The best Leupold LPVOs in 2026
Our verdict for 2026: the Leupold VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 (around $1,600) is the best Leupold LPVO on features, because it is the one with the toolless dial-to-range turret and a 2025 industry award, and the Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 is its duty-built twin at the same money, so choosing between those two is a question about turrets rather than budget. But they are not the whole range, and price is the axis that separates them: Leupold's retailer stocks four true 1x scopes and the cheap ones are the interesting ones. If money matters, the Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 is a true 1x for about five hundred dollars less. If weight matters, the VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 is the lightest of the four at 15 ounces, and it carries the one fact on this page you will not find in the retailer's own description: its turret is metric, clicking a centimetre at a hundred metres, with no MOA version of the scope to order instead. All four are now carded in full. What none of them has is a proven owner record, and we would rather tell you that than pick one and pretend.
Leupold's 1x range is small but it is not two scopes, and it did not shrink: the 1-5x24 we reported gone in August had been replaced by a Gen 2 under a new listing. Prices re-read on the retailer's own product pages August 30, 2026; confirm the current price before you buy.
Leupold does not chase the budget LPVO fight. Its low power variable optics are premium, US-made scopes with daylight-bright FireDot illumination and the Leupold lifetime guarantee. What follows is all four true 1x Leupolds the retailer stocks, researched in full: the two 1-6x flagships, the lightest of the range and the far cheaper Mark 4HD. After them comes the one scope people reach for on price that is not a 1x at all, and a plain account of two mistakes this page was making in August 2026.
How these picks were made: a research-based roundup of Leupold's current LPVOs, comparing published specifications, industry awards and pricing on OpticsPlanet, with every specification checked against Leupold's own part-number page rather than the retailer's table. That check matters here, and it caught something on every one of these scopes: the retailer lists the Patrol's click value as 1 MOA and Leupold's page for part 185606 says 1/4 MOA; the retailer's description of the VX-5HD Gen 2 promises a CDS-SZL2 dial and a ZeroLock system that Leupold's specification for part 183844 lists as "No"; and the retailer's own table for that scope prints "180 MOA" and "89 MOA" of travel two rows apart. We print Leupold's figures. No scope on this page has a usable owner record at model level. The two 1-6x scopes have zero owner reviews anywhere; the VX-5HD Gen 2 shows "Not Yet Rated" with none at all; the Mark 4HD has exactly one at the retailer and it is for a different reticle variant. The manufacturer's own review counts are no help, because they are series-wide: the 4.8 from 272 on Leupold's Mark 4HD pages and the 4.9 from 77 on its VX-5HD Gen 2 pages both appear identically on sibling part numbers. Nobody has rated these individually yet, and we will not borrow an older generation's ratings to fill the gap, so there is no owner-review synthesis here and the star scores are our editorial judgement of the specification, not a record of what owners report. The flagship at least carries a verified 2025 NASGW-POMA Caliber Award; the Patrol carries no award we could verify. Every product on this page was re-checked against the retailer's own product page on 2026-08-15, and the whole Leupold catalogue was re-read alongside them, which is how we found that two more true 1x scopes are on sale and that a conclusion we published on 2026-08-07 was wrong. Confirm current price on the retailer page. See how we evaluate.
- Leupold VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 CDS-SZL2 - Best overall Leupold LPVO
- Leupold Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 FireDot Duplex - Best Leupold LPVO for duty and competition
- Leupold VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 Metric Illum. FireDot 4 Fine - Lightest true 1x Leupold
- Leupold Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 Illum. FireDot BDC - Best value Leupold LPVO
- Leupold VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 CDS-ZL FireDot Twilight Hunter - Cheapest and lightest, but not a true 1x
- The rest of the true 1x range, and a correction
- How to choose a Leupold LPVO
- FAQ
Quick comparison
| Category | Pick | Spec | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall Leupold LPVO | Leupold VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 CDS-SZL2 | 1-6x · CDS dial | around $1,600 | Check price |
| Best Leupold LPVO for duty and competition | Leupold Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 FireDot Duplex | 1-6x · 15.7 oz | around $1,600 | Check price |
| Lightest true 1x Leupold | Leupold VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 Metric Illum. FireDot 4 Fine | 1-5x · 15 oz | around $1,500 | Check price |
| Best value Leupold LPVO | Leupold Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 Illum. FireDot BDC | 1-4.5x · 18 oz | around $1,100 | Check price |
| Cheapest and lightest, but not a true 1x | Leupold VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 CDS-ZL FireDot Twilight Hunter | 1.5-5x · 12.5 oz | around $700 | Check price |
Best overall Leupold LPVO: Leupold VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 CDS-SZL2
1-6x · 24mm · 30mm tube · SFP · daylight-bright FireDot Duplex · SpeedSet CDS-ZL2 dial · 17.4 oz · Leupold lifetime
around $1,600exact price on OpticsPlanet
🏆 NASGW-POMA Caliber Award, Best New Optic, 2025 (source: NASGW-POMA Caliber Awards)
This is the Leupold LPVO to buy if you want the brand's flagship: a hunting-first 1-6x that borrows the toolless turret from Leupold's Mark tactical line. Its signature is the SpeedSet CDS-ZL2 dial, a push-button, tool-free elevation turret that lets you reset to zero or swap a custom laser-engraved ballistic dial in the field, so you range a target, dial the yardage and hold dead center, no holdover maths. It runs a genuinely daylight-bright fiber-optic FireDot for red-dot-fast aiming at 1x, packs 180 MOA of travel and an electronic reticle level into a light 17.4-ounce, straight-tube body that slips out of a scabbard, and it is US-made, Punisher-tested and guaranteed for life. It is new enough that it carries no owner reviews yet, but it took the NASGW-POMA Caliber Award for Best New Optic in 2025, beating Sig and Holosun. For a premium hunting LPVO, it is Leupold's best.
Pros
- The toolless SpeedSet CDS-ZL2 dial resets zero or swaps a custom ballistic dial in the field with no hex wrench
- A genuinely daylight-bright fiber-optic FireDot at 1x for red-dot-fast aiming, plus 180 MOA of travel and an electronic reticle level
- Light at 17.4 oz with a straight, bell-free tube that clears brush and scabbards; US-made, Punisher-tested, lifetime guarantee
- Won the NASGW-POMA Caliber Award for Best New Optic in 2025, an 18-judge industry panel, over Sig and Holosun entries
Cons
- Second focal plane, so the reticle sub-tensions are only exact at 6x; you dial the turret rather than hold in the reticle
- The FireDot Duplex is a simple hunting reticle with no BDC "tree", so it leans on dialing rather than reticle holds
- Long-range shooters find Leupold's hunting turret clicks a touch mushy next to a Nightforce or tactical dial
- The newest model, so no verified owner reviews yet, and at more than $1,500 it is a premium-priced optic
Best for: a serious hunter who wants Leupold's premium 1-6x with a dial-to-range turret for close brush out to 400 to 600 yards. Precision and PRS competitors who need FFP reticle holds should look elsewhere. If the price is the problem, there are two cheaper true 1x Leupolds below.
Key specifications
| Manufacturer | Leupold (USA) |
|---|---|
| Magnification | 1-6x |
| Objective | 24 mm |
| Tube | 30 mm |
| Focal plane | Second (SFP) |
| Reticle | Illuminated FireDot Duplex (daylight bright) |
| Turret | SpeedSet CDS-ZL2, toolless, ZeroLock |
| W/E travel | 180 MOA |
| Field of view | 120.9 ft at 100 yds (1x) |
| Weight | 17.4 oz |
| Extras | Electronic reticle level, Motion Sensor Technology, Guard-Ion coatings |
| Warranty | Leupold Lifetime Guarantee |
Best Leupold LPVO for duty and competition: Leupold Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 FireDot Duplex
1-6x · 24mm · 30mm tube · SFP · illuminated FireDot Duplex · ZeroLock turret, 1/4 MOA clicks · 15.7 oz · Leupold lifetime
around $1,600exact price on OpticsPlanet
This is the Leupold to buy if you want the 1-6x without the flagship's custom dial, and it is the lighter of the two 1-6x scopes at 15.7 ounces, nearly two ounces under the VX-6HD Gen 2 above. This page used to call it the lightest true 1x Leupold sells and that is settled now, against it: the VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 is 15 ounces on Leupold's own specification, a hundred dollars cheaper, and carded above. We withdrew the claim in August 2026 while the only 15-ounce figure available came from the retailer, and we are not restoring it now that the manufacturer's number has arrived and disagrees with us. What the Patrol keeps is the 1-6x top end and a turret that works in MOA rather than centimetres. Leupold builds this one for duty, competition and training rather than hunting, and the specification reads that way, with 180 MOA of total travel in 1/4 MOA clicks, 20 MOA per turret revolution, a push-button ZeroLock system so the dial does not move on its own, eight brightness levels of daylight-bright FireDot illumination that is also night-vision compatible, and Motion Sensor Technology to save the CR2032. The catch is the number next to it: it costs exactly what the award-winning flagship costs, to the cent, so this is a sideways move on price and a choice about what you want the turret to do. Pick it for the lighter body and the duty brief; pick the VX-6HD if the dial-to-range turret is the point.
Pros
- Light at 15.7 oz on Leupold's figure, about 1.7 oz under the VX-6HD Gen 2, though the VX-5HD Gen 2 above is lighter still at 15 oz
- 180 MOA of elevation and windage travel in 1/4 MOA clicks, 20 MOA per revolution, with a push-button ZeroLock dial
- Daylight-bright FireDot illumination across eight settings, night-vision compatible, with Motion Sensor Technology on a CR2032
- Built and tested by Leupold for duty, competition and training use, and covered by the same lifetime guarantee
Cons
- It costs the same as the VX-6HD Gen 2 flagship, so it saves you nothing; the Patrol name suggests a value line and the Gen 2 price is not one
- This version has no Custom Dial System turret. Leupold sells the CDS-ZL2 dial only on the CM-R2 variant, part 185607, which costs more than the version we card here
- Second focal plane with a plain FireDot Duplex, so there is no ranging or BDC tree in the reticle and sub-tensions are exact only at 6x
- No owner reviews at all yet, and no award or third-party test we could verify, so its case rests entirely on the specification
Best for: a shooter who wants Leupold's lifetime guarantee and a genuinely light 1-6x for carbine, duty or competition work, and who would rather have the lighter tube than the flagship's toolless ballistic dial. If you want to dial yardages on a hunt, the VX-6HD Gen 2 is the better buy at the same money.
Key specifications
| Manufacturer | Leupold (USA) |
|---|---|
| Part number | 185606 |
| Magnification | 1-6x |
| Objective | 24 mm |
| Tube | 30 mm |
| Focal plane | Second (SFP) |
| Reticle | Illuminated FireDot Duplex (daylight bright, NV compatible) |
| Click value | 1/4 MOA |
| W/E travel | 180 MOA, 20 MOA per revolution |
| Field of view | 120.9 ft at 100 yds (1x), 19.2 ft (6x) |
| Eye relief | 3.7 to 3.8 in |
| Parallax | Fixed at 150 yds |
| Weight | 15.7 oz |
| Length | 10.7 in |
| Illumination | 8 settings, CR2032, Motion Sensor Technology |
| Warranty | Leupold Lifetime Guarantee |
Lightest true 1x Leupold: Leupold VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 Metric Illum. FireDot 4 Fine
1-5x · 24mm · 30mm tube · SFP · illuminated FireDot 4 Fine · metric turret, 1 cm at 100 m clicks · 15 oz · Leupold lifetime
around $1,500exact price on OpticsPlanet
This is the lightest true 1x Leupold sells, 15 ounces against 15.7 for the Patrol, 17.4 for the flagship and 18 for the Mark 4HD, and all four of those are Leupold's own figures rather than a retailer's, so for once the comparison is like for like. It is also a hundred dollars under either 1-6x. Then comes the thing nobody else will tell you, and it is the reason this scope sits below the Patrol on our score rather than above it: this scope is metric. It is not a metric option, it is the only 1-5x24 Leupold builds in the Gen 2 line, the model name says "Metric Illum. FireDot 4 Fine", Leupold describes it as having "adjustments in metric units", and the turret clicks 1 cm at 100 metres with 80 cm per revolution. If you zero at 100 yards and your drop chart is in inches or MOA, every turret correction you make on this scope is a unit conversion. Buy it if you already think in centimetres and mils, or if you never touch the turret and hold in the reticle. Everything else about it is what you pay Leupold for: 180 MOA of total travel, a daylight-bright fibre-optic FireDot with Motion Sensor Technology, a 115.5 foot field of view at 1x, a 10.7 inch tube and the lifetime guarantee.
Pros
- The lightest true 1x Leupold sells at 15 oz, and this time the comparison is honest: all four weights come from Leupold's own part-number pages
- A hundred dollars under both 1-6x flagships, with the same Professional-Grade glass, Guard-Ion coatings and Leupold Lifetime Guarantee
- 180 MOA of elevation and windage travel, equal to the two 1-6x scopes and well above the Mark 4HD's 165 MOA
- Daylight-bright fibre-optic FireDot 4 Fine with Motion Sensor Technology on a CR2032, and a wide 115.5 ft field of view at 1x
Cons
- The turret is metric: 1 cm at 100 m per click, 80 cm per revolution. If you zero in yards and your data is in MOA or inches, you convert every time you dial
- Metric is not a choice here. Leupold builds the Gen 2 1-5x24 in exactly one configuration, so there is no MOA version of this scope to order instead
- Leupold's specification for this part lists no Custom Dial System, no locking dial and no BDC dial, and parallax is fixed at 150 yds, so there is no range-it-and-dial-it workflow. The retailer's description says otherwise and it is describing the rest of the series
- No owner record at all. The retailer shows "Not Yet Rated" with zero reviews, and the 4.9 from 77 reviews on Leupold's page is the whole VX-5HD Gen 2 series, not this scope
Best for: a hunter who wants the lightest Leupold 1x on a mountain rifle and either shoots metric already or holds in the reticle instead of dialling. If you dial in MOA or yards, the Patrol 6HD Gen 2 costs a hundred dollars more and does not make you convert.
Key specifications
| Manufacturer | Leupold (USA) |
|---|---|
| Part number | 183844 |
| Magnification | 1-5x |
| Objective | 24 mm |
| Tube | 30 mm |
| Focal plane | Second (SFP) |
| Reticle | Metric Illum. FireDot 4 Fine (daylight bright, not NV compatible) |
| Click value | 1 cm at 100 m (metric) |
| W/E travel | 180 MOA / 52.4 MIL / 524 cm at 100 m, 80 cm per revolution |
| Turret | Pop-up re-zero; no Custom Dial System, no locking dial |
| Field of view | 115.5 ft at 100 yds (1x), 23.9 ft (5x) |
| Eye relief | 3.8 to 3.9 in |
| Parallax | Fixed at 150 yds |
| Weight | 15 oz |
| Length | 10.7 in |
| Illumination | Daylight-bright FireDot, CR2032, Motion Sensor Technology |
| Warranty | Leupold Lifetime Guarantee |
Best value Leupold LPVO: Leupold Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 Illum. FireDot BDC
1-4.5x · 24mm · 30mm tube · SFP · illuminated FireDot BDC · capped 1/4 MOA turrets · 18 oz · Leupold lifetime
around $1,100exact price on OpticsPlanet
This is the true 1x Leupold to buy when the other two cost more than you want to spend, and the gap is not small: it is roughly five hundred dollars under both cards, from the same maker, with the same lifetime guarantee, and it is a genuine 1x rather than the 1.5x compromise you drop to below it. Leupold builds it on the Mark 4HD platform, a slimmer-tubed version of the Mark 5HD, and for the money you get 165 MOA of elevation and windage in quarter-MOA clicks, a daylight-bright push-button FireDot with holdover marks in the BDC reticle, a 118.8 foot field of view at 1x and a 10.7 inch, 30 mm tube. What the five hundred dollars actually buys on the scopes above is the turret and the top end, and that is the honest way to read this: the Mark 4HD has capped turrets and a fixed 150 yard parallax, so there is no range-it-and-dial-it workflow, and it stops at 4.5x. It is also the heaviest of Leupold's four true 1x scopes at 18 ounces, which surprises people who expect the cheap one to be the light one. Buy it as a close-to-mid general-purpose 1x, not as a cheaper flagship.
Pros
- The cheapest true 1x Leupold sells, roughly five hundred dollars under both 1-6x flagships and four hundred under the VX-5HD Gen 2, with the same lifetime guarantee
- Illuminated FireDot BDC gives daylight-bright aiming at 1x AND holdover marks, so you can hold rather than dial
- 165 MOA of elevation and windage travel in 1/4 MOA clicks, 71.5 MOA of dial travel and 25 MOA per revolution
- Wide at the bottom end: 118.8 ft of field of view at 100 yards on 1x, on a 10.7 in, 30 mm tube
Cons
- The heaviest of Leupold's four true 1x scopes at 18 oz, above even the 17.4 oz flagship, so the saving is money and not weight
- Tops out at 4.5x against the 5x and 6x of the others, which makes it a close-to-mid scope rather than a reach-out one
- Capped turrets and a fixed 150 yard parallax: no CDS custom dial, no locking dial, no revolution indicator, no side focus
- No owner record at model level. The retailer shows one review and it is for a different reticle variant, and the 4.8 from 272 on Leupold's page is the whole Mark 4HD series
Best for: a shooter who wants a real 1x Leupold with a lifetime guarantee for brush, general-purpose and close-to-mid work, and would rather keep five hundred dollars than have a dial-to-range turret. If you want to dial yardages, or you want the lightest tube, this is not the one.
Key specifications
| Manufacturer | Leupold (USA) |
|---|---|
| Part number | 183315 (Illum. FireDot BDC) |
| Magnification | 1-4.5x |
| Objective | 24 mm |
| Tube | 30 mm |
| Focal plane | Second (SFP) |
| Reticle | Illuminated FireDot BDC (bullet drop) |
| Click value | 1/4 MOA |
| W/E travel | 165 MOA, 25 MOA per revolution, 71.5 MOA dial travel |
| Turret | Capped, re-zero by set screw |
| Field of view | 118.8 ft at 100 yds (1x), 25.2 ft (4.5x) |
| Eye relief | 3.7 to 3.9 in |
| Parallax | Fixed at 150 yds |
| Weight | 18 oz |
| Length | 10.7 in |
| Illumination | Daylight-bright FireDot, push button, CR2032 |
| Warranty | Leupold Lifetime Guarantee |
Cheapest and lightest, but not a true 1x: Leupold VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 CDS-ZL FireDot Twilight Hunter
1.5-5x · 20mm · 30mm tube · SFP · illuminated CDS-ZL FireDot Twilight Hunter · 1/4 MOA · 12.5 oz · Leupold lifetime
around $700exact price on OpticsPlanet
This is the cheapest Leupold on the page and also the lightest thing on it, and both of those facts are the whole argument. At 12.5 ounces it undercuts even the VX-5HD Gen 2, the lightest of the four true 1x scopes above, by two and a half ounces, and it costs several hundred dollars less than any of them while carrying the same lifetime guarantee and the same made-in-Oregon build. What you give up is in the name. It starts at 1.5x, not 1x, and that is not a rounding difference: the point of an LPVO's bottom end is both-eyes-open shooting with the reticle floating like a red dot, and 1.5x is where that begins to break down. Buy it as a light, cheap, close-to-mid hunting scope from a maker you trust, not as a cheaper answer to which true 1x. One number is worth knowing before you shop, because the retailer gets it wrong: Leupold's own specification for part 180626 is 12.5 ounces, while the retailer's page says 14.3. The lighter figure is the manufacturer's, and lightness is the reason to consider this scope at all.
Pros
- The lightest scope on this page at 12.5 oz by Leupold's own specification, under even the 15 oz VX-5HD Gen 2, and the cheapest by several hundred dollars
- 125 MOA of elevation and windage in 1/4 MOA clicks, with the CDS-ZL custom dial system Leupold laser-etches to your load once you send your ballistics
- Clear glass is the one thing owners agree on: three of the four usable reviews raise it independently, and three separately credit the illuminated FireDot for helping aging eyes in low light
- Leupold Lifetime Guarantee, made in Oregon, and a fixed 150 yard parallax that suits the close-to-mid ranges this scope is actually for
Cons
- It is not a true 1x. At 1.5x the both-eyes-open, red-dot-like sight picture that defines an LPVO starts to break down, which is the entire reason it is cheaper
- The 20 mm objective is the smallest here, and the 5x top end is the shortest reach of any scope on the page
- The owner record is far thinner than the number 6 suggests: one of the six reviews is about a scope mount rather than this scope, another reviewer posted twice on the same day, and one buyer wrote before he had used it in the field. Nobody has reported on durability, recoil or tracking
- Leupold contradicts itself on how many illumination settings it has, its own description saying seven and its own specification table saying eight, so we do not print a number for it
Best for: a hunter who wants the lightest, cheapest Leupold with a lifetime guarantee for brush and close-to-mid shots, especially on a light or short rifle. If you want the both-eyes-open 1x sight picture, buy one of the four true 1x scopes above instead.
Key specifications
| Manufacturer | Leupold (USA) |
|---|---|
| Part number | 180626 (CDS-ZL Illum. FireDot Twilight Hunter) |
| Magnification | 1.5-5x |
| Objective | 20 mm |
| Tube | 30 mm |
| Focal plane | Second (SFP) |
| Reticle | Illuminated CDS-ZL FireDot Twilight Hunter |
| Click value | 1/4 MOA |
| W/E travel | 125 MOA each |
| Field of view | 67.6 ft at 100 yds (1.5x), 24.1 ft (5x) |
| Eye relief | 4.4 to 3.6 in |
| Parallax | Fixed at 150 yds |
| Weight | 12.5 oz |
| Illumination | FireDot, CR2032 (Leupold states seven settings in its description and eight in its specification table, so we do not publish a count) |
| Warranty | Leupold Lifetime Guarantee |
The cheaper Leupold that is not a 1x, and two corrections
On August 7, 2026 this page reported that the Leupold VX-5HD 1-5x24 had left the range, because its product page at the retailer had gone dead and offered no orderable model. The page really was dead. The conclusion we drew from it was wrong. The scope had been replaced by a Gen 2 under a different listing, which is precisely why the old page went dead, and we found that out on August 15 only by reading the retailer's entire Leupold catalogue rather than the dead page. We are printing the correction rather than editing the history away, because the mistake is the useful part: a discontinued listing is evidence about a listing, not about a product line.
Then we made the same mistake again, in the other direction. Having found the Gen 2, we searched Leupold's own site for its part number, 183844, got nothing back, and told you that Leupold does not publish that scope at all, which is why we would not rank its weight against the others. Leupold publishes it in full, with a complete specification and a list price matching the retailer's to the cent. Leupold's search box simply does not match part numbers. Opening the VX-5HD Gen 2 series page found it immediately, one of twelve models. An empty search result is evidence about a search box, not about a catalogue, and that is now the second time on this page that a “nothing found” screen has been read as a fact about the world.
So the range is four true 1x scopes, and all four are carded above with their specifications taken from Leupold's own part-number pages. A fifth Leupold is carded above them now and is not a 1x at all: the VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 that people reach for on price. It is both the cheapest and, at 12.5 oz, the lightest scope on this page, which is exactly why it needs the caveat rather than a rank among the four.
| True 1x Leupold | Price | Weight (Leupold) | Turret units | Owner record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 (lightest true 1x) | around $1,500 | 15 oz | Metric, 1 cm at 100 m | None at all |
| Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 | around $1,600 | 15.7 oz | 1/4 MOA | None yet |
| VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24 | around $1,600 | 17.4 oz | MOA, custom dial | None yet |
| Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 (cheapest) | around $1,100 | 18 oz | 1/4 MOA, capped | One review, at the retailer |
Every weight in that table is now Leupold's own, which is the only reason it is allowed to rank them. Until August 16, 2026 the VX-5HD Gen 2's 15 ounces came from the retailer while the other three came from the manufacturer, so this page refused to name a lightest scope rather than compare two different kinds of number. Leupold's part-number page now gives 15 ounces itself, identical to the retailer's, so the ranking stands on one source. Nobody has a usable owner record here, and the manufacturer's review counts cannot fill the gap: the 4.8 from 272 shown on Leupold's Mark 4HD pages and the 4.9 from 77 shown on its VX-5HD Gen 2 pages are series-wide. In both cases a sibling part number displays the identical figure, and the reviews rendered underneath are written about entirely different scopes, an 8-32x56 or a 3-15x44. We published the 272 as one scope's rating in August 2026 and corrected it; the 77 was caught before it reached this page.
The VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 now carries a full card above, because the gather was done on August 17, 2026. It sat in this section without one for the same reason the Mark 4HD and the VX-5HD Gen 2 once did: we card a product only after gathering its specification and its owner record. Going to Leupold for that specification immediately paid for itself. The retailer lists the scope at 14.3 oz and Leupold's own page for part 180626 says 12.5 oz, which is not a detail on a scope whose entire case is that it is the light, cheap one. Three more retailer fields were wrong in three different directions, so this is not a unit conversion slipping: field of view, eye relief and total adjustment travel were all off, and the retailer omits the fixed 150 yard parallax altogether. Comparing across brands instead? See our best LPVO guide.
How to choose a Leupold LPVO
A few things decide it:
- Do you need a true 1x? This is the first question, not the last one. Four Leupolds start at 1x and let you shoot both eyes open; the far cheaper VX-3HD starts at 1.5x and does not. Everything else is secondary to that.
- How much top end do you actually use? This is what separates the four, and it is the axis price follows. 1-6x costs around $1,600 either way, 1-5x costs around $1,500, and 1-4.5x costs around $1,100. If your shooting lives inside 200 yards, the top end you are paying for is the one you will use least.
- The turret is the real decision between the two 1-6x scopes. They cost the same, so zoom and price do not separate them. The VX-6HD Gen 2 has the toolless SpeedSet dial that resets zero or swaps a custom ballistic dial with no tools; the Patrol we card here has a plain ZeroLock dial in 1/4 MOA clicks. Leupold sells a Custom Dial System version of the Patrol, but only with the CM-R2 reticle, as part 185607, and it costs more than the Patrol we card.
- What units your turret speaks. Three of these four click in MOA. The VX-5HD Gen 2 clicks 1 cm at 100 m and turns 80 cm per revolution, because Leupold builds the Gen 2 1-5x24 in one configuration and that configuration is metric. If your drop chart is in inches or MOA and you dial rather than hold, that is a conversion every single time, and it is the reason the lightest scope here is not the one we score highest. If you already work in centimetres and mils, the objection disappears.
- Weight. The order is the VX-5HD Gen 2 at 15 oz, the Patrol at 15.7 oz, the VX-6HD Gen 2 at 17.4 oz and the Mark 4HD at 18 oz, all four on Leupold's own part-number pages. The cheap one is the heavy one, which surprises people. If minimum weight on a mountain rifle is the deciding factor, the lightest one asks you to accept a metric turret in exchange.
- Proof, or the lack of it. None of these four has a usable owner record at model level. The VX-6HD Gen 2's case rests on its specification plus a verified 2025 Caliber Award; the Patrol's rests on the specification alone; the Mark 4HD has one review at the retailer, for a different reticle variant; the VX-5HD Gen 2 has none at all. Leupold's site shows a rating on each of them, and in both cases we could check it is the whole series rather than the scope. If you want a 1-6x with a long owner record behind it, that is an argument for looking at other brands, and it is the single strongest one on this page.
- Focal plane. All four are second focal plane, so you dial the turret for elevation. If you want first-focal-plane reticle holds, look at other brands in our best LPVO guide.
Comparing across brands? See our best LPVOs (Vortex, Sig and budget picks) and best rifle scopes. Weighing a dot instead? See LPVO vs red dot.
FAQ
What is the best Leupold LPVO?
On features, the VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24: a hunting-first 1-6x with a toolless SpeedSet dial and a daylight-bright FireDot, and the 2025 NASGW-POMA Caliber Award for Best New Optic. Its twin is the Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24, built for duty and competition at the same price, so that choice is about turrets rather than budget. Neither has any owner reviews yet. On price the answer is different: the Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24 is the cheapest true 1x Leupold makes, roughly five hundred dollars under both, with the honest trades being a 4.5x top end, capped turrets and 18 ounces, which makes it the heaviest of the four rather than the lightest. On weight the answer is different again: the VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 is the lightest at 15 ounces on Leupold's own figure, but its turret is metric, clicking a centimetre at a hundred metres, and Leupold builds no MOA version of it. Be careful with the ratings on Leupold's own product pages: the 4.8 from 272 reviews on the Mark 4HD pages and the 4.9 from 77 on the VX-5HD Gen 2 pages are series-wide, not model-specific, and no scope on this page has a usable owner record at model level. Cheaper again is the VX-3HD 1.5-5x20, under $1,000, but it starts at 1.5x rather than a true 1x.
Does Leupold make a first focal plane LPVO?
Not in this 1x class. All four of Leupold's true 1x scopes, the VX-6HD Gen 2 1-6x24, the Patrol 6HD Gen 2 1-6x24, the VX-5HD Gen 2 1-5x24 and the Mark 4HD 1-4.5x24, are second focal plane, so their reticle holds are calibrated at maximum magnification and you dial the elevation turret instead. If you specifically need a first-focal-plane LPVO with reticle holds at any magnification, an optic like the Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8x FFP is the route; see our best LPVO guide.
Is a Leupold LPVO worth the money?
For a hunter who values Leupold's glass, low-light performance, US manufacturing and lifetime guarantee, yes. Leupold LPVOs cost more than a budget option, but they deliver daylight-bright illumination, a 180 MOA adjustment range, US manufacturing and a lifetime guarantee, and they hold strong resale value. Note that the dial-to-range Custom Dial System turret comes on the VX-6HD Gen 2 but not on the FireDot Duplex version of the Patrol 6HD Gen 2, so check which turret you are paying for. If you mainly need a value 1-6x for range and general AR use, a cheaper LPVO will do; the Leupold is for the buyer who wants premium hunting glass.
What magnification is a Leupold LPVO?
Leupold's true 1x LPVOs top out between 4.5x and 6x. The VX-6HD Gen 2 and the Patrol 6HD Gen 2 are 1-6x, the VX-5HD Gen 2 is 1-5x and the Mark 4HD is 1-4.5x. A true 1x low end gives both-eyes-open, red-dot-style speed up close, then you zoom for identifying and hitting targets at a few hundred yards; the cheaper VX-3HD 1.5-5x20 gives that up, because it starts at 1.5x. None of them reaches the 8x or 10x of some other brands' LPVOs, in keeping with Leupold's hunting-focused, lightweight design.
Related: best LPVOs (all brands) · best rifle scopes · LPVO vs red dot.