We Bought Temu Tactical Gear So You Don’t Have To

If you watch a modicum of YouTube, you’ve likely been hit with tons and tons of ads for Temu. 

The site that advises you can shop like a billionaire and purchase products at prices that are too good to be true. Much like Wish and Alibaba, Temu is like an insanely cheap version of Amazon. 

Is it all crap? We actually bought some Temu tactical gear for ourselves to see just how good or bad it really is.

Let’s begin!

Temu Tactical Gear Comparison Chart

	Intended Use	Price	Recommend Alternative
Temu R1X	Long-gun optic	$13	Steiner MPS
Temu Grace M1	Pistol optic	$18	Primary Arms Classic Micro
Temu Handgun Case	Hard case	$8	Condition 1 pistol case
Temu 1.5-5X Magnifier	Red dot magnifier	$13	Primary Arms 3X Magnifier Gen 4
Temu Night Vision Monocular	Handheld night vision	$22	Sionyx Opsin
Temu Level IIIA Plate	Body armor	$18	RTS Tactical Ceramic Level IV Plate

How We Tested the Temu Tactical Gear

The easy answer is yes, Temu tactical gear is probably all bad. But how can I answer that question without giving it a shot? 

I signed up for Temu and went shopping. The app makes you give a lot of unnecessary permissions to Temu, so I used the website. I ordered the following to test and evaluate whether Temu’s tactical gear was worth the cost. 

• Long Gun Red Dot: $13 
• Handgun Red Dot: $18 
• Handgun Weapon Mounted Light: $20
• ‘Tactical’ handgun case: $8 
• 1.5-5X Magnifier: $13 
• Night Vision Monocular: $22
• Level 3A Plate: $18

Sadly, I never received the weapon-mounted light. Temu advised me to message the seller, who never responded. Temu didn’t offer a refund or replacement, but luckily, my credit card company took care of that for me. It’s also worth mentioning that this junk is considerably more expensive now with the new tariffs in place. 

I aimed to avoid purchasing rip-offs of existing products. A $50 knock-off of the excellent Aimpoint ACRO-P2 wasn’t going in my shopping cart. For everything but the optics, this was easy. I purchased the two red dots, thinking they were some generic design. 

I failed. When I received them, I learned one was a rip-off of a Steiner red dot that’s been out of production for a while. The other is a rip-off of the Grace M1 optic, which I had never heard of. While it wasn’t my intention to purchase frauds, it’s the hand I was dealt. 

Let’s see if this junk works.

The Best (Least Worst?) Temu Tactical Gear

1. Temu R1X – Long Gun Red Dot

The Temu R1X is a rip-off of the Steiner R1X. It’s a big red dot with an integrated quick-detach Picatinny mount. 

The optic came with five batteries, but it only takes two at a time. Odd, but whatever. The box is probably the most impressive thing about it. 

Most of the design decisions were Steiner, like the four flathead screws for the battery compartment, so I won’t harp too much on that. The optic easily attached to the Picatinny rail on a Mossberg 590R and was seemingly in spec. 

The first two batteries didn’t work, but the second two did. I turned the optic off and put the shotgun and optic back in my safe until I could shoot the next morning. The parasitic drain is so bad that it killed the batteries overnight. 

Determined to test the optic, I put in my own batteries, and they lasted three days.

On the range, I noticed that the optic’s tint is so dark blue that it looks like J.J. Abrams designed it. Add some lens flair, and it feels like watching Star Trek 3. Even with the dark filter, the dot is barely bright enough to see outdoors. 

But wait, there’s more! The dot is only visible in the bottom half and dead center. If I raise my head a hair or move it to the side, the dot disappears.

I zeroed the optic and let the buckshot fly. It held zero. The pump shotgun didn’t rattle it to death. That’s about the only nice thing I can say. 

Sure, the dot is ultra-dim, blooms a lot, and is only visible in about a quarter of the optic’s total window space, but at least it holds zero. 

Bottom line? Stick to Steiner for this one. The MPS is newer, smaller, and we’ve had good success with it on pistols and shotguns alike.

2. Temu (Fake) Grace M1 – Pistol Red Dot

This copy of the Grace M1 caught my eye because it lacked a top strap for the glass. It looked interesting and was cheap. Later, I figured out it was a real optic made by a real company. 

This cheap clone’s footprint did not match any of my handguns. I used the Picatinny rail adapter and mounted it to my Farrow Tech and P17 PDW with a cheap UTG riser. 

I was a little impressed out of the box. The buttons are reactive and tactile. The turrets click nicely while zeroing, and the view through the glass is remarkably clear. 

The dot does bloom a bit, but it’s usable and gets nice and bright. With a quick zero, I was hitting targets with ease at 50 yards and producing nice groups. 

I didn’t torture test it on the kit because it’s a loaner from Farrow Tech, but I popped the optic off the riser and dropped it a time or two. It held zero. I hit it with water from the sink, which didn’t fry it. 

I wouldn’t use this thing for anything serious, but it’s alright for plinking with a .22 LR pistol. 

For anything else, I’d suggest buying a different budget-friendly red dot, like the Primary Arms Classic Micro.

3. Temu Handgun Case – Hard Case

I was bamboozled when I bought this Tenu hard case. I saw many pictures, and the case looked much larger in the hands of the models in Temu.

I assumed it was large enough to fit two full-sized handguns, so you can imagine my surprise when it was so small that it could only fit one compact pistol. 

This is certainly not a Pelican case. It’s not even in line with the Harbor Freight Apache line. 

Inside, there is pluckable foam. The case has two locking points and is surprisingly water-resistant. I won’t call it waterproof, but I sprayed it with a hose for a solid 60 seconds with no water ingress.

All in all, this case would protect guns, but I wouldn’t travel with it. I might pluck the foam and make a silly case for a silly gun – maybe a Hi-Point C9 custom-cut case with a John Wick theme? 

Give me ideas below. In the meantime, grab a hard pistol case from Condition 1. These cases are still reasonably priced and work much better.

4. Temu 1.5-5X Magnifier – Variable Magnifier 

What attracted me to this magnifier was its variable nature. I’ve only seen a company called Lucid do that. 

Is a variable magnifier needed? I don’t think so. The concept adds a layer of complexity to a simple design. I’d just get an LPVO at that point, but I wanted to try it anyway. 

The magnifier comes with a mount that pushes to the side. It has a locking system, and I had to press the lock in and flip the magnifier to the left or right. 

I mounted the optic behind a Sig Sauer Romeo-MSR Gen 2 on a Palmetto State Armory JAKL and went to the range. 

This was the first time I used a magnified optic that made my vision worse. The view through the magnifier is fuzzy to high heaven, and there’s tons of chromatic aberration. 

The magnification ring moves smoothly, and the eye relief changes accordingly. The eye relief gets tight at full magnification, but not overly restrictive.

I’m not an optics snob, but holy crap; this thing is terrible. Even the mount kind of sucks; it’s insanely stiff, so I have to slap the magnifier hard to get it out of the way. 

It’s a no from me, dawg. I’ll trust a Primary Arms 3X magnifier over this any day.

5. Temu Night Vision Monocular – Night Vision

Temu has a ton of night vision optics. Some, like this monocular, are hilariously advertised with helmet mounts. It could work, but the fixed three-power magnification would make moving around impossible. 

This is the night vision mode of a digital camera fused with an IR emitter. In fact, it is a camera capable of taking photos and videos if you add a memory card. The unit has a rechargeable battery that lasts about an hour or so. It uses a USB-C to recharge, so there is nothing proprietary. 

After fiddling with the adjustable focus, I was surprised by how well it works. It provides a clear black-and-white view of the darkness around me. It’s still digital night vision, so it’s bright to your eyes and has limited utility, but it’s fun. 

The effective range is only about 25 yards. Anything beyond that, and the IR emitter runs out of juice.

For $22, I feel I got my money’s worth, but this is undoubtedly not a tactical tool. It feels lightweight and is mainly made of cheap polymer. 

It’s silly and fun, and my kids are amused by it. I don’t doubt one of them will drop it sooner or later, and it will be nonfunctional. For now, they can have fun watching rabbits in the pasture, and I can feel like my $22 was well spent.

If you really want to own the night, the Sionyx Opsin is a fantastic entry point into the world of night vision optics.

6. Temu Level IIIA Plate – Body Armor

Whenever you see a label like IIIA on body armor, you should know that it’s a standard set by the NIJ. The NIJ will even test and certify armor for companies. 

I do not believe that Chinese companies are held to the same standard. Call it a hunch; I purchased the Temu IIIA plate assuming it would fail.

This was an $18 plate, so don’t expect too much science from me. I tossed it on the berm and shot it, starting with a CZ P09 Nocturne. 

A level 3A plate should stop 9mm ammo, but I was utterly shocked when this one did. It worked! 

Anytime a plate is shot, it’s significantly degraded, but I wanted to see how much more this thing could stop. 

I brought a Ruger GP100, loaded with 150-grain .357 Mag moving at 1,200 feet per second from HOP Munitions. This revolver holds seven of them, and I emptied the gun into the plate. 

It stopped every one of them. Next came four more rounds of 9mm. All stopped. 

I could shake the plate and hear the metal inside. I even cut one out just to see it, then fired three rounds of 00 buckshot into the plate to finish things off. Only then did the back face start to come apart. 

I was surprised and amused that the plate stopped anything, much less five hits from 9mm, seven from .357 Mag, and three rounds of buckshot. 

Will I be a Chinese armor connoisseur? Hell no. Don’t use an $18 piece of body armor. I might have gotten a good one this time, but who knows how well-made these plates are? 

It’s quite likely that there are plates on Temu that wouldn’t stop a paintball. My only use for Chinese body armor is amusing myself at the range. For serious protection, RTS Level IV ceramic plates offer great value.

How to Pick the Best Temu Tactical Gear

This one’s easy – don’t.

That said, telling you to avoid something isn’t very helpful if we don’t offer a solution.

Instead of putting a cheap rip-off of a popular optic on your firearm, buy the real thing.

We have oodles of hands-on optic reviews where you can find products we recommend. That includes some fantastic pistol red dots, AR-15 scopes and optics, and long-range scopes. We even have some picks under $200.

Check out our body armor guide for plates that can actually save your life.

Instead of wasting money on a cheap, undersized pistol case, give some of our favorite range bags a look.

Meet the Experts

Heading up this article is Pew Pew Tactical author Travis Pike. Travis spent a lifetime shooting and hunting before joining the United States Marine Corps, where he spent five years as an infantryman. Travis is also an NRA-certified instructor and concealed carry instructor in the state of Florida.

Editing this article is Scott Murdock. Scott is a Marine Corps veteran who competed and qualified as a rifle and pistol expert while in service. In addition to shooting, Scott has written for a variety of publications, testing, researching, and evaluating guns and gear. He brings that knowledge and skillset to this article, editing and fact-checking for accuracy.

Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical.

Final Thoughts

I wouldn’t trust a single item I purchased to be used in anything other than airsoft or paintball. 

Sure, some of it exceeded my expectations, but the likelihood of failure is way too high to trust this stuff when it matters. 

Cheap Temu products can be amusing, and amusing is fine, but stick with established companies when your life is on the line. 

What do you think of Temu tactical gear? Let us know below. For gear we recommend whole-heartedly, help yourself to our entire archive of Definitive Guides!