I have been contemplating the purchase of the $500-$600 ATN Night Vision goggles that are advertised on gunbroker and Ebay. There are no places around me in MI that I am aware of that stock these so going and handling a pair is basically impossible. Does anyone have a set of these that could offer some advice? Let me lay it down for you:

I am not in the military or a police offer so I do not want /nor can I afford an expensive pair of goggles.

What I do want is a set of goggles for home defense/navigation in case the power gets cut or goes out. I only want to be able to navigate in the dark in my home or around the premesis without being seen.

I guess my question is...are these $500-$600 any use at all. I don't need 3rd gen crystal clear quality or high magnification. If these are good enough to see in the dark at 40-50 feet than that is good enough for me. Are they?

Gen I

Low resolution
Low light magnification
Short life span

other than that they are great.

I would say...

Lower resolution than 2nd gen, however how much is the difference between 35 lines per mm and 40?

The most important is lowest contrast of the image due to lowest light gain.

On the other hand the price looks much nicer.

1st gen is pretty much crap compared to the 3rd gen, if youre going to buy night vision save a lot more money and purchase a 3rd gen night vision systems from itt.