The Infitac Fast Mini FMP13 is one of the most compact thermals on the market, and it IS DESIGNED FOR PISTOLS! The FMP13 brings thermal imaging into a platform traditionally reserved for red dots. It features a 256×192 sensor, 60 Hz refresh rate, and a 13mm F1.0 lens paired with a 1.4-inch 360×300 display. At just 4 ounces, it keeps weight to a minimum while still offering IP67 waterproofing and the ability to handle up to 1200g of recoil.
FMP13 Out of the Box
Inside the box, you’ll find the optic, two CR2 batteries, a protective cover, screws, and a manual. It even comes with some stickers and two thermal zeroing targets. Everything needed to get started is there.
For my testing, I also got their PM03 45° offset mount. This allowed me to run the optic alongside a primary sight on a rifle. This setup turned out to be the most practical way to use the FMP13, since it gave me the option to run a daytime optic and then roll over to thermal at night.
Housing on the FMP13
The housing is machined from 7075 aluminum, keeping durability in line with expectations for a rugged-use optic. It’s supposedly fully waterproof, rated to IP67 standards, and small enough not to feel very bulky on a pistol slide. While a little heavier than some pistol sights, I never had an issue with my pistol jamming due to the extra weight. Neither when shooting suppressed nor unsuppressed. The compact design is a strength, but it also makes the screen small and harder to use in fast-paced scenarios.
Battery
The optic runs on a single CR2 battery, with a runtime of around 5 hours at room temperature. There’s also a USB-C port for external power if you need extended use.
While 5 hours is actually pretty good for a thermal sight, it’s not exactly a great choice for a primary optic. This is another reason I preferred it as an offset option. On a rifle, it can be powered when needed, but I still have a primary sight with unlimited runtime available. This thermal also utilizes an RMR adapter to mount to many existing slide cuts, with other adaptors available.
Touchscreen Controls
The touchscreen interface is surprisingly intuitive. I was able to zero the optic, swap reticles, and change palettes quickly. Buttons are also available if you don’t want to rely on the screen. While I fat-fingered the options a few times, it was easy to swipe back to my color palette or reticle of choice.
The FMP13 offers a multi-reticle system, including a 6 MOA dot alone or paired with a 65 MOA or 130 MOA circle. An auto brightness feature is built in, but in the field, the display is where the optic falls short for use during the day. At night, it works just fine.
Brightness and Display
This is the FMP13’s biggest limitation. On bright summer days, I struggled to see the reticle or thermal detail, even at max brightness. I had to shield the display with my hand and lean dangerously close to the optic, risking contact with the slide, just to make out an image and zero the pistol. For daylight pistol use, it’s nearly unusable.
At night, though, it’s a completely different story. The brightness settings work well, and the image quality is good enough to identify game out to around 100 yards. I was also able to tune brightness to avoid backsplash, which is a nice perk when stalking pigs or other game at night.
Thermal detection stretches much farther than identification. I could pick up cows at 1250 yards, but they were nothing more than small heat blobs at that range. I couldn’t really detect anything living animals further than that.
Shooting Performance
Fast shooting is difficult with the FMP13 mounted to a pistol. I managed around 0.75-second splits when trying to shoot quickly. It is just hard to clearly focus on a miniature TV screen that is bouncing around on a moving pistol slide. Also, this limits you to an optic focus rather than a target focus, which drastically reduces your situational awareness.
Unlike a traditional red dot, the reticle can visually appear on the target when superimposed with the other eye, but the pistol itself might not be properly aligned. This makes rapid or defensive shooting unrealistic with the optic on a handgun, in my opinion. While the FMP13 seems to be well built with an easy interface, I just don’t see a good use case for it on a pistol for anything other than plinking or maybe even stalking up on varmints. However, when used for these specific circumstances, it worked well and was pretty fun.
In my opinion, the FMP13 really shines when used as an offset thermal on a rifle. Whether mounted at 12 o’clock or on a 45. On a rifle, it adds an after-dark thermal detection capability without being the primary optic system. Since I could run a standard daytime optic alongside it, I only switched to thermal when needed, and the aiming experience felt much more natural.
Durability
Aside from the limitations of the display during the day, durability was solid in my testing. It survived recoil, suppressor use, and normal handling without any major issues. After three suppressed shots, I noticed a glow at the bottom of the screen, but it remained the same size after a mag dump and remained usable.
During my testing, it survived a couple hundred rounds without issue. I never had the optic freeze or glitch, but after sharing my initial impressions online, I did hear reports from other users about screens freezing or displaying spots after exposure to hot objects. The upside is that Infitac seems to stand behind their warranty, and those users were taken care of without hassle. For those who want to see this optic in action, you can watch a short video I posted to my Instagram below. This video was filmed 30 minutes before sunset. For this reason, I could see the display much better than during the middle of the day.
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Summary of the FMP13
The Infitac Fast Mini FMP13 is an ambitious product. Packing a thermal optic into a 4-ounce housing with an RMR footprint is impressive on paper, but the reality is that brightness and aiming limitations hold it back from being a true replacement for a red dot.
As a pistol-mounted optic, it’s too difficult to shoot quickly in daylight and struggles with visibility. As a rifle-mounted offset optic, though, it becomes much more practical. It works well at night, offers useful detection ranges, and provides thermal capability without forcing you to give up your primary sight.
At $699, the FMP13 is an affordable entry into thermal optics compared to most alternatives. Just be realistic about its strengths and weaknesses. If you want a dedicated thermal sight for hunting or rifle work, it makes sense. If you want a true red dot replacement on a pistol, this isn’t it.
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