NOD Tard

[steyrman13]

YOUR WIFE BOUGHT YOU NIGHT VISION?!!! You chose wisely my friend! A lot of people buy PVS-14s because they are multi-functional but end up using it for just one thing. For the record, I've gut checked my experience with real "operators" and they agree with my statements above.

In case you didn't know, the PVS-7B is great, but you still don't have any depth perception. You'll think you do, especially once you get used to using them, but you don't. To get depth perception you need two tubes as in a PVS-15 or a BNVD-G and the difference is dramatic. For that you're talking at least $7k, though you might find a used pair on Ebay for $4k. If you can't afford them don't look through a pair because you'll want some. You'll also want a $300 helmet with a counterweight in the back because the additional weight will start to cut off blood circulation to your brain and cause some neck strain.

Also, spending a little extra on a nice tube makes a difference too. I've been using standard gen 3 PVS-7B goggles and just got used to turning on the illuminator when I went under heavy tree cover. Then I tried a set of BNVD-G's with the latest Pinnacle plus tube. Holy crap. No illuminator necessary. Literally a night and day difference. But heck, unless you're trying to avoid bad guys in the woods, save your money. In an open field the deer won't let me get within 50 yards without running away but under heavy tree cover even they can't tell what I am. I had one deer walk towards me until she hit a fence 20 yards away. I had my illuminator going and an infrared laser the whole time but she wasn't spooked at all. If I hadn't had the thermal I wouldn't have known she was there due to the brush. Rest assured, any PVS-7B is going to be impressive. Now you just need a silencer and a 300 blackout upper and you'll be set!

I, as well as others I know are the exact opposite of this, including "operators." I also don't notice the tunnel vision as bad because my brain knows it is only using one eye. Also, when encountering a more well lit area, you have a free eye with natural night vision saved so you can use it, where as with two tubes, you have to sit for a while to adjust your eyes to the situation rather than flipping the NOD up or just closing one eye and opening the other.

[turnburglar]

Pvs 14 is the absolute way to go.

Iv spent a lot of time wearing them and like the ability to switch between night vision and real vision just by closing an eye. I mounted the 14 on the left eye, so I could use the right eye for regular optics. Close right eye and aim using the peq. The real trick with the pvs 14 is knowing how to use the peq to the fullest potential. Playing with the focus for the illuminator makes target id at extended ranges possible.

In my humble opinion: I never found thermal useful and far inferior compared to real nvgs. Even the mighty crows system could have been better served with a ir lenses over a thermal lenses.

[Slab]

Pvs 14 is the absolute way to go.

In my humble opinion: I never found thermal useful and far inferior compared to real nvgs. Even the mighty crows system could have been better served with a ir lenses over a thermal lenses.

Can you elaborate on this especially the "inferior" piece? The only thermals I’ve had the opportunity to play with are our TICs in the FD... Thank you all for the continued education!!!

[turnburglar]

I used both a monocular with 1-3x zoom, the crows system, and what ever thermal cam was mounted on the front of the mrap for no light driving.

I think the perception with thermal is that you will be able to see targets using cover or concealment. In my experience this couldn't be further from the truth. You are still looking at the world two dimensionally. Unless I seriously missed used them, I saw no appreciable benefits over nvgs. Maybe with crows it's easier to magnify a thermal image than an ir? The absolute thing I hated most about the thermal monocular was the searing pain you experience when having white light shot into your night adapted cornea and the complete uselessness of that eye for an hour after.

Why I liked nvgs better than thermals

-much more detailed view of the world

-easier to work with

-white light (thermal) much more destructive to natural night vision

-thermal just didn't produce any results that I couldn't have achieved with a peq and nvgs.

I really thought the 14 was the cats meow.

[Slab]

Gotcha! Appreciate you taking the time to put that together, that perspective helps!!

[Slab]

UPDATE:

So we got the TNVC PVS-14 and the mounting accoutrements, on the 24th and the quality is fantastic. I can't find any blemishes in the image, clarity is amazing... I was really surprised when the ATPIAL-C arrived on the 26th, she snuck that in... Thanks to Eric at TNVC for all of the quality recommendations...

So, I was running around the house trying to figure some stuff out and the wife unit asks "how well you could see someone" in the house, and wanted to give it a run... So, she puts it on (downstairs) and is going to "find me" (my covert way of describing hide and seek...) upstairs. So my parting words of wisdom were; "watch yourself on the stairs"... The lights go out and I can hear her moving around and working her way up the stairs, as I’m around the corner at the top. And as she gets to about the fifth stair I hear the most subtle......."Usammmmaaaa"........."Usammmmmmaaa". I ****ing lost it, you could have heard me laughing a block down the road.

[Hochsitz]

UPDATE:

The lights go out and I can hear her moving around and working her way up the stairs, as I’m around the corner at the top. And as she gets to about the fifth stair I hear the most subtle......."Usammmmaaaa"........."Usammmmmmaaa". I ****ing lost it, you could have heard me laughing a block down the road.

ROFL!!!