I'm planning for the future even funds are a little looser. But I'm wondering what else would be needed.

Say this would be for a shtf situation, with possible night time hunting peppered in as well. No shooting over 300 yards. Not looking for seal team 6 level stuff, but also not considering Walmart quality stuff either. Want the best bang for the buck.

I'm assuming step one is to get a helmet with some kind of mount. Suggestions on each?

I know ideally one would need to have an ir laser/illuminator. But as I understand it, invisible ir laser is not available to civilians. Or am I wrong? Is there a combo unit that works well? Will it work well with Moe mlock handguard?

What else is a must have?

I'm planning for the future even funds are a little looser. But I'm wondering what else would be needed.

Say this would be for a shtf situation, with possible night time hunting peppered in as well. No shooting over 300 yards. Not looking for seal team 6 level stuff, but also not considering Walmart quality stuff either. Want the best bang for the buck.

I'm assuming step one is to get a helmet with some kind of mount. Suggestions on each? Check out the Ops-Core FAST Bump Helmet. High quality and inexpensive. If you're looking for something a little less expensive then look into a Crye Precision Night Cap. A lot of people actually prefer them over an actual helmet. A standard USGI mount and j arm is plenty fine to start off with in regards to a mounting system.

I know ideally one would need to have an ir laser/illuminator. But as I understand it, invisible ir laser is not available to civilians. Or am I wrong? Is there a combo unit that works well? Will it work well with Moe mlock handguard? You won't "need" an IR laser or light but it's definitely going to make your light easier. If you're on a budget it's hard to go wrong with one light that can do everything pretty well: X300V. You can attach it to your rifle, helmet, and pistol. It won't be the best, furthest throwing IR light out there but it does well. If you want something that just throws light hundreds of yards out, check out the TNVC Torch Pro. Regarding the IR lasers availability, civilians can own them but they are regulated by the FDA. We don't get the high powered ones that are practically useless unless you're designating targets a mile out. Check out the Steiner DBAL I2. Great little unit that comes in a few flavors including both the IR laser AND illuminator. Not a bad price either. If you want something cheaper and yes I mean cheaper in quality too, there are a couple options out there for around $200 give or take for a laser.

What else is a must have? For starters, nothing at all. Just make sure to tether the unit to the helmet just in case and get out there and don't be afraid to use it.

I use mine for hunting so for me a good bump helmet like Ops-Core with a counter weight / battery storage, ARC ear-pro mounts for myHoward Leights, a Wicox G22 mount + Wilcox ANPVS14 dual bridge and an ARC rail to mount a white light is what I went with. The Wilcox G24 is a solid mount that many people have. I'd recommend dovetail mounts vs J Arm

Also recommend a Wilcox lanyard or similar to secure your PVS14. I don't anticipate taking fire from hogs so I skipped the ballistic helmet

Civilian IR lasers are invisible and come in a few varieties... for example laser only, laser + illuminator, daylight laser + IR laser + illuminator. Price determines features. They won't be MLok but you can add a bit of Picatinny rail to your rifle and the lasers will mount fine. I don't operate so personally I went with a DBAL a3 which has a visible laser slaved to the IR. I got a really good deal on it and that's how I ended up with it. Next laser may be a MAWL

Based on 2 of your requirements of SHTF/hunting and having wasted money on things that didn't work here's what I'd recommend

LAM: Laser Aim Module, you want an IR laser/Illuminator that will reach out past 500 yards you only commercial options are the Steiner A4 $2,200 new, D2 $850-950 used, or BE Meyers MAWL C1+ $2,500 new. You want a LAM that will activate both the laser and illuminator at the same time with a single press of button. The illuminator will cut down on laser bloom at close distances. Also all 3 of these LAMs have a visible laser the will allow you to co-aling both you visible and IR laser with your day red dot. The other LAMs such as the L3 APTIAL-C, Steiner I2 and 9007 illuminator will fall flat on its face after 75 yards in an urban environment.

For a head mounted 14 I would go with a Crye Precision Night Cap and pouch due to it being packable. Trying to stuff a bump/ballistic helmet into a backpack in a bug out situation isn't going to work out very well for you. As for a shroud I find that the Wilcox L4 Hybrid composite/aluminum will not bend as easy a a full aluminum shroud.

https://telluric.us/blogs/low-light-night-vision/night-vision-gear-recommendations

Only thing i would change is a rhino II from eBay(it can also be upgraded to dovetail in the future)
The Wilcox are better mounts much smoother but it’s hard to justify there price when rhino II
are so cheap and have the full range of adjustment needed.

If you want a ballistic helmet instead of a bump helmet an ACH from eBay can’t be beat
(When funds permit upgrade the pads to 4D and upgrade the suspension system with team wendy cam fit or opscore H-nape)

An moe m-lok can probably work but IMHO you should upgrade to a aluminum handguard I wouldn’t trust a polymer handguard to hold my IR laser zero.

Cheap lanyard or use a piece of gutted  550 cord with an S biner
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BF6QRM8/ref=sxts_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539137723&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

Butler creek 09A cap for the DIY hop lite
https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Butler_creek_scope_cap_for_pvs_14/18-455062/

I almost will go as far as to say if you can’t afford to buy the 4d pads when your order your helmet then don’t. Wait until you can get both at the same time.

The difference simply cannot be overstated.

thermal cameras

Matbok Tarsier Eclipse.

G24 Mount with a dovetail j arm. Makes a huge difference!

These are something I need. The stock pads in my ops are just awful.