NVG?

[Guest nmil]

I've heard a lot of talk about NVG and night-vision optics for guns lately. What's your solution? IR flashlights/optics are relatively cheap, but obviously they light you up like a beacon to anyone else with NVG. The passive NVG stuff is super expensive. And then there's the question of weapon-mounted, head-mounted, etc. What's your take?

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Many years ago I got some Russian gen 1 night vision binoculars that came with a headset to strap them on. The good part is they did not cost a lot of money and are built very solid and they still work fine (though I haven't used them very much). The bad part is that generation 1 isn't all that great, the field of view is rather narrow, and they are pretty dang heavy.

They work fine using them as normal hand-held binoculars with a neck strap (except they are 1X magnification). For grins I tried on the complicated head gear, but dunno if I'd ever use that. The russian goggles are so heavy that the head gear has straps going everywhere to hold it on yer head. It looks like some kind of S&M paraphenalia from San Franscisco. Something Nancy Pelosi makes hubby wear when they are getting freaky.

Except for times of war/civil disturbance it might be risky wandering the woods in that headgear. It makes you look like a bug-eyed monster and might startle some other person you might encounter out in the dark. A shame to get shot because somebody mistakes you for an alien from planet zeno!

Also the field of view is so narrow that a person would need to be less of a klutz than me to wander around in the dark with the goggles strapped on, and make sure not to step in a ditch or trip on a log that is outside the immediate field of view.

It has a built-in IR illuminator you can turn on or leave off. If there is a little bit of ambient light, moonlight or street/house lights from a few blocks away, they act like light amplifiers and you don't need the IR illuminator. Maybe they would even be "somewhat effective" with only starlight but haven't tested that. If it is completely dark the IR illuminator is necessary.

It would be a lot nicer to have really light-weight wide-field Gen 4 or better NV goggles. Dunno if they make something yet, regardless of price tag, that would help me out. I was thinking that people who run boats at night could really benefit from nice-enough NV goggles.

[Jasongar8]

If you are serious about it save your money and get a set of PVS-14's. I'm sure they are not the best out there, but they are more than good enough for civilians. I can drive a 4-wheeler through the woods in the middle of the night without any moonlight with no problems at all.

Then once you save more money get a PEQ 15 IR laser/illuminator. Then you will have the same set up that most of the .mil guys are running. The PEQ 15 is kinda hard to come by, but if you keep looking you will find one.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Rather than using the light reactive phosphorus most use there are some others that are using a different technology. They use digital means to amplify light and it looks promising, especially for the cost. So far the technology is still pretty new but it is already a lot cheaper than the older methods. I have seen side by side comparisons of the two and the digital stuff looks nearly as good as the high end stuff. It also doesn't have that green hue conventional night vision has. The digital stuff is way better than the Gen 1 stuff and is comparable to the Gen 2 or even Gen 3 for a lot less. Another good thing about the digital ones is they can't be burned out like the light reactive ones can.

The light reactive phosphorus is very old technology that has been updated as technology would allow but it is still based on very old principles. The new digital ones are using cutting edge electronics.

The best part is you can get a decent, useable NV for a lot less with a digital.

Dolomite

ETA:

Here are some digitals:

Results for digital night vision - Sorted by Best Match, on Page 1 (20 Items) - OpticsPlanet

Digital Night Vision SALE Digital Night Scopes, NV Binoculars, Night Vision Monoculars, Riflescopes, Cameras, Night Viewers

Bushnell 5x42 Stealth View Digital Night Vision Monocular Scope 260542 StealthView FREE UPS 26-0542

Hard to beat their prices compared to traditional NV.

Edited October 5, 2011 by Dolomite_supafly