Katanas are good units, have one I've been running for almost a year and very happy with it. Coming from BNVD-SG will be an easy transition.

The Lemo port option is similar to BNVDs in that you have to order it with it if you ever want to run a battery pack. Whereas the BNVD-SG battery pack is a proprietary setup, the Katana does not.

In an effort to keep the housing as light as possible and streamlined, there is no onboard IR illuminator on the Katana, some might dislike that but I honestly rarely ever use any onboard illuminators.

CR123 battery versus a AA, can be looked at as a plus or minus depending on how you feel about the situation. AA is definitely more common, but your most likely running a CR123 in your tactical flashlight, your IR laser, Luna illuminator, etc. etc. Both can be recharged in the field via a small solar panel setup. And I've used rechargeables in both models without an issue-  that's bad juju to some folks but I like to test stuff like that to see if it is actually possible and it is.

Let me know any other questions you have.

Very responsive company and life time warranty on the housing.

Push button is very solid, no way your going to "accidentally" turn it on unless you have Zero tactile senses.

As always a good SOP to get into is to remove batteries when your done using NODs every time, cover the lenses and check everything. If I could drill that into a 12 year old a decade ago and he still does that every time, any adult can get into that habit.

I've talked with Jeff at length and think he's a stand-up guy, so I'm not badmouthing him or the product at all.

However, the testing you describe is generally referred to as "the 2m drop test," and is standard testing for pretty much any and all MIL-SPEC or equal quality night vision devices--pretty much all housings (again, at least of MIL-SPEC quality or equal / above--cannot speak to some of the lower-cost housings out there) should and do match that standard. The logic is pretty straightforward as well, as it simulates the goggle dropping off a person's head, and the various different ways it could potentially land.

The purpose of publishing the video is not to show that the Katana is more durable than other housings, but rather to demonstrate that it is just as durable, despite its 3-D printed construction.

~Augee

Took mine with me to the range last night. Had to zero a couple of lasers on some loaner rifles for our next NV class.

Waiting for it to get dark sucks but I love any time in the woods so I just walked around for 20 minutes.

Got the IR lasers zeroed quickly, did some shooting to confirm and drove the 5 minutes home in my Ranger under the Katanas.

Great unit.

In the pic the mount is a converted Rhino. I grabbed the wrong helmet when I was leaving the house and meant to grab one with a Lo Sto on it. The Lo Sto holds it much tighter to the helmet.

I started to put cheap IR lights on my Ranger but they didn't seem to hold up on the mount. I need to put some on there at some point. Not a huge fan of massive IR though.

It's MOSTLY backwoods roads, all dirt until it gets to close to where I live. You rarely ever see a car and if I do, I then turn on the headlights. I always wonder WTF people think when they suddenly see me briefly like that LOL.

So to answer, no IR lights, just the NODs.

The best starting point would be to read up on MIL-STD-810--you will not necessarily find the exact specification for the 2m Drop Test in generic materials related to MIL-STD-810, but it will give you a starting point.

Internet lore... well, is internet lore, hahaha, take it as you will.

To be honest, I don't remember off top of my head if the 2m Drop is a SOCOM VAS requirement or NVESD (RTI) or another proponency, but it's been colloquially referred to as "the SOCOM Drop Test" from time to time.

~Augee