If I just want to find and observe critters, people and things at night,
What kind of monocular or binocular devices are best?

We have visiting squirrels, opossums, cottontails, armadillos, foxes, owls,, red tail hawks, bats, whitetail deer, coyotes, gopher tortoises, gators, bobcats, burglars, etc.

This is within 20 - 150 yards, just in my neighborhood.

Night vision versus thermal: I know each technology has its pros and cons but I'm interested in what you all have found useful.

I take it by "Night Vision" you mean Infrared?
With that technology you need a light source to illuminate your objects.
With Thermal the heat of the object itself is what is seen.

There's three types of NV.

Amplification tube

Digital IR

Thermal

Amplification is traditional NV that uses available light and amplifies it through a tube. It has a life span and then goes bad. This is where you see the Gen 1, 2 or 3 designation.

Digital IR is very cheap, but requires a light to illuminate the subject with only the field of view where the light illuminates.

Thermal does not use an amplification tube and has no life span to worry about or need an illuminator. It is light years superior to both.

I tried digital, but the requirements for an illumination source and critters can hide in the shadows led me to purchase a thermal.

i have no experience with thermal ... but a fair amount w/ Army hardware specifically PVS-7s

quality (ie 3rd Gen) NV is great for seeing / general observation / performing tasks like flying / driving / etc. it's a skill you can learn like anything else. depth perception and eye strain are factors --- an infantry unit well-trained with NV suffers very little degradation of mission capability in the darkness. they can keep going pretty much full speed regardless of day / night

But a NV limitation is finding things that are hidden. that is where thermal obviously is going to have an advantage. if I'm camo'd up and hunkered down quiet and immobile -- and you have NV on -- you may not see me. but with thermal you definitely will.

head / helmet-mounted NV plus a rifle with a zeroed IR laser is an awesome combo.

really depends what you want to do with it.

an example might be -- a pilot would want NV to fly the helicopter ... but once he got to the target area and he wanted to locate / destroy enemy targets -- switching to thermal would be the ideal choice

the correct answer is 'Get Both'.

----------------------------------

I’m deciding on getting a clip on thermal for my PVS14. That would be the best of both worlds. Modern night vision is really quite impressive, even a “budget” tube like I got.

I have good night vision goggles, but I think thermal is probably better. I say that because I have never used thermal, but in theory it is better.

If someone hides in the bushes, you may not see them with normal night vision even using an high power IR illumination. My night vision goggles have their own IR illumination, but I also have a Surefire Vampire flashlight that has a IR option.

Thermal should show someone hiding in the bushes.Thermal is very expensive which is why I have not got it yet.

Here's 100 yards out with my $1500 ATN thermal in perfect conditions.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHhLwMl-hxo

100+ yards in humid conditions that require regular NUKing of the sensor tables.




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHvY0HCH9XE

Thermal would definitely be better for shooting stuff. For just general observation Id prefer NV, ideally a Gen 3 goggle but now we are into the $8-$9k range.

A decent Gen2+ monocular can be had for under $3k and a military quality PVS14 for ~$3200-$3500

What kind of budget do you have??

Do any of those gizmos work through glass ?
Like a car window or patio door ?

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
What kind of budget do you have??

<$1500.00

I got in to the ATN nite vision thirty years back.
The draw back is the Bloom in trees Work well for coyote work across fields and tree lines.
It would still bloom in large weeds in the field.
Started with a gen two,piece of crap ,went with the atn 7900 and it was gen 3. Great equipment for the time.
Had a friend who had money went with a gen 5.
That made mine look like a toy.
The I R made it work in total darkness at a reduced range.

Take a look at the SIONYX Aurora.

I have been looking at the Leupolds. But the price has put me in pause mode.