Flip to side red dot magnifiers

So I've been looking more in to getting the Stag 3T and I've been looking at optics to go on it, with the Vortex Strikefire red dot striking my eye because of the price. Pair this with the 3x magnifier that vortex makes and it would seem like a nifty little package on paper but my question is what is YOUR experience with flip to side magnifiers? Are they really that great or are they just another gimmick to sell to tacticool keyboard ninjas?

Would I better suited with a 1-6 power optic? Because my 3-9 seems a little large for the top of a carbine length rifle.

get something like a trijicon 1-4 or 1-6 accupower you can shoot with both eyes open, can shoot close range at 1x and then zoom in at 4 or 6x for those long shots easy as
red dot with a 3x zoom only gives you 3x zoom and a 3-9 mite be a bit much for a quick close shot imo

My sparc has a 2x magnifier, its useful but it also magnifies the dot just something to remember if you are hoping for greater precision.

Depends what your intended use is?

I have a 6x magnifier as i find the best mag range is 1 and 6.

A decent low power variable scope is also very good to use 1-4 / 1-6

Vortex strike eagle, reasonably priced and you can shoot both eyes open at 1 power. The illumination is quite good also.

Looked at red dots and magnifiers but they do obviously magnify the dot also.

+1 for vortex strike eagle