Armasight SIDEKICK 640 vs RH25 and NOX 18- Battle of the Thermal Monoculars
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- Join us as we review the BRAND NEW Armasight Sidekick 640 thermal monocular. We'll compare it to the two juggernauts in it's class: the iRay RH25 and the N-vision NOX 18. See how and if it can stack up to these tremendous monoculars despite being 1/2 their price!
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timestamps
00:00 Start
00:28 Intro
01:57 One Purpose for Monoculars
02:10 Field of View
04:04 NOX18 Review
07:51 NOX18 vs Sidekick 640
09:12 Sidekick 640 Review
16:19 SOK Title Sponsor
16:54 RH 25 Review
21:00 Sidekick vs RH 25
22:44 Closing Thoughts
24:45 My Advice/Most Common Need - กีฬา
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'No you idiot its half the PRICE."
Subbed lol
Haha…. Thanks brother!!
Awesome review vid. Im glad you laid out the best use for each one… and actually acknowledged their drawbacks.
Gotta keep it 100, as the young-ins say!
Excellent review. Some of the comparison footage you show of the Sidekick was from the internal recording which compresses the image. Point being for viewers, the image of the Sidekick will be significantly better than the internal recorded video is showing.
Thank you good sir. Actually, I didn’t use any compressed footage from the Armasight. This is all from the camera behind the monocular units. I wanted an apples to apples comparison for everyone. The one note to make though, as I mentioned in the video, they’ve already fixed the lagging issue, so the new software update should substantially improve even what you see here.
It shows “Rec” during some of the footage because I recorded in case I wanted to do a comparison of the compress videos. That would’ve made the video way too long so I didn’t use that footage, but that’s why you’re seeing that on the screen.
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 Thanks for that clarification.
@@wherenowhow6037 yessir….. and thank you for watching!
Really neat to see these units side by side. Great review!
The RH25 comment: “useless past 75 yards”…. There are a lot of dead animals past double that distance that would disagree. I understand the spirit of your comment, it’s not a long range thermal. But please get on some technical forums and figure out what you are doing wrong with your setup process that others are not having issues with. 4x as a clip on is leaving plenty of resolution left over for taking longer shots on pig sized animals (250 yards and in). I do it on the regular and so do many others.
Look at the 300y comparison. Lol. Its a blurry 1 pixel x 6 pixel vertical line on the SideKick but still easy to ID as a human on the RH with identifiable arms extended. This “review” is heavily influenced by a sponsor, no other way for me to see it.
@@PoonDestroyer69 Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if it was influenced. Armasight waited so long to release any content on the sidekick that they are sponsoring TH-camrs to play catch up. Give credit where credit is due though, he included a lot of footage that doesn’t lie (although the units look better in person), people can decide for themselves what performed better. You obviously made some excellent observations of the footage
@@rileyfrench3837 both fair arguments, and I appreciate you guys jumping in. Here’s the reason for that statement. I too have kills with this unit past 75 yards. You can see in the one kill I showed at 100 yards I dropped that on the spot. That being said, I could not tell you what that animal was. Had I not had someone else there running a higher end, actual thermal scope worthy of using past 100 yards that could tell me it was a coyote, I could’ve been shooting at a deer or calf for all I knew?!? That’s my argument as to why this unit is useless at that distance. It’s not that you can’t see living things, you certainly can but you cannot PID them in the clip on set up unless you have someone standing next to you with a better PID range. Often you can PID watching movement of the animal, but again, in that particular case that animal was standing still. If they’re not moving and giving any inclination as to what they are, there’s no PID and therefore you’re taking an irresponsible/unethical shot in my opinion, which is why I’m saying it’s useless pass that distance.
Thanks for commenting and thanks for watching!
p.s. I don’t know anyone at Armasight or even if they’re US based, but would be happy to take free gear if they ever wanted me to send me any ha ha!!
@@PoonDestroyer69 really confused by your comment. How many times in the video did I say this was not the best unit nor did it have the best PID or anything even remotely close to that language?!? I said multiple times it’s all about detection and field of view and if you’re looking for that, the Nox 18 won the day. However, if you’re trying to save a budget and have a best in class working set up with both a scanner and a scope, then the Armasight is a good option. Having a hard time finding your influencer read? Every unit including the RH 25 was bought by me personally or borrowed for the video. But yeah….clearly “influenced” by my own bank account.
I sincerely think you didn’t set the RH25 focus for infinity (or your max shooting distances), set the RH25 diopter at your LPVOs max magnification, didn’t actually use clip on mode with its true unity 1x magnification, or didn’t set the diopter correctly on your day optic. So many people do one step incorrectly and then they have unusable or barely usable results. You are getting dragged on some discussion boards already by people using the RH25 at longer distances, and easily PIDing animals beyond 200 yards
Maybe I’m just not understanding but the side by side videos the Armasight looks like there’s no thermal recognition past 200ish yds. But I see the white glowing figure on the RH25 past that…. Am I missing something?
No, not really. There’s certainly some detection past 200 with the Sidekick but again, the point I’m trying to make is if you’re on a budget this is a really good option in 640 for a monocular. The RH25 is far superior as a monocular, especially at distance, but also doesn’t allow quite the same field of view and is double the cost. I have both. I use the two for very different applications. If I’m close-up hunting, I like the sidekick for its wider field of view. If I’m hunting long crop row fields I’m typically running the Rh 25.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching.
Look at the 100y side by side at 21:21. The RH25 blows the SideKick out of the mf water in detection, clarity, PID, etc. At 200y, the individual is a fuzzy 1 pixel x 6 pixel vertical line on the SideKick and perfectly visible and identifiable on the RH25. At 300? The RH is still able to pick up the individuals arms, the SideKick is hardly able to pickup the individual. At 400y the SideKick has all but lost the signature while the RH is still showing a human silhouette that is slightly harder to pickup vs 300y due to the heat of the backdrop. Sorry, but you are legitimately smoking crack if you think the RH is a 75y and in clip on. The RH destroyed the Sidekick.
Again, I’m not really understanding your argument here. I’m in total agreement with you on detection at distance as a helmet mounted option or handheld option. Even as a clip on option the RH 25 is leaps beyond the other two units. As a matter fact, I’m going to Nebraska and will be hunting 80 x 80 acre fields, I’m going to run dual Rh 25 because I want the max possible detection capability not the max FOV detection capability. The two are very different. My argument here is PID as a clip on with no movement. If it is sitting or still at distance of 200 or more you are not PIDing it with the RH 25.
Wait for my video that proves what Derek is saying.
For reference, he was talking about PID, not engagement distances. If you have a smaller animal, sitting still, at extended distances you will NOT be able to tell what it is without movement. I can hit a 2MOA steel target at 300 yards with my RH25...but that's because I know it's steel. If that was an unknown animal, that is a much different answer.
In my review of the RH25, we are going to test this vs a Voodoo S and a UTC X (a true long range clip on) on a 1-10 LPVO.
@@thermaltoyzngear3310 I have used my RH25 in conjunction with my S&B 1-8 Short Dot Dual CC *far* beyond 100y and have never been confused between a coyote, deer and calf…even with no movement.
Comparing a $5,000 thermal device to a $18,000 and $24,000 thermal is going to prove what exactly? That Lamborghini and Ferrari offer better performance cars compared to Kia? I think Ill waste my time elsewhere, no offense of course.
@gregoryhimschoot3355 the point is the FOV comparison. A voodoo s has a 15⁰horizontal FOV, the RH25 is 17.5⁰, and the UTC is 6.2⁰....those are massively different and make a difference in PID potential (and yes, 2.5⁰ in reference to a clip on and its associated demag is a massive difference) . It's not on a matter of price. The voodoo S is 17k and underperforms compared to a 4k Super Yoter C due to the wider FOV and lesser mag support (more front end magnification and more back end demagnification on the SYC compared to the Voodoo S). Price is irrelevant here.
What you're failing to mention is: experience. I can easily detect and PID an animal that my buddies have difficulty with due to my own experience level. This review was targeting the newbie, and if I put an RH25 on a rifle and tell them to tell me what that stationary animal is at 300 yards, they will not be able to do that. I've seen it more than I can count with demonstrating my kit to my SAR group. If I even took you to my area, put a coyote and an antelope target at 100 yards and told you to PID those animals...you'd have issues. I'd be willing to bet on it.
Now on the other hand, I handed my UTC to someone that hasn't looked through kit like this on a 1-10 LPVO, and they were able to tell the difference between a horse and cow at 2168 yards.....because of the pixel density. You seem to miss the point here of this discussion.
@@thermaltoyzngear3310 Well stated brother Stokes. You gotta preach it to the "they don't know what they don't know" folks and maybe some of it will sink in.
Such great advice here. Subscribed. Thank you.
Thanks for the sub!
Really sick opening to the video. Good review too. Subscribed.
Thanks for the sub, and thanks for watching!!
Useless past 75 yards? Did you not range correctly or did you accidentally swap a different clip-on when testing that?
Here’s the reason for that statement. I have kills with this unit past 75 yards. You can see in the one kill I showed at 100 yards I dropped that coyote on the spot. That being said, I could not tell you what that animal was. Had I not had someone else there running a higher end, actual thermal scope worthy of using past 100 yards that could tell me it was a coyote, I could’ve been shooting at a deer or calf for all I knew?!? That’s my argument as to why this unit is useless at that distance. It’s not that you can’t see living things, you certainly can but you cannot PID them in the clip on set up unless you have someone standing next to you with a better PID range. Often you can PID watching movement of the animal, but again, in that particular case that animal was standing still. If they’re not moving and giving any inclination as to what they are, there’s no PID and therefore you’re taking an irresponsible/unethical shot in my opinion, which is why I’m saying it’s useless pass that distance.
Thanks for commenting and thanks for watching!
Been running thermal rifle scopes since 2015. 1st unit was the 2015 Pulsar Xd38a, 2nd was 2022 Agm Rattler TS25-384 and last but not least the 2023 Pulsar Thermion 2 xp50 lrf pro. Oh yeah and I also have the Dji Mavic 3 Thermal. Thanks for helping me make my mine up on purchasing the Nox 18 for my 1st helmet setup...should be arriving soon 😊
Absolutely! Like I said, my only complaint with that unit is the weight and bulky nature of it. Everything else is fantastic.
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 I perfer quality over everything else...it will be single mounted anyway. Weighing in at 15.3 oz. without the weapons mount in comparison of 12 oz. for a pvs-14 I don't think thats too much of a negative. Thanks again. 👍🏿
Great video and excellent breakdown of each unit. Thanks for putting it together
Do you find dedicated clip on units have similar range limitations for hunting as the rh25?
In the class up like the super Yoder C and krypton I would say you can go up to 8X optical mag, possibly 10 X… but then you’re maxed out. You really have to be in the $15,000 unit range to go past that.
Hey man love the video and your delivery of the information was outstanding and entertaining! I’m a new Guntuber still trying to get my rhythm so this is great to watch and take notes.
I’m going back and forth about stretching for an RH25, and it appears it MAYBE can hang as you said at the beginning of the video - so I’ll be considering this as a first option!
Thanks and I subbed.
Love it man. Love guys out there trying to create content! Keep up the good work. Yeah, depending on what you’re using it for this could be a good option, but like I said plenty of great options in the higher price bracket again, depending on use case.
good vid bro, dig the content
Thanks brother, and thanks for watching!
Great review and exactly right in terms of practical reality e.g. have a hand held/helmet mountable spotter with large FOV and a dedicated thermal scope for final PID and shot. The do it all in one packages tend to be false economy.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
What up homie, it’s August. Dope channel!
Auggie!!! What’s up bro? I want to borrow your B&T 308 for a video I’m working on if you’re ever out and about!
Killer video!
Thank you good sir!
I run the nox35, absolutely love it. I dot think I’d love it as much if I didn’t know my distances on my property. I have a flir breach which is fun but it really just lives in my pocket or helmet for deep in a wooded area. I got low end AGM rattler for a price i won’t even repeat it was so stupid low, love it for plinking. Just got a rl25 with all the adm mounts for 2500. Can’t wait, i hope it works well as a 100m plinker.
Bruh, that’s a great set up. Hit me up… I’ll take you out hunting and we can use all that stuff.
Nice review man! I’m looking to get into a helmet setup for scanning for coyotes. I have been using an agm taipan 19 384, do you think I will be happy with the sidekick on a helmet mount setup? Will I have issues seeing coyotes that come out into the field at 300 yards? Not looking to PID, I have a 640 scope for that? Looking for your advice before I drop 3200
Based on what you’re running now, I think you’ll see a pretty noticeable improvement. The helmet mounted setup just makes life easier, especially if you are scanning and running a call and then moving to your 640. I certainly think for the money it could be a good upgrade from what you’re doing now.
The rh25 is on sale rn for 3,999. Still a lot of money but seems like a big enough cut to make its benefits worth it
@@user-fx2nj6kb2i that’s a phenomenal price on that unit….fo sho!
Great video
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Is it possible to get your optimal settings on this unit that you got from YaThermalBoi? greatly appreciated...thanks...
Good info.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!!
Great Content 🇺🇲
Thanks brother, and thanks for watching!
I thought you can weapon mount the nox 18? That's why it has the pic rail mount on the bottom
First of all, you have one of the best usernames I’ve ever seen!. Secondly, I asked the same question, but was told the unit was not recoil rated for weapon mounted use. I tried it anyway. It was subpar as a weapon clip on unit.
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 What are you guys talking about? NVision rates the Nox18 for 50bmg. It's not a clip on though.
@@rileyfrench3837right? Did this guy not look at the NVision website before making this video? Clip-on is different than standalone. I’m not sure this guy understands that.
Great video dude! Really liked the comparisons to relevant units.
Thanks brother, and thanks for watching!
Could you show how the nox18 looks in humid conditions compared to the rh25? I live in VA and am debating between those two.
@@ChristopherWelchIsBatman in humid conditions neither are good, but the RH25 is definitely better in those atmospheric conditions.
Awesome video man! What do you think about using the rh-50 for more military esc patrolling? Prioritizing human pid, weight, and battery life on a helmet mount only. Field of view and navigation is a thought too. Curious about your thoughts!
On a helmet mount it is fantastic and is definitely the best human pid/weight/battery life unit on the market under 10k in my opinion. If I'm hunting in 40x40 acre fields I like to run dual RH25's b/c they're the best long range helmet mounted monocular out there at its price point. My only complaint with it is in a clip-on weapon mounted unit it's very limited in PID on non moving creatures. I think what you've listed above it would perform exceptionally well in!
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 thanks man appreciate it!
@@ggcarter5284 you bet…. Thanks for watching!!
with the rh25 going for 3.5k and the sidekick 640 going for 3k have your thoughts changed at all on whether the sidekick is still worth it?
@@wut6113 good question. That RH25 for 4k is super attractive no doubt. But the sidekick I think is going around 2K so I’d say the general thesis of my video still remains… but dang, that’s an excellent price on both!
Not sure why everyone is hating on this guys opinion. Its clear from the short clip he uploaded in the video at 100 yards that he has a point. That bright spot was a coyote, but if you weren't told that you wouldn't know for sure without more info. Maybe if the animal was moving it would be easier to ID but stationary its clearly not. I personally would not feel comfortable throwing rounds at that unless I either watched it for significantly longer to see its movement or let it get closer but that's my own personal opinion. I'm sure there are others with more experience that would disagree just like there are also people in the comments that are totally ok with throwing rounds at any heat sources they see at night.
Well said, thank you for the comments.
Can you do a video on the optimal setting for the Nox18? Also how often do we get firmware updates from NVision?no warranty on iRay correct (due to sanctions)?
@@thegolflife7565 the question on the sanctions is a fantastic question. I’ve not been able to get a straight answer from anyone on that yet. That is going to be interesting to say the least.
What thermal would you recommend to someone that wants to hunt small game up close and personal all the way out to longer range coyote hunts. 1 where money isn’t an option and 2nd in that 5 to 6,000 range?
Great question. Before I answer, I need a couple more clarification points. What sort of firearm are you going to be running? What distance is the farthest shot you’ll likely be taking?
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 Right now im hunting with a Nox35 on a suppressed 10/22. I also have a family member running a Halo XRF on a .223 but i havent gotten a chance to hunt with it very much. I would love to stay with Made In USA am i correct in saying thats really only Trijicon and Nvision any others to throw in? But debating on trying Iray so we have something to comapre Nvision to
@@SUMPthinBIG yeah actually you have a pretty solid foundation with those two units there. I’m not aware of any other US made contenders at the moment worth writing home about. IRay certainly makes some tremendous optics too. Like I said, I don’t know that I’d necessarily change what you’re doing now unless you’re trying to really stretch the legs out to extreme distances, which would change my answer
In the footage you show, the rh25 looked great out to 300 yards... am I missing something?
Yes in monocular mode it detects exceptionally well. The only challenge with this unit is in clip-on mode. You’re only able to optically zoom to 4x-5x before it gets very pixilated making it very difficult to PID things past 100 yards. Namely things sitting still and not giving away their identity by movement recognition.
i'm confused as your description underneath the video you have halo 18??? is that the same as NOX18?
Sorry, brother I looked in the description. I’m not really sure what you’re talking about. I listed as Nox 18 everywhere….. Am I missing something?
Well look at the video starting at 10:54 on the split screen underneath you have on the right Halo Nox 18 walking.
Nothing?
Do you think the Sidekick 640 is a clearer image than the iRay helmet-specific unit, MH25 V2 (which is the newer version of the older MH25)? I have experienced the MH25 as a scanner and in my opinion, it's pretty darn good. It's also surprisingly clear given that it's also a 640 unit. It's not quite as good as the RH25 though. I know what you mean about the need for two dedicated thermals units, btw. I run an N-Vision Halo X50 on my rifle, and within 15 minutes on my first hunt with it I found myself desperately reaching for my L3 bino's and full power illuminator because I flat out had zero ability to scan with the rifle mounted thermal. So, definitely agree there.
Man, that’s a really good question. I can’t answer that as I haven’t looked through the MH 25. If I ever do though, I’ll try to compare side-by-side and get back to you. Great question and thanks for watching.
Nice job! Much appreciated honest review and comparison
Thanks Scott…. And thanks for watching!
Useless past 75 yards? Is that how far you only shoot?
Here’s the reason for that statement. I have kills with this unit past 75 yards. You can see in the one kill I showed at 100 yards I dropped that coyote on the spot. That being said, I could not tell you what that animal was. Had I not had someone else there running a higher end, actual thermal scope worthy of using past 100 yards that could tell me it was a coyote, I could’ve been shooting at a deer or calf for all I knew?!? That’s my argument as to why this unit is useless at that distance. It’s not that you can’t see living things, you certainly can but you cannot PID them in the clip on set up unless you have someone standing next to you with a better PID range. Often you can PID watching movement of the animal, but again, in that particular case that animal was standing still. If they’re not moving and giving any inclination as to what they are, there’s no PID and therefore you’re taking an irresponsible/unethical shot in my opinion, which is why I’m saying it’s useless pass that distance.
Very nice comparison. I recently bought dual Sidekick 640s and I'm on the fence if it was worth it. Tried driving my SxS with them on recently and really struggled, the lag is just too disorienting. Even walking around on uneven terrain in the country side is a bit difficult for me but urban environments are passable. I agree with your point that these excel at detection on a helmet mounted setup, for anything requiring detail I can switch to my Pulsar rifle optic or binos.
Great comment. Thanks for the usage feedback. I’m curious, have you gotten the new software update?
@@longrangeprecisionshooters8935 Just emailed Armasight and I have to send them in for a firmware update which is annoying but hopefully it's an improvement. They did say that subsequent firmware updates will be user upgradeable. Thanks again!
@@f0r7ezz4you bet!
Just buy the voodoo s
I dont know. I don’t use this stuff a lot but the agm stinir 384 looks a lot better than this 640. I would have thought 640 would provide much better image clarity.
Had them all and own the nox18 hands down smokes them all especially in image! Wear it helmeted mounted with no battery and no mount attached 13.58oz plus it’s USA made! This video does not show its true clarity through the display.
NOX 18 hands down... if you want a do all unit get the VOODOO S.. NOX 18 for strictly helmet use
Has anyone ever told you that you look like Sean Astin aka Samwise Gamgee?
Hahaha….yes only every other day! Thanks for watching, brother!
I was a moe ron😂😂
The truth hurts sometimes. And it’s an expensive lesson!!!! Haha
Let’s face it you can’t beat the BAE thermal core. Unless you jump to the Voodoo or the SkeetIRx and pretty sure those also use BAE
Correct, sir!
You are very wide