Pros? Cons?

I can't seem to figure out the differences.

Can anyone give a brief overview? Thanks!

I own both so let me weigh in here.  Both are very high quality made, robust systems.

DTNVG Pros:

- Slightly lighter than Sentinel.
- Truly a smart goggle.  Inside the rear of the housing there is a 5 pin female connector which can allow re-programming of the goggle settings.)
- Independently pivoting tube housings (much like PVS-15/31, but can swing up and out of the way much more than a PVS-15 allowing the goggle to stow closer to the head.
- Independent tube off and on feature when pivoting them up and out of the way.
- Auto off and on feature when flipped up and back down much like that of an Anvis goggle without the need to run an Anvis setup.

DTNVG Cons:

- Slightly more expensive than a Sentinel housing.
- No interpupillary adjustment lock like that of the PVS-31.  (Though I have not really encountered an instance where the goggle has moved from the position it was set to.)
- No way to turn off the auto off and on feature.  (PVS-15's for example had a switch that allows the first on setting to allow auto off and on, whereas the second on position bypasses that all-together.)
- No real place to attach bungees without getting creative.

Sentinel Pros:

- Fairly cheap for an entire housing kit.
- Has a lower powered flood setting as well as a longer range IR illuminator than DTNVG.  DTNVG just has flood setting.
- Allows use of either Anvis ball and detent or Wilcox style dovetail.
- External battery pack and Anvis features available when used in conjunction with Anvis mount and pack.

Sentinel Cons:

- Slightly heavier than DTNVG.
- Does not have independently pivoting tube housings so does not allow goggle to stowe closer to operators face. (May or may not be a con to some)

My overall opinion:

I prefer the DTNVGs.  If money is no option I say go for it.

I hear people say that the added feature of independently pivoting tube housings is just one more thing to have to worry about adjusting, but I have found it a perfect feature to have when riding around in a vehicle as it allows for greater head movement and much easier to look around when the goggle is stowed closer to the head.  (Sticks out less like a horn)

Also, being able to flip each pod out of the way has been very helpful when shooting with any night vision or thermal clip on as it still allows you to see through the other eye.

When I would go hunting with my Sentinels and have to constantly flip the goggle up to transition to my weapons mounted thermal, it was sometimes a pain in the ass as I would go night vision blind for a split moment.

If you don't really care about the independently pivoting tube housings then go Sentinels.  The weight difference is minuscule.

This is all my opinion based on personal experience.  Hope it helps, if I can think of anything else I'll add it to this.

Quality review. Thx for taking the time.

Indeed a great review.

I have only one thing to add to the DTNVG list, and that relates to the auto shutoff when pivoting either or both sides up. When I store mine I usually leave the lithium battery in, and have the sides pivoted up so I have two ways of knowing it is truly powered off - the power switch plus the pivoted sides. When you turn it on the sides will only activate when pivoted down enough.

Dude thank you! Quality response!

Hell yeah.  A response  that belongs in a tech forum! Let's keep quality  like this coming.

Well which one are you getting?

Where are you buying from?

Deciding. TNVC

Ugh really makes me think about switching housings from Sentinel to DTNVG. Though I wish there was a gain DTNVG, I genuinely miss being able to turn my gain down on bright nights & in general, to reduce eye strain. Amber filters are helpful, but there is a price to be paid. Has anyone used the AA adapter with their DTNVGs at all? I keep hearing about it, but haven't actually seen one being used or even a picture of it.

I am not actually sure if one even came with my unit, need to check later. What's wrong with CR123's? Last longer and should be safer too. Pricey maybe, but compared to all the other costs I prefer CR123 over AA.

Actinblack said that the AA adapter never came to fruition.  

They drew it up once but didn't like how it made it hard to access the switch. Never really got back to re-designing it.

They did however say that they will eventually get back to designing it but currently they are just too busy with other projects.

So why do people seem to pick sentinels more over dtnvg besides price? Gain settings on the sentinel?

I think it is because the Sentinel has been out for a while now & was a huge upgrade from Anvis housings. The DTNVG is still pretty new, so you're not seeing as many out there yet.

Fair enough.

Plus it's mo money.

Oh nothings wrong with 123, I just thought it was a neat addition to be able to use very easily sourced AA, if needed in a pinch. Along the lines of why I upgraded to an Aimpoint T2, when I noticed how rare 1/3n is to find locally, opposed to cheap & plentiful 2032.


Ah ok, I see, thanks for that & the write up. Have you figured out if the arm tension adjustment needs a special tool or not? I think Clasky mentioned that it might be a proprietary tool for adjustment. Also how is the housing programmable with the USB port? What things are able to programmed when flashed? Never heard about that port before.

Like I said, it really makes me think about switching housings, but it sure is spendy

I have not messed with making arm tension adjustments yet so I couldn't say for sure.
If I had to guess, those little plastic caps need to be removed and it would show what kind of spanner/wrench was needed.

As far as the programming port, I do not know exactly what all can be programmed specifically.
What I do know is that after taking the back panel off, there is a 5 pin connector back there which Act has told me allows the unit to plug in and be re-programmed.

I wouldn't just go and try to remove it yourself however as there is a special adhesive that has to be removed and re-applied before it all goes back together.

Glynn at Night Vision Inc. has all the proper tools, adhesive, and the cable to take care of this though.

Actinblack hasn't specifically told me what all could be programmed, but I do know the accelerometer settings can be adjusted using this method.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the features could be tuned via reprogramming - like how sensitive the sides are to turn off when pivoting, the algorithm that uses the accelerometer for auto-shutoff (confirmed to me too, and has been improved from the pre-order models so I will send mine in one day), maybe the PSU is adjustable if there ever would be a need and even same for the PSU that gives power to the inbuilt IR LED. I haven't asked this from ACT, but I am sure the sensitivity for low-light batt indicator is another tunable thing. Mine flashes on briefly when shutting the unit down, probably a thing on the very first models. The whole software that controls most of the electronics can be reprogrammed so whatever they do via software can be changed / upgraded / fixed.

Edit: the tool for adjusting tension might not be proprietary, but is some exotic tool as far as I know. They do give very good hours for the washers before they should start giving up noticeably. They wen't through multiple washer materials and that was actually the last thing that prevented me from getting my unit, waiting for the new materials. I have them in an odd grey color as they asked if the proto materials with wrong colors would be fine and I said yeah.

Does anyone have a brief overview of the optics on the DTNVGs? I'm assuming they're a proprietary system that is fairly permanently attached to the units? Or is it a replaceable system that might be compatible with ANVIS or PVS14 glass? Thanks!

Like Sam already said, uses 14 optics and is equally easy to build than a Sentinel. There is also an ANVIS compatible version, still comes with a dovetail and internal battery so the only difference is in the side pods and how the front for objectives is threaded.

Anywhere sell just the housing and what does it run roughly? (sentinels or whatever) I'm looking to upgrade and ANVIS setup or dual 14's at some point.

Thanks for that extra information.

thanks a ton man, cant wait to get mine