This subject has been hashed over a number of times, so I'll try to be brief:

- Beginner users often take to 7s faster than 14s because it "feels" more natural.

- Some users simply cannot resolve images as disparate as a monocular/unaided eye, and may never get used to a PVS-14. This is a very very small portion of the population, and often it can be solved by switching eyes on the monocular, but nevertheless, it is a thing.

- There are real reasons that the PVS-14 is superior to the PVS-7 in terms of situational awareness and depth perception. These are not opinions, they have to do with the way your brain processes information. How important that is to you is the subjective component.

- The Gen. 2 PVS-5 was the first widely issued individual night vision device in the U.S. military. It was a dual tube device because... duh, we have two eyes.

- The PVS-7 was developed solely and entirely because the Army Infantry decided that it wasn't worth spending the money to buy two tubes per Soldier, and that one tube was "good enough."

- The conventional Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Forces are all moving or have moved to binocular-style devices with no looking back.  

- I learned to fight and I learned to lead using PVS-7s. I did all of the things, including CQB/MOUT and maneuvering not just dismounted units but mounted units using them. You can do it.

- I went to Afghanistan with PVS-14s. About a third of the missions I did on my first tour were night LP/OPs in both urban and rural settings. You can do it.

- Knowing what I know now and having the experience of using a wide swath of the readily available modern night vision device out there in some way, shape, or form, I would never not choose dedicated binos if I had the option unless I was trying to be as low profile as possible (think PVS-14 and Nightcap in a cargo pocket type stuff).

- If you can get them cheap enough, used Gen. 3 PVS-7s can sometimes be a good deal. But you have to be lucky and know where to look to find them--so the question can become "how much is your time worth?" Is it worth watching craigslist, eBay, TACSWAP, facebook, and the EE on rotation for a month to maybe get scammed/ripped off/receive stolen gear worth saving $500 to you? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, that's your decision.

- Buying new, PVS-7 style devices are almost always more expensive than their equally performing monocular counterparts. They require more time and effort to build and more components because they're inherently more complex. The only reason they might be cheaper is because no one would want them otherwise.

~Augee

Nah, the PVS-7 stuff has been discussed many times over, but if you look at what I quoted at the beginning of that post:



I was emphasizing the “nothing like.”

Non-issue.

That was just someone coming up with an example of a weird thing that they might not be aware of as opposed to “simple” abuse.

~Augee

I started with three(3) used PVS-7(D)’s. (Gen 3)   Loved them.  Wish I still had them, they worked great.  

BUT......

I traded them for a pair of new Gen 3 PVS-14’s and then helmet mounted them.  

I also have a Trijicon IR Patrol 300 and love it too.  

Both are great tools and just like mentioned before, once you get something, you will want more, much more.

The 7’s are good, but Go for the 14’s, you won’t regret it.