I have Gen 2+ units. A mono and a goggle. My mono is 32Lp and my goggle is 45LP. Both are excellent units and work well. I have spent some time in the woods with both. I use my mono more then the googles.

If you have street lights you are GTG go at any range in a fight. In the woods without moon light you will be limited to 50 to 70yd fighting. That's about the distance I was able to spot people deep inside the woods/forest. I was not able to see them farther due to the poorer light gain of the gen 2+ units. With full moon that range was extended by 80 yards or more. With street/house lights it was extended to several hundard yards.

If you use an IR, you will will be able to see much farther, but you give yourself away at the same time. Your best bet is to hide and wait for them to come to you.

I want extra range in the woods, for this reason I will be switching over to Gen 3 optics as money allows.

Could I have a kickass no holds barred fight with Gen 2+?....Yes, I can do some very nasty damage with what I have. But would be limited when against guys with Gen 3.

If you are stuck to 2k then I would go with a Mono unit over goggles. The mono will be much easier to use behind the Aimpoint or EOtech, head or weapon mounted. Look into the D-300 or M121 units.

My goggles flat kick ass. Nothing more is better then wearing the googles walking around on the street or woods. They are harder to use behind Aimpoints and EOtechs but can be used. I found shooting from behind a handle mounted Acog was much better when using the goggles. I have several acogs and trust them more then anything battery operated, including the NVGs.

The only real downside to using the googles was the difficulty shooting the Aimpoint and EO. You really have to lean your head over to get behind the red dot sights and the fact you night blind both eyes when using goggles. After you take them off you only see in the red spectrum until your eyes return to normal.  

I know that you have a hard time using Acogs when using Gen 3 optics. For some reason the Gen 2 units work well with them. I think it has to due with the poorer light gain but not sure.

Either way you use them the Gen 2 units work well. If you are under starlight only, on a flat open area you can see out to 200 yds before stuff starts to go out of focus. So you will be able to see people coming down the street with no problem.

Whatever you decide good luck. Remember practice makes perfect.  

Edited to add: If you go with a weapon mounted unit. Just remember everything you look at will have the rifle pointed at it as well. That's not a good thing for civies.