Has anyone on this site run one?  I need good target identification in a pasture with cows and newborn calves.  I'm shooting Feral Hogs and Feral Dogs at night and during the day.

I'm thinking clip-on PVS-30 but, the HALO-LR Thermal weapon sight has been mentioned as well and is in the same $6K~$7K price range.  And yes, if nirvana is $7500, that may be the best option and is possible.

TIA,
Sid

Let me bring my fellow high end thermal friends @tmm1270 and @jeepinjo17 over here. They both have more experience with N-Vision and HALO's than I do, but I have seen theirs and some other guys and have been very impressed
I wouldn't have a problem buying one myself

In that price range I'd go with the NOX 35 myself because I'd predominantly use it as a weapon sight, but I think guys sound like they are pretty happy with the 18mm too

By all accounts I've heard the N-Vision stuff is top notch and right behind Trijicon performance wise, and so close that it doesn't make a significant difference. They use the same BAE core and while I think Trijicon has a better objective lens I don't think it matters that much in the real world. The N-Vision stuff I've seen is pretty damn nice

I'm in East Texas!  If someone has one of these they don't mind me looking through, I'd be super appreciative!  My only real thermal experience was the prior generation FLIR System units and to be honest, I wasn't super impressed with the pixelation and slow update rate.  It certainly did well finding critters in the pasture but, has pretty poor target identification so, I didn't use it very often in my cow filled pastures unless they were well away from the Feral Hogs I was after.

Those thermal lenses are super expensive due to the rare earth materials they are made of so, I'm a bit leary with anything not made in the USA.  I tried one cheap handheld thermal and basically, I felt like I threw my money away!  

Today I want to make sure my budget and expectations are aligned well.  I'm not part of some secret squirrel Walter Mitty brigade so, I don't care if my friends think my stuff is cool or not.  

I'm mission-oriented on a Jihad against Feral Hogs and Feral Dogs taking money out of my pocket!  

The clip-on PVS-30 is attractive for day/night use and sharing it between an SR-15 LPR and SR-25 ACC.  However, I don't want to overlook today's goodness in better thermals.

I should also note, that if I do get the PVS-30, I would likely get a Bering Optics Super Hogster in 6 to 12 months for those times I really need some thermal imaging to find stuff hidden in tall grass.  My friend has some PVS-7B bins I have played with and a long time ago I did some A to B comparisons of Gen 2+ and Gen 3 PVS-4s.  PVS-14's have me thinking about tube specs but, I think even a refurb PVS-30 will still have lots of life left with a pretty darn good image though, surely not as nice as modern tubes.

I'm in East Texas also. I have a REAP you can check out if you like. You'll get a decent idea of how the N-Visions perform, it's not that far off

Maybe JeepinJoe and Tmm have some thoughts as well

Dude you don’t live in East TX......

As for original question, the NVison stuff is bad ass. You won’t be disappointed

I prefer dedicated WS as opposed to something that “does it all”

I’m off in parts unknown or id help you out .  Hook up w Zen and look through the reap.  It going to be on par with that, at minimum.

I’ve never had any trouble w mine, but know a guy that did .  He said they took care of it super quick and had it right back .  Can’t beat that

I love mine, fantastic sight.   Wish I had a second one.

East of El Paso or East of Dallas?  Maybe East of Austin, Amarillo, or Houston?  

I'm about 2 or 2.5 hours East of Mesquite/Dallas myself.

I ain’t gonna say where he lives, but I will say I don’t think he knows where ET is located.  He’s not even close.... but he is a good dude with cool shit

Lol

All my south texas friends refuse to believe Houston is part of south texas, but it sure ain't the hill country

Tangental reply:

I’ve been behind Triji UTC XII, SKEET IRX, Patrol 300, Patrol 250, a bunch of other, lesser thermals, and the 18mm NOX.

The Nox is slightly, but noticeably better than the Patrols, as far as image.

The interface is different, which could be user preference , however the boot up and nuc (refresh) are faster with the nox.

In a somewhat similar situation. We have a nox18 and love it. We're looking to get a second device pretty soon and a second 18 is a strong possibility but this will almost certainly be our last device and I want to explore all our options. We are giving the nox35 consideration but there's not a lot out there yet. It would be mostly used as a hand held on a lanyard with secondary rifle usage. Occasional helmet mount would be nice but isn't a big deal either way.

The halo lr looks interesting but seems kinda heavy and the narrow field of few is a concern. We have a coti as well as the 18 and a 35 seems like the logical compliment. Am I right in thinking that the 35 on base magnification will be very similar to my 18 on 2x but with that great base resolution. Would the fov be similar?

Thanks!  Good data points.

When you zoom, you lose resolution.  Take your existing thermal and find a target with some detail and then zoom it.  The actual pixel density doesn't change which is why the image becomes more pixelated.

The unit I'm looking at has the BAE core with its 12-micrometer resolution.  These small cores are not really about better resolution but, keeping the lens costs down.  To keep the optical performance the same with a 17-micrometer core, the lens would have to get larger and as a result, is a lot more expensive.

If you have a good thermal now, the logical second unit IMHO is not another thermal but 3rd Gen night vision such as a PVS-14.  Especially since you mention using it primarily for handheld surveillance.

The second device will be for my wife although we'll probably trade them back and forth. We each have a pvs14. I think our choice is coming down to a second 18 or a 35. I guess what I'm asking is for hand scanning will the 35 still have a wide enough field of view. We'd like a little more magnification but the 18 is great if your walking along and stop and pop up to your eye for a quick scan on 1x.

We've been using the 18 on 2x more to try to get an idea what a 35 would be like at base magnification but i don't know how accurate of a representation that is since the resolution is different and I'm not sure about fov. Rifle mount will be a distant second usage wise but is a requirement.

Looking at the world through a "straw" definitely gets old fast if you are doing general surveillance. This gets into the deep end of optics pretty fast though so, there really are no direct one-to-one comparisons IMHO.  Your best bet is simple trigonometry, take the FOV of your NOX 18mm at the distances you normally use it, and then take the FOV or any new option under consideration at the same distance.  This will tell you how big the "window" is at YOUR distance!

Longer range thermals tend to have a smaller FOV so they have good resolution at the distances they are used.  This is most obvious on dedicated "LR" options but, is also implicit on thermals with higher base magnifications.  The key really is the distance you are using it at and what you are looking for.

In terms of the 35mm lens, doubling your 18mm will give you a reasonable approximation of what it will do but you will need to imagine less pixelation.  The optical trades are where it requires some real imagination.

With the price range you are talking about, I would be tempted to consider a dedicated Pulsar handheld monocular and something like a Bering Opitic SuperHogster for the rifle.  The one gotcha for people wearing eyeglasses is the short eye relief with most monoculars.  Personally, I find hand-holding scopes to be tough and tedious.  Then there are all the size and weight concerns to be aware of.

For scanning I prefer even higher magnification like 4 or 6x

The ability to reach way out and see what you are looking at is pretty important to me. That's what thermal is for, rapid target acquisition and the ability to figure out what you are looking at. I wouldn't use a 4x if it were head mounted but as a handheld for me that level of magnification is very useful

The Skeet-IR is cool but after all these months and years with it I end up going to the REAP more often than not because it's 2.5x, and would really rather that I had a 6x for scanning

In my experience 1x or 2.5x is good for helmet, 2.5x or 4x for rifles and 4x + for dedicated scanners, depending on distances. Heavily wooded areas or short lines of sight obviously lower magnification is better. Wide open fields definitely higher magnification with the point being that lower FOV is pretty easy to compensate for by scanning quicker

I've got a Halo LR and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.  Incredible for the open country that I hunt.

East Texas generally doesn't offer the long ranges you see in the Dakota's or out in West Texas.  That's the one hang-up I have with a dedicated LR optic.

It says LR, but 3.5x ain’t that much for a shooter. More than personally prefer, but not too much in general. Unlike zen , I’m in the ET . Used armasight 75 for long time.  No problem. Just found I liked 2.5x better for fov.  Also had a bunch of 1.5x stuff. Worked great. You’ll get used to whatever you get. You’ll have a few minor bitches about anything you buy, because none of it will be perfect all the time .

Buy the thing. Shoot pigs in the face.

I live in rugged northern rain forest. Think like giant ferns and shit like that. It sounds like the 35 is the ticket. I've found myself wanting a bit more than the 18 looking ridge to ridge or across lakes or marshes. The LR sounds like high plains kinda thing and those kind of views are few and far between here. Bonus for the 35 controls being the same as the 18 (i think) so no extra training.

It's not just about the power of magnification.  LR's tend to be focused for longer ranges with target identification and related effects at those distances.  With that comes a generally tighter Field Of View.

Recognition range: 726 yards
Identification range: 380 yards

I believe Field Of View is also 9 degrees x 7 degrees


FOV tends to be pretty empirical but, recognition and identification has a bit of subjectivity to the best of my knowledge.

I’m not sure what the term I’d range, or recognition range mean. I will say that I have both recognized, and I’d’ pigs at 1900 yds, verified by rangefinder. Movement and behavior was part of that process. But I will say I could absolutely I’d them on image alone at well over 500 with bae stuff. Even the Trijicon stuff with fixed focus. I might be misunderstanding what you’re worried about? I always tell everybody pick the base msg that suits your environment best . There’s nothing perfect, because there’s no variable zoom. Some you’ll want less, sometimes more . Also, I’m not sure how accurate mfg are with the assessment of 2.5x, or 1.6 ect.  Armasight always felt like it was higher msg than advertised, pulsar and Trijicon felt like less. Nvision feels like less than advertised too, but this is pretty damn subjective, and strictly my opinion. Hope this helps some

I may be a bit sensitive due to my prior commercial FLIR experience.  FLIR blobs around cows with newborn calves and deer with fawns made me super cautious with shots because of the risk of misidentification.  I get watching behavior and looking for leg lengths and head/neck patterns but, with poor resolution, there was always ambiguity.  If I used digital zooming, the image became unusable as well.

I assume UNV still rents the stuff. That may be your best bet . I feel pretty positive you’ll be really impressed.

Hedge your bet and get a 2.5x optic

That level of magnification is a good all around compromise