting system pretty much kept it from being the truly outstanding sight that it could have been.

 

Here is a link to my SUIT reference files in case anyone would find it useful:

 

 

I still think it's a really cool sight though.  And looks sooo sexy on an L1A1 with Maranyl furniture.

 

Garret

 

Hi  Just today I was sorting some bits and pieces out in the garage, and I found a couple of items people are after, one them being a late pattern spring for the suit sight,you are welcome to have it no charge. Just send me your mailing address and I will sent it to you. Regards Ron.

Ron,

Personal message sent to you.

Thank you,

MG