"Budget" is a nice way of saying Im broke... Well, not really broke but I need to save money and to me, NVGs is a luxury, not a necessity. Anyways, I dont need military grade but I'd like the most bang for my buck. Gen 1 or Gen 2 is about as much as Id like to go price wise.

I havent touched NVGs snce my army days over 10 years ago. Does anyone know a decent manufacturer for a good price? Again, not expecting Gen 3 or military grade quality, but I dont want worthless goggles either. Just being used for light camping. Thanks!

Don't even bother with Gen 1, you'll just end up pissed off that you spent money on something so limited.

Go with a good Gen 2 unit, or keep an eye on the EE for cheap Gen 3 options.

Call Vic at NGI and go with a Photonis Gen 2. You won't be disappointed and the Photonis tubes are VERY good !! On par with some Gen 3.Aside from that I would look for a used Envis Gen 3.,Omni V performance but not much if any better than the Photonis tube.

Gen 1 is a waste
Gen 2 if you're on a tight budget, get a good illuminator and you're fine
Gen 3 is really where it gets fun.

Honestly if you can barely afford a gen 1 unit buy yourself a nice weapon light for now and focus on saving some cash.
Night vision is Def a luxury item and you shouldn't put yourself in debt because of it.

I haven't seen how the NGI Photonis "Comspec Plus" tubes are, but assuming they are somewhere around what a similarly priced (with some EU extra) Photonis tubes are, they are fine, miles and miles ahead the cheap Russian Gen2 and in many scenarios as useful as Gen3. It's the darker nights that will produce some troubles, but an illuminator is needed with Gen3 too if you really want to do anything but navigate.

Wise words.  I paid $400 for a Gen1 unit and it was horrible.  Wish I'd saved my money and spent $2000+ on Gen3 the first time.

Buy once, cry once.

Don't bother with Gen 1.

If you don't mind the risk of not having a warranty you have a couple of cheaper options:

- Do your homework and buy used to save a ton of cash. Gen 3 PVS7's go for $1200 and up, PVS14's go for $1500 and up.

-Or build your own PVS7 or 14. Buy parts as your budget allows or you find deals. Finding the tube is the tricky part (again, do you homework, lots of homework before buying a tube, lots of crappy/shady sellers out there). Good videos on youtube about building them, its pretty simple if your mechanically inclined.

-Lots of folks in this forum cringe at the mention of digital night vision, but its come a long way and there are some cool home-brew options out there that can be built very cheap if you like to tinker. Its going to be similar to Gen 1 stuff, but with a good IR light it can be a useful tool. Then when you step up to real NV you have a cheap unit a buddy can use.

It all depends on your budget and what you want to do with the NV.....

Save up your cash and be ready to pounce.  I snapped up a Gen 3 PVS-7 off the EE for $875 awhile back.

Check the NVG subforum of the EE multiple times per days as some good deals can be found in there.  There are also some NVG buy and sell groups on Facebook if you're feeling adventurous.