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Both are great systems and I personally cant recommend one over the others because they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

There are still folks that prefer the ball-detent ANVS format mount to the BNVS dovetail for more than just the external battery pack capability.

However, the majority of civilian Sentinel users tend to use them with the BNVS interface, thus negating both the external battery pack, and all of the ANVS compatibility built into the Sentinel.

I use the Sentinels with the ball-detent, so consequently, I end up running the Sentinels off AAs as well.

~Augee

The ANVS ball-detent format mount allows the goggles to stow a lot closer and lower to the helmet, though they obviously also place them further forward, changing the CG somewhat. This means that while stowed, you have a little bit more room in vehicles or other tight spaces, as the goggles are more or less on the same plane as the crown of your helmet.

The dovetail mount will always stow a little bit taller, though some mounts are more or less extreme than others, e.g., the old Norotos TATM versus the Wilcox L4 G24--the lower stowing mounts will, of course, obviously stow a little bit further forward so they will have similar impacts on CG.

Granted, dovetail mounts using articulating goggles (DTNVG or PVS-31 style) can get lower than fixed, shelf-style goggles like the Sentinel or RNVG if you fold them down around the helmet (FWIW, the "top of the line" goggles like the FGS or GPNVG are not capable of this either, though that is moot for most users), but that segues into my next point:

Personally, I prefer the very simple deployment of ball-detent mounts insofar as they're always "ready," you just need to flip them up and down, and even an electrical dummy like me can understand how that's possible: rotate up, remove power, rotate down, restore power. Goggles are on, goggles are off. No knobs or switches to worry about, no mechanical or logic/software-based auto-shutoff functions to worry about, no worries about "did I leave batteries in the device?" or "did I accidentally leave the device on?"

Meanwhile, a lot of folks that use PVS-31s often don't stow their goggles at all most of the time, they just rotate the pods up around the mount so they can see under them. This is pretty nifty and it works well... to a point. The other thing about shelf-style goggles for me, is that the IPD is always set--I know every time I flip the goggles down, they not only turn themselves on, but they're set to exactly where and how I want them, no fiddle-faddle. Devices like the DTNVG, etc. usually don't have IPD stops, and even the PVS-31s which do have them, at least I personally find myself bumping them essentially every time I rotate the pods, and sometimes just from touching the device in general. Granted, these are not usually huge adjustments that cause minor misalignment, but annoying to me nonetheless.

The other thing about the PVS-31s specifically, is that they take forever to shut off (you need to hold the button for a second or two, you can just tap it and turn it off or rotate a knob. Mercifully this does not apply to turning them on), nor do the pods shut off when you rotate them up, not to mention that the auto-shutoff is angle based, and because they take so long to shut off manually, it's not even like the PVS-14 where you can disable the auto-shutoff and simply use them that way. They also turn back on automatically, rather than needing to have the knob re-cycled, which means that if you flipped them up, then forgot to shut them back down, they may end up turning themselves back on when you put them away, meaning you need to double check that they're "actually" off before you put them away, lest you subject yourself to battery drain, or worse even, image burn, depending on how/where you put them away. Only takes one time to forget to trash an expensive pair of goggles which are a pain in the ass to service, even if you got them "legitimately," to say nothing of if you bought them on the gray market. The DTNVG is better in this respect at least, IMHO, in having a mechanical knob, and also built in logic that will at very least turn the pods off when you rotate them far enough up if you choose to rotate the pods away, rather than stowing the device.

But, I'm off topic.

Another thing that I appreciate about ball detent mounts is that they have a built-in breakaway function--I know that that's not what most people concern themselves about, but personally I appreciate it, prevents or reduces the chances of damage to... well, just about every component, the mount, the device, your neck, etc. Again--if you spend a decent amount of time in and around vehicles especially, it's something worth considering.

Of course, the ball-detent is not without its downsides, it is a little bit more sensitive, less stable in many cases, especially with repurposed USGI aviation mounts (mounts like the Wilcox GSGM/DPAM are a huge upgrade, but of course come with a pretty huge cost premium as well compared even to something like the AB Night Vision or Adams mounts), however even this can be addressed some with the use of bungees, stiffer springs for the actual ball mount, etc. FWIW, the ball detent is also far far far less saltwater resistant than the dovetail, so if you're engaged in a lot of maritime work, probably a less ideal choice. Incidentally, Navy Surface Warfare Center-Crane, which has oversight over USSOCOM VAS programs have pretty much standardized on the dovetail.

Once again, I like and use both--and most devices are not ball-detent compatible anyways. For somewhat obvious reasons, I don't necessarily use a single set of NVGs exclusively, and different goggles can have advantages and disadvantages for different applications. In fact, when speaking to customers, I often recommend the dovetail, as it is generally simpler, cheaper, and locks in more stably, which for better or worse often translates to perceived quality, and absent user specific needs or preferences that are either already known or already identified, the dovetail tends to result in higher customer satisfaction--the reality being that most users, even many professional end-users are not spending that much time (e.g.,) rolling around in armored vehicles or helicopters, climbing through windows or navigating exceedingly narrow structures, nor are they necessarily experiencing the frequency of switching between white light and NV.

I'm certainly not saying one is wholly better than the other, only that for users that do prefer the ball-detent, while some may do it for the remote battery pack alone, there are nevertheless those who prefer it independently of the remote power function, and I would point out that most of the Wilcox ball-detent mounts either have the option or have a dual-power function that allows them to be run without the remote battery pack entirely.

~Augee