Today we are getting into the good stuff. Let’s chat about night vision and thermal devices, how they work, and where each fits into your kit. Before we begin, you should note that it can be expensive to get into the world of NVGs and Thermal. I mean, really expensive. However, it’s well worth the cost of entry, but the sticker shock can catch people off guard. Like guns, the used market is flooded with quality used kits. I would start looking there if you are new to night vision optics; that way, you save some cash and can ensure you are fully vested in NV or thermal before spending money on it.
How Thermal & Night Vision Work
Both night vision and thermal work off spectrums of light that we can’t see with the naked eye.
NV works off of near-infrared light, the IR light closest to the visible light spectrum. In simple terms, the tube in your NV device brings in near IR light, amplifies it, then turns it into visible light, usually in green in the olden days, but now in white/grey as well. If anyone wants me to go into more detail on how the tubes work, let PSA know in the comment section below, and I’ll write a whole piece on it. NV can come in analog (the good stuff that the military uses) and digital, which tends to be cheaper and have a poorer resolution.
Thermal, on the other hand, works off of far-infrared light. It just so happens that far-infrared and temperature match up well; That’s why it is sometimes called heat vision. You aren’t looking at the heat coming off of someone; you are looking at the far-infrared light coming off of them. That’s one reason farts can’t be seen through thermal. That video you’ve seen is fake, just so you know. Thermal pretty much only comes in digital form.
Both technologies are cool to use but aren’t interchangeable; NV is better at some things, while thermal is better at others. Because thermal is looking at the far IR coming from the surface of an object, you can’t see through windows with it, whereas anyone who has driven with NV can tell you, you can see through a windshield just fine while wearing it. NV is pretty much only usable in the dark, whereas thermal doesn’t care if it’s day or night out. You can hide pretty well from NV with a good camo pattern, but try that with thermal, and you’ll stick out like a hot sausage on a cold background, especially at night when the foliage is much cooler than you are.
Night Vision Basics
Let’s discuss some night vision basics. For this discussion, we will talk mainly about analog and what we can compare it to.
- Generations - NV comes in different generations. Skip Gen 0 or Gen 1; they are cool collectibles but easily outclassed by 2 and 3.
- Gen 2 - is when things started getting spicy and can still be good if you hunt in moonlit areas. They are still dimmer than Gen 3 by a good bit but can be functional in certain situations.
- Gen 3 - is where the big boys play. Gen 3 has the brightest and sharpest picture plus loads of other features like autogating (NV automatically dims in bright scenarios) and much longer service life. You also mostly find white phosphor in Gen 3, though I have heard that a couple of companies are doing Gen 2 WP.
- Green vs. White - Green is the old school and much more affordable and white is the new hotness. Green tubes tend to be cheaper as there are lots out there, while white brings a hefty premium. I have been told by many that white is the way to go, but if it’s between getting green NV at a reasonable price now or paying double/triple for white a year from now, go for the green; you really won’t be disappointed; Trust me, you’re going to buy more than one device anyway, just let your friend use the green one when you upgrade in a couple of years.
What Night Vision Optics Should I Buy?
Now that we’ve covered the basics of NV and thermal let’s get into the big question, “what should I buy?”. This is going to depend on your budget and use. If you poop gold or have a boatload of retirement money sitting around, then your options are open. For the rest of us, there are more suitable places to start.
- Digital Night Vision - Skip this and save, plain and simple. Like all digital technologies, I believe that digital NV will one day surpass analog NV; we aren’t there yet. Digital tends to be a LOT cheaper than analog, but when you compare it to an analog device, you’ll instantly want to upgrade. The resale price on digital is also pretty bad; you won’t get back what you have in it when you try to resell your old digital NV scope.
- PVS-7 (see image below) - This is an okay place to start. They tend to be slightly cheaper on the used market and work fine. They are mostly Gen 3, but some come in Gen 2; again, save your hard-earned money and go Gen 3. There are, however, some downsides to these.
- The attachment system - The PVS-7 uses the older bayonet style clip, which is wobbly and not as good as the dovetail. The bayonet clip is molded into the houses, so you have to buy an adapter to use a dovetail helmet mount.
- There is no depth of field with both eyes covered - You see the same 40-degree image using both eyes, yet you don’t have the depth of field like you would with dual tubes. You are also covering both eyes, so you don’t have great peripheral vision.
- PVS-14 (see image below) - This is really where you should start looking. The tubes they use are more ubiquitous these days and more plentiful should you want to upgrade them. Parts are also more available should anything break. The j-arm is separate, so you can choose to go with either a bayonet-style or dovetail style, plus these are much more modular in general. They can be run on a rifle though they don’t like tons of recoil, so most say keep it to a 5.56 or softer. Again the used market is a great place to look. My current PVS-14 is one that I pieced together myself with a surplus tube and new parts kit. It cost me right at $2000 for a top-of-the-line Gen 3 green phosphor tube and housing. If you hunt the used market, you can get them with blems for a little cheaper. To me, this is the bare minimum.
- Dual Tube Units (see image below) - Now, this is where things get cool and expensive. DTNVGs, DTNVS’, BNVDs, etc., are all dual-tube units. You can buy the housings and the tubes separately and build your own or buy whole units prebuilt. These usually start at $5,000 minimum and move well past $10k for top-end units. I wouldn’t start here unless you just have lots of money burning a hole in your pocket. I will upgrade to one of these someday when I have the funds.
- Accessories - Beyond just the unit, you’ll need a way to attach the NVGs to your head. There are skull crusher mounts which are just nylon head socks with attachment points; however, most guys go for a helmet as it’s more rigid and stable. Non-ballistic bump helmets run on average $300 on the new market, while ballistic rated helmets usually go for $600 and up depending on specs. If you don’t need to worry about frag grenades, just get a bump helmet.
You’ll also need to attach the unit to your helmet, which requires a mount and j-arm if going PVS-14. You can get surplus Rhino or Rhino 2 mounts for pretty cheap, but I do believe in the “buy once cry once” motto here. I run a Wilcox G24 mount with a Mod armory dovetail j-arm. It’s all expensive but is super rigid and very adjustable. Remember, you are strapping at least $1500 to your head; have it mounted well, so it doesn’t take a tumble.
The Basics of Thermal Imaging
Now that we got NV out of the way, let’s touch quickly on thermal. Thermal units are becoming more popular, and the prices are quickly falling, though they are still costly. Thermal scopes and optics are all digital, so no need to fuss with analog concepts. Something else to remember is that thermal units work great in both day and night scenarios. There are two significant things that I look at when looking for thermal scopes:
- Resolution - The higher the resolution, the easier it will be to ID targets out at the range. Think TVs; A 40 inch 480x240 tv is much worse to look at than a 40 inch tv at 3840x2160. There are more pixels to help shape the thing you are looking at, giving you more details and allowing you ID your target better. Is that a dog, my dog, a coyote, a pig? The higher resolution makes it easier to tell.
- Refresh Rate/Frame Rate - If you are going to be stationary, 30hz is fine. If you want to head mount a unit or carry it around, 60hz is the only way to go. A 30hz refresh makes everything sluggish and nauseating, whereas 60hz matches our brains nicely, making the image move smoothly.
Again, thermal is great for IDing targets; that’s what I see it best for. As I said above, you can hide from NV with good camo, but you can’t hide your body heat easily from thermal.
What Thermal Imaging Scope Should I Buy?
Are you hunting or just ID’ing targets? Are you scanning a close target or long-range? Personally, I think something like the Flir Breach is a great all-around unit. The Flir Breach can be mounted on a helmet (not recommended because we aren’t snakes, our brains don’t like looking at thermal while walking) or can be handheld and is small enough to go in a pocket. Do you want a thermal scope for your rifle? ATN has a variety of high-quality thermal scopes available. ATN Thor scopes are pretty good and come in at a reasonable price compared to military units. I am a fan of using thermal to scan then changing to night vision if needed, so I like units with 1x magnification. If you are putting it on a bolt-action hunting rifle, there’s no harm in going for something like a 3x-9x or possibly 2x-4x. I don’t shoot 1000 yards at night, so I don’t need massive magnification to see what I’m looking for, but your mileage may vary depending on where you live.
Night play is expensive, and there is no way around it. Save up and buy what you want the first time around. Remember that the secondary market exists, and most of the time is the best way to go. There are more specs and data that I couldn’t fit into this article, like FOM, which could be covered in the future if you guys want. Leave us some comments on what you have or what you are looking for, and I’ll do my best to respond. If you want to hear more about night vision, let me know, and I’ll do some more writing on the topic.