I've seen absolutely nothing about this unit out there, so I figured I'd do a bit of a review on it. This is an MFAL with green visible laser, IR laser, and VCSEL IR illuminator similar to what you find in the MAWL. The cost at time of my post is $1695. At this time, it is $2000. The OEM for these is 3E IR. The body is 3d printed in nylon PA11. The material feels fine - no more or less durable feeling than a PEQ15. It utilizes a single cross bolt with 3 recoil lugs to attach to a 1913 rail. It will accept a standard tape switch, however I do not use them unless necessary. Took a Steiner switch with zero issues.

First things first - specs

Wight w/ battery - 7.9oz
Length - 3.78''
Width - 2.85''
Height over rail - 0.45''
Illuminator beam - 3 degrees without diffuser cap
MIL-STD-810G compliant and waterproof



The unit is incredibly light, low profile, and is a major upgrade from the D2 in terms of size and weight. Overall, the unit sits about the same height as the CD Rein pressure switch.





The mode selection is fairly simple from off, looking clockwise you have VIS. Going counter clockwise you have IR laser, illuminator only, IR laser and illuminator. Note that there is no high or low setting for either VIS or IR mode. It's not as quick to change settings as the Steiner units or the MAWL.



Both the lasers and illuminators are adjustable for windage and elevation by the screws on the body. There are no detents - just screws with some pretty good resistance. I was initially hesitant about setups like that, but the TOR MINI from Steiner/TNVC I had never lost zero and it was done the same way. The elevation screw for the illuminator is on the bottom of the device, accessible only if your unit is on the front of the rail. Not the biggest of issues, but is worth noting.

The only real complaint about usability I have at this point has to be the diffuser cap. I with it were tethered and slid in and out of place like the VWS diffuser for the D2 or the PERST 3 OR flipped up like scope cap. As of now, the diffuser slides off and is completely loose. If you lose it, you're screwed. I'm sure this can be addressed in the future.




Performance wise - it's VERY good. I'll have more pics and videos tonight of the laser and illuminator performance.

Overall, excellent performance and only minor ergonomic complaints - the mode selector switch and diffuser cap not being attached in any way are my biggest issues, both are fairly minor. I would absolutely recommend it for someone looking for a quality MFAL with excellent weight and form factor. It's not as high speed low drag as a MAWL might be, but it's $1000+ cheaper.

Night pics!

Laser is visible at 500+ easy, though through the camera it's a little hard to pick out of the trees.

Center right - 270 yards



Further right - 500 yards



Now a few shots with the flood cover on. A "control" without the supplemental IR for each pic. Yes, we turn over our furniture before it storms. No, I haven't had time to mow after the rain.






3 degree illuminator - mine appears to be more of a rectangle. Not sure if it's by design or what, but I don't mind it. At 500 it still illuminates really well when looking through the NV, but in the camera it's hard to see it. I also haven't centered the illuminator over the laser yet.








Quick video


ETA -

After having the illuminator refocused to be a circle, the divergence is wider but it’s still insane. Here it is compared to a FP PEQ

Thanks for the review OP. Look forward to seeing some pictures of how it performs at night.

More competition the better.

These are about 1500-1600 retail?

For two thousand dollars less, I think I can forgo some modularity and features of the more expensive units.

I do very much like the D2 because of how useful its illuminator is but at the end of the day, a properly designed diffuser can accomplish almost the same thing.  Almost.

More options are always good and i'm stoked to see how this thing shakes out.  I've held off on ordering one because I generally don't like being a first generation technology adopter.

Looking forward to more pics of this thing in operation.  Subbed for more!

Awesome! I've been waiting to hear some feedback from this unit, it looks like it'll be a great LAM physical design wise but without any reviews or any sort of feedback from users online of its performance I couldn't be certain I would have liked this over say a kiji + ir laser setup like the CTF-2.

Tag.  Tired of some of these crazy priced units.  Hope this is a viable option.

Been waiting to see a real world review on these Can you confirm the weight? That seems crazy for something with the claimed capabilities.

I thought I read these were going to be sold other than through USNV but I don't remember the details.

Is there any info on its weather/water resistance?   Curious considering the 3d printing.

Also interested in weather resistance and durability.

Supposed to comply with MIL-STD -810

Pics up!

It's pretty bright that's for sure. It's kinda exacerbated by camera washout though.

Have you had a chance to compare it to a D2 or similar unit?

Yes. I've had the D2, A3, i2 (IR/IR), LS321G, and PERST 3.

Here's a D2 at similar range. It's a bit brighter and more focused.



The big difference for me is....

Very nice! Thank you for all the photos and the video.
It looks like a good performing IR laser and illuminator. That rectangular shape beam is a little disappointing, it reminds me of those flashlight where you can change it's focus and when you set it to the tightest focus the beam looks like the square/rectangle led inside the flashlight head.

Looks good thanks for the reporting op

Are we seeing MAWL-like performance without MAWL-like pricing?  If so, count me in.

To be fair, there’s not really any reviews out on the CTF-2 yet.  However if the advertised weights are accurate (8oz for the USNV) it should be a good bit lighter than a CTF-2 (~10oz with light heads) and definitely looks a lot smaller.  The CTF-2 is going to be about the same profile as running two 45-degree scout lights.  Although the USNV unit allows a switch and the CTF-2 only has the integral button.  Both are $1600ish with VSCEL illuminators.

Also, is it me, or does the unit sit a little crooked/cockeyed?  That is bothering me more than the square emitter.

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Maybe a tiny bit. But if you look at the D2 shot, it looks slightly canted the other way. Could be just be a matter of which direction the torque is applied from the clamping mechanism and tolerance stacking with rails

So how is the illuminator vs the Kiji-3 ?

Or is it picking nits at that point?

I’m kind of waiting for the Zbolt IR LEP/VSCEL scout heads to come out.  To say the white light throw on their visible lights is impressive would be an understatement.  They’re like goddamned white lightsabers.

They’re likely about the same. The Kiji 3 degree on max power is rated at 150mW so it’s maybe a little brighter than the 130mW of this device.

Yeah, the more I think about it, it’s probably imperceptible if they have the same beam width. For example the 3v vampire (100mW) and the 6v vampire (120mW) are utterly indistinguishable. In the end I only kept the m600v for the better visible light and battery.

Plus most Kiji-3 reviews I’ve seen say almost no one runs them at power level 4 all the time because it’s almost too much (unless pushing past photonic barriers).

Are these US Nightvision products related to these? The form factor is very similar.

Lumen Defense

I reached out to Lumen Defense and was told "Lumen Defense has no  association with 3Eir or USNV. 3Eir entity has never been tied to or used by Lumen Defense."

So it appears that they are not connected at all.

After getting a bit more info - these are waterproofed and made from the same material that the Noisefighter J arms and Katana housings are made from and Cerakoted to the final finish.

Interesting

If I'm reading it right the Lumen unit doesn't have an illuminator. If true I don't see the appeal of an 8oz laser when the usnv is the same weight with illuminator. I don't understand these new units including a visible laser. The civi versions aren't capable of defeating photonic barriers and pretty much everyone has NV compatible red dots for zeroing so it seems like it just adds weight and cost.

OP is a friend of mine so I reached out and bought one.

It turns out they are doing some improvements to the device. Mine is very different his. I reached out to customer service to ask if maybe mine was damaged. And they put me in touch with the man behind it.

They had some issues with the manufacturer of the original square diode, so they've reverted to a round one with a larger beam divergence, and have tweaked the power output. I measured about 12 degrees on mine. The engineer assured me it should be usable past 250 yards possibly even 1000.
The 12 degree beam seems to be good for medium to close range, I just don't know how it compares at longer distances. I'll try to get with OP at some point and compare them side by side.

This is what I saw at about 45 feet, I'll try to get some more tonight behind the house. There's a lot of ambient light so i think it makes it seem dimmer than it really is.

I would hope that they bump up the power with a larger divergence. Let us know when you get more info!

Very interested in this for sure.

OP great review. IMHO the more options the better. 4oz lighter vs a D2 is a good amount which will be very noticeable especially on full length rails.

It’s so awesome better performing, more affordable stuff is coming out. Must piss off the current companies that are gouging the fuck out of us for this stuff.

OP, any further updates on this?

Not much! I have zero complaints with the laser. Does everything I need it to, it's lighter than the others, and it holds zero. Here's another video through an unfilmed WP unit rather than the Photonis in the OP. Photonis just photographs and videos so well. The selector did loosen up some so now it's really easy to rotate with my support side thumb alone like I did with the DBAL.

I really like the looks of this and if the performance is similar or at least kinda closer to the D2 I think I’m in. Just have to find the funds to buy it lol.

@RAlexCo9

So I got one of those 3EIR Vulcans, and it appears to be the round 130mW diodes.  It lit up 350 yards against full moonlight treeline last night pretty well, so it could reach further.

I measured my beam at 5.5 degrees.  I basically put out a yardstick and measured the distance I had stand far enough away to fill the yardstick (~10 yards)… then did the math.  If it were 3deg it would have been 57 feet.

I'll be putting this one through some work at a Greenline Tactical class this week! Hopefully no issues with heat or anything.

I did change things up and threw it on an 11.5'' URGI with an Aimpoint Duty RDS

The GunTuber "Brass Facts" did a video review of it recently.  I believe he had issues with the coalignment of the visible and IR laser being off.  

No issues with coalignment on mine. I did have an issue last night where the illuminator stopped working, but a new battery fixed it up. I think it draws so much power on the illuminator side that if the battery is too low it'll only fire the laser.

That's a valuable data point, especially for someone like me who lives in Michigan where the temps can get a little chilly and so batteries drain all that much faster.

To be fair, it was a battery that's been in use for probably 6+ months through various devices that finally died

My GHM9 needs an MFAL that isn't a little bitch.

Wondering if these are overkill for the gun....

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Yes, this is overkill.

Spend 300 bucks and slap a VIR II on there.  That's what I have on my GHM9 and it's working marvelously paired with a PLH2 Modlite.

To each their own though.  The relative low top height of this MFAL would mean that activating it on a fairly short front end is probably pretty easy so it's got that going for it.

I’d put a Somogear full power PEQ on something that’s not for HD/SD for a couple hundred bucks before sticking a TLR VIR II on it.  I say this as someone happily with a TLR VIR II on my 9mm PCC upper, too.

TLR is nice cause you can actually rely on it and you can toss it on a pistol someday… but a FP china-PEQ smokes it hard.

Smokes it hard right up until it doesn't work.  Then you have to go buy a VIR II to replace it... lol.

I would have some pretty serious concerns about the Somogear holding up to blowback recoil.  The GHM9 isnt exactly a soft shooter.  It's super controllable but there's alot of violence in that action.

There’s a good thread on here on how to open them up and what to do to beef them up a bit.

I've read the whole thread.  I'm too lazy to play shade tree mechanic.  I'd rather shoot my shit than bother with that.

I have no doubt that the Somogear stuff will get better and better and for many, its a serious value but one has to weigh ease of use, durability, warranty etc versus performance.  PCC's only "need" so much performance.

I think a quality Vscel illuminator would be fine on a PCC but I think that it would need more adjustability or at least a filter that offers a much less focused beam than what comes on the DIR.

It comes with a diffuser that still gives more usable range than the VIR II and even more flood. I've got both.

Finally got to actually put some rounds on this thing. Rifle probably has about 1000 total, 700ish of them coming Saturday night at the Greenline Tactical Nightfighter class.

After the first night, the zero did wander quite a bit. I tightened the mount a bit more than I did the first time, went back into the second night and slaved it to my optic and I was good to go. No wandering after the lots of rounds in a rapid succession. Illuminator performed great, and in general I had no significant complaints. Didn’t make me want a mawl at all.

I do really wish there was a better option for the diffuser cap, even if was just like a PEQ 15 cap.