All are good scopes for the money. I honestly don't think 30mm vs 1" makes a lick of difference in durability - just pick the scope you like for features and get whatever rings fit it's tube size.
I just picked up that Viper PST for my AR, and most of those you mentioned were on my short list. I also A-B compared it to the FFP SWFA 1-4 (at SWFA). FWIW, the SWFA offering is slightly more robust and a few oz heavier, has an extra bright setting for illumination in bright sunlight, and $300 more expensive. I really like the PST reticle, illumination for dusk piggy hunts, price, and warranty. I thought the eyebox and glass compared favorably to the Trijicon accupoint, which I think has great glass and an interesting no-battery reticle system but is nearly twice as expensive. Only downside really is the illumination is NOT readily visible in bright sun like a red dot, especially on lighter colored targets. However, on really dark targets or looking into shadows, the reticle lights up enough to provide great contrast - and still shows up "black" on light targets. For me this was just fine. Always best if you can do a side by side comparison, but that's not easy for a lot of us.
Also to be considered is the mount. I splurged on a Bobro quick release mount (comparable to the Larue 104 in weight and performance), and am really glad I did. With the scope mounted all the way forward in the mount, I have a lot of flexibility in quickly moving it along the receiver top. Though I didn't think at first this would be very useful, as I was not planning on moving it once set, being able to tweak the scope location depending on how stretched or compressed my stock is set is really neat. For example, when I want to take my 10yo son to the range and collapse the stock for better LOP, the optic can easily be moved with good retained zero and maintain proper eye relief.
Best,
C.
Last edited by CharlieKilo98; 01/30/13.
