Low Light Innovations Articulating Binocular Housing - LLUL-21
https://www.lowlightinnovations.com/product-page/llul-21-housing-only

Note: I am not in any way sponsored by a vendor, manufacturer, etc. I bought all of my own devices, tubes, optics, etc. You are getting my direct feedback as a DYI’er and NV Enthusiast always on the lookout for budget friendly options.

Low Light Innovation’s LLUL-21 is one of the least expensive MX-10160 compatible *ARTICULATING* housings on the market, at ~$1299 for the bare housing. AGM’s BNVD - 40/50 share similar pricing, but they weigh almost TWICE as much and aren’t exactly in the same league due to the optics they come with. Nocturn’s UANVB “Katana” housing is $1750 and was the other option I was closely considering. Unfortunately, Nocturn’s higher pricing meant the difference between ultralight RPO & Carson glass with Opfor Diopters. This is primarily why I went with the LLUL-21.

The Housing:
The LLUL-21 is an articulating housing, which differs from the historically popular fixed bridge types (Sentinel/RNVG/MOD3). The LLUL is more akin to a PVS-15 in that each pod is cable of flipping up and out of the way when not in use. This also allows for a much tighter stow position so as to not smack your NVG’s on roof or door frame while moving.

The LLUL-21 features a minimalistic design that removes a lot of “fluff” found on other devices. You will not find onboard IR, low battery indicators, light pipes, or programmable switches. Additionally, this housing shaves weight by also offloading the typically onboard battery to an external pack like a traditional Anvis setup. The design takes weight that would normally be on the front of your head and returns it to the rear of your head as a functional counterweight. This was always one of the best parts about running an Anvis setup with a ground mount adapter.  The LLUL-21 is pretty much the best of both worlds in some ways.

Despite the minimalistic approach, the housing still features dedicated IPD stops and an articulating/flip shut off for each of the individual pods. The IPD Stops are simple set screws and get the job done.
You can see the articulation here: https://www.facebook.com/LowLightInnovationsLLC/videos/297119338894733

Once again, LLI has reused the pusbutton on/off switch that I disliked so much with the Aerternus V2. At least with no onboard battery, accidental activation during storage is less of an issue.

What is included for $1299:
The LLUL-21 kit comes with the housing and 2 objective (infinity stop) rings preinstalled. I will be blunt – they look exactly like the RQE Titanium rings, except MJF Printed Nylon. It also includes a matching battery pack – more on that later!

SPECIFICATIONS:
HOUSING COLOR: Black; FDE; Ranger Green; Grey
POWER SOURCE: External Power (4 AA)
OPERATION TIME: APPROXIMATELY 90 HOURS
INTERPUPILLARY ADJUSTMENT: 51 TO 73MM
DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT: -6 TO +2
WEIGHT: 460g
WATER RESISTANCE: SUBMERSIBLE TO 66 FT
INTENSIFIER TUBES: MX-10160
OPTICS: PVS-14 COMPATIBLE
WARRANTY: Lifetime

Build Quality:
The LLUL-21 shares some of the technological advances of Nocturn’s Katana and LLI’s own Aeternus – in that it is MJF 3D Printed Nylon 11 that weighs less than other traditionally milled aluminum/delrin options currently on the market. I still feel like that is a blessing and a curse.

This housing, like the Aeternus, has some pretty bad fine thread issues – for both the Tube Retainer Rings, and the Ocular Eyepiece threads. I am not sure if this is a quality issue with LLI or just a limitation of 3D Printed MJF Nylon. I ran into similar issues when 3D Printing my own housings, but MJF is no slouch! I contacted LLI and was told it was an issue on some V1 LLUL-21 housings and that the Tube Retainer Ring threads would be resolved on V2. LLI offered to exchange my V1 for a V2 when they become available, or offered to build the device out for me. I will certainly do another write-up with a comparison of both housings if/when I get the V2 housing. I was told early April.

Once again, these are assembler/builder issues. An end user would never notice those types of issues. Once the device is properly assembled, they are a non-issue.

My last gripe about quality is that my “new” housing arrived with some imperfections in the coating. Normally, I would consider something like this to be a Factory BLEM. I expect zero coating issues on a production model. There are various areas on the bottom and rear of the housing where the coating has chipped prior to it arriving to me. This is purely a cosmetic issue, but it is still a quality issue on a $1299 product. Hopefully this is also resolved on a V2 housing.

Power:
As I mentioned, the LLUL-21 comes bundled with its own battery pack. This pack will take 4x AA batteries and has additional storage for 2 more AA batteries. With 6 batteries inserter, this is a perfectly matched counterweight for the LLUL-21. The battery pack is also a basic design and feels rigid in the hand.
The batteries run in parallel, so you can actively run anywhere from 2x-4x AA batteries, with 2 more in reserve. There is no onboard switch or any other electronics, and I detected zero vampiric drain, so aside from leaking, I see no cause for concern on leaving batteries in the pack during storage so these can always be at the ready.
The LLUL-21 utilizes a Fischer port instead of a 304b series LEMO Anvis style connector, so PVS-31 style battery packs should work with this device.

Weight:
I weighed this in at 13.15oz and that is completely built out with tubes and RPO 3.0 Lenses. This thing is scary light! The battery pack comes in at 4.1oz without any batteries installed. You’re looking at 7.25oz fully loaded with 6x Energizer AA Lithium’s and 9.05oz with traditional alkaline batteries. This thing is so light, I can’t even begin to describe how preferable this is to use over some of my other devices.

Let’s compare it to some other popular options…
Assembled Weights:
UANVB Katana: 17.76oz (**I was informed by directly by Nocturn that this was the weight for Mil-Spec Carson glass, which I think is apples to apples, because dollar for dollar, I was able to pay almost the exact same price for the LLUL-21 with RPO 3.0 as it was for a Katana with Mil-Spec glass). I just want to point this out that if your budget is opened ended, you can build a Katana or any of the other housings with the same RPO Glass.
Aerternus Gen 1: 18.35oz
Aerternus Gen 2: 19.25oz
Sentinel: 21.15oz
BNVD-40: 24.2oz

Conclusion:
I think LLI brings a capable “budget” option for an articulating housing at an attractive price point. I appreciate the fact that I was able to upgrade to RPO 3.0 Optics for the difference in price, and I do consider that to be a big deal. Once again, I would like to see this housing include PVS-14 compatible light weight Diopters (similar to Opfor’s or Nocturn’s) as it just makes this build so much more robust. Since the infinity rings are already included, diopters would just make sense. Please make it happen.

I certainly think there are some quality issues that builders are going to run in to and it seems to happen with all of the LLI housings I have built to date. I am hoping V2 raises the bar on quality. As an assembler/builder, you will spend more time building (manual gain MOD 3’s, anybody?), but LLI certainly stands behind the product and its warranty. They also offer something unique that nobody else seems to offer – an MSRP based Housing TRADE-IN program. Yeah… you read that – I am able to trade in any of my LLI devices for an MSRP Trade-In value to swap to a different housing. That is HUGE.

I don’t really have any durability concerns given the drop testing. If I had to question anything in the build it would be the dovetail. I would prefer to see an anodized aluminum dovetail section as there is still some inherent flex in the Nylon 11 and milled aluminum would stiffen that right up. Lastly, I think the pushbutton power button sucks – if for no other reason as it will lead to scorched tubes.

LLI – Bring on V2.
If you have any questions or would like specific photos, please feel free to ask.
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Badass review as usual. Thanks for this

I would also like to see the gen 2. I am looking pretty hard at swapping my Sentinel over.

Seen it at east coast night shoot, it's crazy light and very well made.

@metalsaber

I was told April 5th to contact them about getting swapped out for a Gen 2. I am hoping it fixes some of the issues I ran into building them. If you are sending your sentinels off to get built, it should be a non-issue for you with either gen. I was also told that they plan to offer BLEMS and Trade-in housings at reduced pricing, as well.

This thing is super light though. I love my Sentinels, but I am probably going to end up swapping my Filmless tubes over to this housing as my primary go-to. You should actually be able to just send your Sentinels off to them and have them handle the build. I will certainly post an update or a fresh review/compare when I get the V2.

Yeah I've been saving my pennies.  This was my 1st consideration mainly because they would take my existing PVS14 and find a matching unit which would save me a bit of money.  And yeah they were stupid light when we handled them at the East Coast Night shoot.  Will be contacting them early next month to see about pricing for putting me a set together with my existing PVS14.

Great review as always...That is a crazy light setup for binos and must be quite a relief during extended wear.

Seems like the issues described are mostly cosmetic. They really shouldn't be there but it's not the end of the world.

I can vouch for how robust whatever 3D print method LLI uses is. Your old Aeternus binos, which are now my Aeternus binos, took quite a spill last month. Friend of mine was wearing them (first time under NV) and took a big time fall while moving. The housing took a direct smack onto the ground and outside of getting dirty, showed zero wear. I've also bumped them against a door frame once or twice while stowed

Oddly enough - those being gen 2+ tubes might have been the saving grace. The impact/drop rating of those gen 2+ tubes is pretty crazy. Pretty awesome it took some hard use and kept on going.

You should be able to contact LLI and swap to an llul-21 housing for the msrp cost difference if you ever desire, as well.

I honestly thought the housing at minimum was gonna be cracked. He ate it pretty good and understandably didn't feel comfortable taking his hands off the rifle to brace his fall.

Anyways, on the llul-21s have you found the independent pod shutoff to be reliable when you articulate one or both upward? On some housings it seems a bit hit or miss. The upgrade program makes the cost really, really modest and hard to pass up. I just like the inherent ruggedness of fixed bridge.

Pretty interesting light weight housing.

The pod shutoff works perfectly fine. They actually have it shown in a video, too and mine functions exactly the same. One of my only long term concerns is the 3D printed dovetail - it isn't quite as rigid as I would like. I would prefer to see that entire piece machined out of aluminum, so I am hoping the V2 has it that way. I may just be worried about nothing though, because it hasn't failed on me.

I’m about to start a petition to ban push button on/off on NVG devices. I’ll take an extra gram or two for positive feedback on power function

people were fighting about it with me on FB citing that push button isnt a big deal because its mostly user error that causes the damage. apparently nobody else hits low hanging branches, door frames, etc. if there is a branch available, I am taking that stuff to the face.

for minimal cost savings, i will always select a twist style button with tactile stops. plus - you easily know if the device is on before you ever hook up power to it, such as the issue i take with LLUL's push button. it clearly isnt a deal breaker, but I thought it was a step in the wrong direction.

This right here is the main reason. When I pop a battery in, I want to know 100% my device is off in case I bump my covers, etc.

Very affordable articulating housing.

Thanks for your write up, it's appreciated.

I wanted to post a 2 month follow-up. I've been rocking this device pretty steadily and due to the weight, it is pretty much my new goto device for playing around in the dark - and it doesn't even have my best tubes in it!

The only catch is if I need something ready to go for handheld use. It needs some type of Anvis-esque COPS like solution, so I may just build one. If anyone has a cheap-ish source for Fischer connectors please let me know because I'd like to build a plug in battery compartment so I can use these for grab and go. Thus far, this device has exceeded all of my expectations and is holding up great. I do notice a slight bit of flex in the dovetail if I am running - I would like to see that support that runs up to the dovetail milled out of a rigid material like aluminum, and I was told there will be a 3rd party source building that specific piece. Outside of that, it has performed great.

I am still waiting on my LLUL-21 V.2 replacement, and will report back with the changes when that arrives.