Product Review: the Pandora PB-3

In previous posts I've gone over different types of optics and the methods and techniques for mounting and sighting them.  While attending the GOA GOALS Expo, I got to meet Garrett Shuck, director of sales for Lead & Steel, and some members of his team. They were more than willing to spend some time talking about their products with me. After the Expo ended, I reached out and he agreed to send me an item for testing and evaluation. Not only did they send me an optic, the Pandora PB-3, they also included a riser adaptor for use on any Picatinny rail equipped firearm.

Specifications

The Pandora PB-3 ($350 to $630, depending on options) is a non-magnified, heavy duty, large window, red dot optic. It has 7 daylight and 3 night vision brightness settings for the 3 MOA reticle. It's powered by a single 3 volt CR2032 button battery, which is capable of over 30,000 hours runtime, depending on brightness setting.  

The Lead & Steel Pandora PB-3

 

The Pandora PB-3 is available in both Flat Dark Earth and Jade anodizing. The one they sent me was Jade, and it's a very attractive color. The PB-3 can be ordered with any of half a dozen adaptor plates, including Glock MOS, M&P CORE, and CZ P-10.

The weight of the unit is 2.3 ounces, which is light for the size and durability. It's about two inches long, an inch and a third wide, and just over an inch tall (52.5 by 34 by 30 mm). The objective lens is 22 by 17 millimeters and provides a nice wide field of view.

Business end of the PB-3 mounted on the Author's Ghost 19

 

Operation

Movement of the dot is via traditional windage and elevation screws on the right side and top of the unit. They each have 100 MOA range of adjustment, which should cover all but the most crooked mounting setups.

Brightness is controlled by two buttons on top of the optic. Pressing either button will turn the unit on, and holding down the up button for three seconds will turn it off. The PB-3 will remember the last brightness setting when power cycled.

Installation 
As with most other red dot optics, installation is done by loosening the mounting screw, positioning it on the cross bar of the ACRO mounting plate, then snugging the screw firmly, without over tightening.

While the firearms industry and red dot makers haven't settled on a single pistol optic cut standard yet, there's a lot to be said for the Aimpoint ACRO design. It's sort of like a low profile Picatinny rail, and is amenable to quick detach bases.

There were no issues mounting it either on the adapter plate for my Ghost 19 or using the provided riser on my Smith & Wesson FPC.

Profile view of the PB-3 mounted on the Author's Ghost-19

 

Testing

All shooting was done on reduced scale B-29 silhouette targets.

After getting used to the adjustments, sighting it in was no problem. The pistol only took six rounds, one of which was a flyer that was my fault. Once this was done, I was able to put 19 more rounds into one largish hole at around five yards offhand.

Handgun sight-in at five yards

The FPC was even easier. At approximately eight yards, all twenty five rounds made one ragged hole. It almost felt like cheating.

PCC at eight yards

Due to the wide sight window and large field of view, I had almost no issue finding the dot on either platform. With some practice, I can see this being an extremely fast as well as accurate optic.

Pros
The PB-3 has many positive features:

1. Mounting it to a firearm is quick and easy.
2. It has simple controls.
3. Adjustments are straightforward and positive.
4. The battery can be accessed without removing the optic from the firearm.
5. When removed and replaced on the same firearm, the sight maintained zero.
6. Even with my astigmatism, I was able to find a brightness level that wasn't all flare and fuzz.
7. The unit appears to be extremely rugged.

Cons
There are only a few things that might be considered cons:

No Shake Awake

Lead & Steel elected to not include a Shake Awake feature* on this model. This does keep the price down and makes for a more rugged product; however, for use on a defensive firearm, I consider that feature something of a must-have. 

The optic could be kept on all the time, but that reduces battery life. However, at the advertised 30,000 hours of run time, that adds up to almost three and a half years, so this one might be a wash. 

* Shake Awake is a feature where the optic is in a very low power mode when at rest, but if moved suddenly (such as when drawn from a holster) it immediately returns to full power operation. After a set time of lack of motion, it returns to the very low power mode.

Size
While the Pandora seems a bit large and on the blocky side for handgun use compared to some of the other options currently on the market, that's the price paid for a red dot that's designed to take the punishment of riding in a holster day after day.

Reticle
Finally, there's only one reticle configuration, and the dot only comes in red.

Rating: 9 out of 10
The Lead & Steel Pandora PB-3 is a well-designed, robust, relatively cost-effective red dot. It's certainly on my short list for future purchases, and I'll be disappointed when I have to return the test unit. The only reason I didn't give it a perfect score is because of its lack of a Shake Awake feature.

Miscellaneous

The Pandora PB-3 comes well-packaged in a fitted foam lined box and includes the optic, a battery, lens wipe, Allen wrench, and a QR code to access the user guide. For those who prefer a more traditional process, the manual can also be downloaded as a PDF via their website.

As with all Lead and Steel products, the Pandora PB-3 comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty which promises the products will be free from manufacturing defects in material and workmanship (including electronics) under normal use for a lifetime. In case of failure, Lead and Steel will either repair or replace the product (determined by them) with a comparable product, free-of-charge.

Update

Garrett read this post and let me know about some changes, specifically their patent-pending AuraWake feature, their version of shake awake technology. While in the circle dot configuration, the accelerometer only affects the outer 65 MOA ring, but leaves the center dot illuminated. Since the ring is the biggest battery drain, this considerably improves battery life, but the dot is untouched. This configuration helps avoid potential failure points common with accelerometers in optics. The AuraWake feature is currently on their Promethean LP-1 optic, and will be in future versions of the Pandora PB-3.

Finally, Garrett is no longer director of sales, having been promoted to Vice President of  Lead & Steel. Congratulations, Garrett!

FTC disclaimer: I received this product from Lead & Steel for Test and Evaluation (T&E) purposes. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own.