Considering a Pulsar Thermion?  A limited number of Pulsar Thermion XM models have hit the dealers and the questions have been flooding in.  Is the Thermion a good optic to get into thermal hunting for the first time?  Should I upgrade and get rid of my Trail to get a Thermion?  How does the Trail compare to the Thermion?...  First of all, each person will have their own opinion and perspective.  Each hunter should consider their hunting conditions, hunting style, and budget when deciding to move forward with an optic.  I’ve spent a lot of time with the Thermion XM38 and there are things that I love, and things that have I’ve had to get used to.  We all knew that the XM’s were coming to market with higher magnifications than the Trail units.  For me, hog hunting in ETX and shooting the majority of my shots at 50-75 yards, the increased magnification isn’t a positive but for someone coyote hunting in the Midwest it is probably seen as a great enhancement.  Also, the Pulsar Thermion XM resolution is now at 320 x 240 and 12 Microns, versus the 384 and 17 Mircons with the Trails.  The most obvious change is the look and design of the scope, with the Thermion looking more like a traditional rifle scope.  Comparing the Thermion picture image to the Trail models is difficult, both have vastly different magnifications which could skew ones perception of which one has a better image.  I wouldn’t say that the picture image of the Thermion is better… or worse, just different.  However, I do love the new design of the scope.  It looks great on a rifle and feels even better.  I personally think that the Thermion is a good buy, especially since the pricing is comparable to the Trail models.  You are also getting a couple extras with more color palettes and an increase of memory storage for videoing.  Here is a compilation video of my time with the Pulsar Thermion XM38..

Cool the image seems to be clearer in some videos than others. Does humidity effect the image quality? That's something I have noticed with my D50 pulsar.

Humidity affects different thermal scopes differently.  For whatever reason, the Trijicon scope images seem to be affected the worst by it.  I have seen it in person compared to my Pulsar, but as to *why*, someone smarter than me will have to explain.

Any idea when the XM30 will be out ?

The good news is the internal battery is an APS3, which is the same battery the Pulsar Axion monoculars use and it's the same "extended" battery that you can use in the Thermion as the 2nd battery under the top turret cover. Pulsar already has a plan in place for replacing the internal battery should it ever have a problem, even after the 3 year warranty period it will be something they can do for a fee. This will be serviceable in the US.

The Thermions are recoil rated for up to .375 H&H, 12ga. and 9.3x64.

I agree with DNS on upgrading from a Trail. Unless you just really like the new scope design and/or want the latest modern scope or you need more magnification than your Trail has, there is nothing wrong with sticking to what you have. I've had several customers decide to upgrade to the Thermion from the Trail because their Trail still has a high resale value and it's an easy time to sell or trade-up into a new model. But if you're happy with the Trail as it is, I don't see a big reason to run out and buy anything new tomorrow.