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Posted: 9/16/2018 12:51:15 PM EDT
I’m looking for something better than a standard skull crusher for running NODs without a helmet.
Is the Crye Nightcap the way to go or is something better out there? |
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I bought one when they first came out and never used it for a year. One night I tried it with my pvs-14 and INVG mount and holly cow love it for times a helmet isn’t the best choice. It’s very comfortable and supports the pvs-14 really well.
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It's comfortable, light weight, and relatively inexpensive. With a proper counterweight you don't even need to use the chin strap for things like night hiking. I use mine whenever possible instead of a helmet.
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If I'm running a single PVS 14 I'll grab the nitecap everytime before a helmet.
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same as above, its my go-to for just the 14 or just the Breach. it can handle the dual bridge setup as well, but the helmet has the external battery and illum setup so i usually go to the helmet for it.
the nightcap is definitely good to go. i often leave the field and forget its still on my head until i get home or to the station - its THAT comfortable when set up right... |
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Question:
I wear glasses. I tend to have to push my 14 out a bit further to have it not hit my glasses. Does the Nightcap (with shroud) allow for enough clearance for eyeglass wearers? For what it's worth, I use a INVG and DDA for my 14, and don't wish to change my mounting setup. I know I'd have to get a shroud for the Nightcap, and I've heard good things about the Wilcox for this. |
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With an INVG, I’d think you should be ok
I like my NiteCap. For the $, it cannot be beaten. I like my helmet with 4D pads better. JMHO. I sorta want to try that new Raptor Tactical getup, but not for that $$! TNVC-$179 |
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Quoted:
It's comfortable, light weight, and relatively inexpensive. With a proper counterweight you don't even need to use the chin strap for things like night hiking. I use mine whenever possible instead of a helmet. View Quote |
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Question: I wear glasses. I tend to have to push my 14 out a bit further to have it not hit my glasses. Does the Nightcap (with shroud) allow for enough clearance for eyeglass wearers? For what it's worth, I use a INVG and DDA for my 14, and don't wish to change my mounting setup. I know I'd have to get a shroud for the Nightcap, and I've heard good things about the Wilcox for this. View Quote |
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Quoted:
Question: I wear glasses. I tend to have to push my 14 out a bit further to have it not hit my glasses. Does the Nightcap (with shroud) allow for enough clearance for eyeglass wearers? For what it's worth, I use a INVG and DDA for my 14, and don't wish to change my mounting setup. I know I'd have to get a shroud for the Nightcap, and I've heard good things about the Wilcox for this. View Quote |
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Nightcap all the way IMHO. Bought mine in 2014 and, after a year of using nothing but that, I sold my helmets. No regrets. Not only is it comfortable, but when I'm done I just fold it up and stick it in the canvas PVS-14 bag. I have used the ever loving shit out of mine.
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Nightcap all the way IMHO. Bought mine in 2014 and, after a year of using nothing but that, I sold my helmets. No regrets. Not only is it comfortable, but when I'm done I just fold it up and stick it in the canvas PVS-14 bag. I have used the ever loving shit out of mine. View Quote |
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Love my Nightcap. You should get one. You'll need the battery pack to add a counter weight, HIGHLY recommend that.
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Another reason to buy one is they're only and 20 for the rear pouch directly from Crye.
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I prefer a helmet, personally, but you can't fold a helmet up and stuff it in a pocket. It's definitely a useful thing to have and works as advertised.
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I'm going to be the oddball here. I got quickly annoyed with it when briars kept snagging it in the thickets around here. Stay on the beaten paths/fields or roads and you're okay.
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Quoted:
I'm going to be the oddball here. I got quickly annoyed with it when briars kept snagging it in the thickets around here. Stay on the beaten paths/fields or roads and you're okay. View Quote If I'm in open areas I'm usually under the helmet where the lower profile doesn't really help any. But if I'm ducking thru thickets and wait-a-minutes, the nightcap is what I field. |
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I am perfectly satisfied with mine, other than cutting holes in the fabric to screw on the mount was a royal PITA. Seems like they could've just done that for us. Well now I know the material is definitely durable.
I use it for MOD3-B duals, Wilcox shroud/mount and 1.5 lb counterweight. There's enough room for eyeglasses, but it's kinda close. I'm on like the second or third to last adjustment click out. One recommendation I would have is buy the battery pouch to go with it and stick your counterweight in there to lower it. Otherwise it's halfway to the top of your head. I have a ballistic helmet also, and while it's not bad, I generally prefer the nightcap. The helmet isn't well set-up to be fair, it's still loose even with the harness fully tightened down, and the shroud it came with sucks and wobbles like a boss. It's even possible to knock the mount out of it if you do it juuuuuussst right. I'm not bothered by the weight of it like everyone seemed to make out to be a big deal for ballistics. But it is more cumbersome to lug around. My night stalking adventures are in rather public places, and I'd just as soon not get the third degree as to why I'm walking around at night, armed and with a combat helmet. I take a small sports bag to stash it in when not worn, but it's still a pain. The night cap folds right up and fits in the soft carry bag right on top of the NVGs when I want to store it. Mount and counterweight still attached. |
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I just bought and sold a Nightcap because it didn't fit with my glasses. Both the Nightcap straps plastic adjustment tabs and my glasses wanted to be in the same spot. So it didn't work for me. I am also at the very top of the adjustment range, so it was too small for me, which didn't help with the Nightcap/glasses compatibility issues I was having. I was hopeful it would be a great find as everybody said how much they like theirs, but mine didn't work for me. So I'm sticking with my Ops Core Bump. I need my glasses to see, so they aren't optional for me. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Question: I wear glasses. I tend to have to push my 14 out a bit further to have it not hit my glasses. Does the Nightcap (with shroud) allow for enough clearance for eyeglass wearers? For what it's worth, I use a INVG and DDA for my 14, and don't wish to change my mounting setup. I know I'd have to get a shroud for the Nightcap, and I've heard good things about the Wilcox for this. ETA: I also got my TNVC thin filmed white phosphorus PVS-14, so it's not all bad! |
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You did loosen up the velcro tightening straps on top right? I'm not sure that I would consider my head "big", but it's not small and I have all the straps tightened pretty much all the way to get mine to fit snugly.
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The nightcap was terrible. The one I got had the carbon fiber sewn in slightly crooked so when you poked the holes for the shroud and mounted everything ended up being crooked. Not to mention even with a lighter weight goggle (pvs-31) it still felt terrible. I tried on one of the ops core skull crusher things and those were 100 times better, but also more expensive. I just stick to helmets. Nothing beats those.
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The Rhino II lowering arm will work fine, but I'd avoid using the shroud due to the mounting bolt/stud design.
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A failure for me too.
With eyeglasses on the ocular would be resting on my glasses. With eyeglasses off it wanted to rest on my eyeball at times. Maybe if I usd a counterweight I would have been able to make enough room for no eyeglasses usage. |
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Quoted: What shroud would you suggest with the nightcap? Sorry for the questions. Buying my first NV setup and there isn't anything local to put hands on. @MunnyShot View Quote |
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A failure for me too. With eyeglasses on the ocular would be resting on my glasses. With eyeglasses off it wanted to rest on my eyeball at times. Maybe if I usd a counterweight I would have been able to make enough room for no eyeglasses usage. View Quote |
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I run the Wilcox L4 on my ballistic as well as my Night Cap. Since the Night Cap is packable I didn't want to go with a full aluminum shroud in case I may get bent. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: What shroud would you suggest with the nightcap? Sorry for the questions. Buying my first NV setup and there isn't anything local to put hands on. @MunnyShot Thanks for the info |
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You did loosen up the velcro tightening straps on top right? I'm not sure that I would consider my head "big", but it's not small and I have all the straps tightened pretty much all the way to get mine to fit snugly. View Quote |
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I must have a huge head. I got my Nightcap setup today with a Wilcox G11 mount and it barely fits with the front chin straps and rear strap loosened all the way. My glasses do just fit in under the side straps so I think it'll work. View Quote |
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Its because the buckle adds length to one side and the chin pocket ends up offset. OP, if you have a small head, you won't like it but if not it's a great lightweight compact option. I'll eventually get around to cutting and modifying mine.
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Minor hijack:
What works best as a container for your Nightcap and PVS-14? |
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Minor hijack: What works best as a container for your Nightcap and PVS-14? View Quote |
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Mine is way too small for me too. I was disappointed with it considering all the glowing reviews.
Will keep it for a loaner for those with smaller heads... |
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Has anyone tried adding a light to their night cap? If so do you have pictures?
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Sounds like your dome cover is nose heavy. I run a Wilcox l4-G24 with eye pro and have a lot of forward adjustment left. You may want to look into a Wilcox G22 which gives you an additional 1.4". If your on a budget you can mod a Norotos Rhino II @ 50.00 from ebay with a Norotos PVS-18 socket dovetail or horn from TNVC which has ample forward movement. I would strongly suggest going with a dovetail interface due to the more solid lockup, less wiggle, and it needing a deliberate action to dismount it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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A failure for me too. With eyeglasses on the ocular would be resting on my glasses. With eyeglasses off it wanted to rest on my eyeball at times. Maybe if I usd a counterweight I would have been able to make enough room for no eyeglasses usage. |
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I prefer a helmet, personally, but you can't fold a helmet up and stuff it in a pocket. It's definitely a useful thing to have and works as advertised. View Quote There are applications for which having something like the Night Cap is useful, hence why it was designed, that being said, beyond those conditions? I'd take a helmet 90% of the time. ~Augee |
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I bought a nightcap when TNVC first received them never used it for a year plus. I just stuck with my ops core helmet put nightcap in my box. One day I tried it with INVG/ dual dovetail/ pvs-14 and kind of liked it more than I thought I would.
Now my Nightcap setup consist of Nightcap/lowstow mount and PVS-18 which reduced overall weight by around 3.5 oz’s vs my old setup INVG/ dual dovetail/ pvs-14. It’s very comfortable even wearing it for long periods and pretty stable I really like it for when a helmet is no go. A helmet will always be more stable and comfortable for most uses Nightcap is for when you need something small/lite to pack with you just in case. |
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I am digging the nightcap, but as @brodband8 mentioned, it was crooked as shit initially. Took some fidgeting with the shroud to get it right. Another complaint I had was how high the rear velcro was. If wanting to run with a counterweight, it's been my experience that this hook and loop section places the pouch way too high on the skull. I know that the crye counterweight system can be used to combat this, but when added, it becomes a semi permanent fixture, as the rear adjustment strap feeds through a loop on the back of the pouch (I wanted something that can be removed at will.) Since I already had EOG Gen II "beanbag" style counterweight, I busted out the sewing kit the other day and developed the DTOM system... It drops the weight down and when worn with 14s, one doesn't even need to snap the chinstrap for admin / light duty shi'ite. Thinking about joining a sewing club next. Here is where the pouch sat before: https://i.imgur.com/1vu8H4L.jpg Now for the DTOM. This looped piece of velcro is the only semi permanent section. Rear adjustment strap feeds through here: https://i.imgur.com/FGlqnS1.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OVUAiSC.jpg Removeable upper half: https://i.imgur.com/yIbPaCV.jpg https://i.imgur.com/IIqXuOA.jpg https://i.imgur.com/E6OGhs4.jpg https://i.imgur.com/343XHE6.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GqVBkod.jpg Much better: https://i.imgur.com/runMeiY.jpg View Quote I ordered the Crye battery pouch for mine, but this honestly looks like a better solution. |
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I am digging the nightcap, but as @brodband8 mentioned, it was crooked as shit initially. Took some fidgeting with the shroud to get it right. Another complaint I had was how high the rear velcro was. If wanting to run with a counterweight, it's been my experience that this hook and loop section places the pouch way too high on the skull. View Quote |
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Quoted: Sewing club was not an option for me, so I went with the TNVC Mohawk. It works just fine with the included velcro on the NightCap. And you don't need the chin strap if you're driving or walking semi-slowly. I bet I've fielded mine 40 times like this with good results. View Quote |
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It’d be a little floppy for running. Generally after I cave hog/coyote faces in while being cloaked in darkness, I don’t have to run much. ;)
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It’d be a little floppy for running. Generally after I cave hog/coyote faces in while being cloaked in darkness, I don’t have to run much. ;) View Quote Glad the mohawk works for your purposes. I'll move mine over to the nightcap to check it out. My application is a little different, so floppy mohawk sac on the back of my head would be a no-go. |
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