00:02 Night Vision allows seeing in the dark using image intensification technology 02:13 Night vision allows for covert visibility without emitting visible light. 06:00 Differentiate between photonis, elbit, and L3 Harris tubes for night vision 07:55 Consult with night vision professionals for tube recommendations 11:47 Benefits and drawbacks of using a monocular night vision device 13:50 Binoculars offer advantages but not recommended as a primary choice 17:45 Properly set diopters in night vision goggles can reduce visual fatigue 19:30 Importance of correct adjustment for night vision goggles 23:10 Night vision mounts are primarily dovetail standard now. 24:57 Consider the security of dovetail mounting for night vision goggles. 28:30 Understanding the button controls is key to using night vision effectively. 30:09 Articulating pods are important for night vision helmets. 33:40 Consider diopters and onboard illumination for night vision goggles 35:36 Using an Illuminator in night vision gear 38:57 Tie down night vision equipment for safety 40:28 Selecting night vision based on feature set and application 43:54 Consider brightness settings for optimal image quality 45:33 White phosphor night vision tubes provide a monochromatic color and are becoming more prevalent. 49:04 Consider cost and quality when choosing night vision goggles. 50:48 Consider budget when choosing night vision 54:10 Night vision devices come in different models and have varying features. 56:05 Night Vision goggles with articulating pods, similar to L3 design 59:41 Comparison of night vision tubes in different price ranges 1:01:19 Understanding the mid-tier night vision technology options 1:04:48 Comparison of night vision goggles battery pack capabilities 1:06:43 Battery packs extend night vision device's battery life significantly. 1:10:04 Consider additional accessory costs when purchasing night vision units. 1:11:47 Exploring high-dollar night vision goggles beyond $10,000 1:15:24 Differences between 1531 and 31 Alphas 1:17:22 Consider the affordable options carefully 1:21:00 The DTNVG manual gain version is recommended in this price range. 1:22:49 Choosing between night vision devices based on features and practicality. 1:26:21 Night vision buyers should consider lasers
I was a mechanical engineering intern for elbit systems of America in southern VA, and the manufacturing processes used are crazy precise. Some absolutely brilliant minds at that company
Bit the bullet and bought Katanas with high spec L3 tubes two years ago and couldn't be happier. Wear them about 100hrs per month either training or hunting and have been fantastic. Well over 500 pigs killed in TX while using them. Battery pack with the actual switch makes it very easy to use.
Important to note the Jerry 31 actually holds NVT 1400/1600 FOM tubes which give bad distortion because of the Jerry's optic system. Some NVT tubes are actually quite decent for the Money And so are Photonis like their High Gain models that actually give out as much gain as cxommercial Elbits. Other than that it is always good to see you guys make niche information available! keep it up it was a great watch!
@@adamholroyd8862 They Are Chinese manufactured tubes. The original tech behind the NVT comes from photonis i will agree with you on that but that tech is now phased out in Photonis tube offering. The tube offering from Photonis especially in the US is now excecivly better than what is in the J31. Not that their is anything wrong with NVT tubes in my opinion but in this case it is more the J31 lense system that would ruins any tube you stick in that housing...
Ayyy. Thanks for the mention. I would also like to say that it's likely the Jerry-14s are using NNVT (chinese) tubes not Photonis unless Steele or someone else retrofitted Photonis into them. Likely also the distortion from the J-14 is from the glass not the tubes, as the rears of the J-14 are known to both have some zone 3 distortion and chromatic aberration, especially in higher light levels. We did a detailed comparison on the differences with non-US mil spec glass vs alternative options, NV is an optical system so the I2 is one element but glass still plays a huge factor in clarity/distortion/light transmission. Great video though covering a lot of end-user considerations for NVGs.
@@coldharboursupply old photonis tubes for sure. Will be glad to see through some newer stuff, and I’m always willing to try! I did see some newer units a few years ago, but still experienced the distortion.
I've always used photonis professionally, old ones are, what a surprise, not great (or even not good). Though their high end military offers are solids considerations, loved using them
@@dasif_ if you're professionally using anything why aren't they issued to you? For the price of their "high end" offerings why wouldn't you go with elbit or l3? I've never seen a photonis tube that truly compared.
its gonna look just as crisp as elbit... until it gets really dark. A gen 3 tube will perform much better in extreme low light conditions where a gen 2+ tube will fall behind. Just something to think about.
I remember running PVS-7's back in 2006. Great fun for when you are straight out of basic. And later we got PVS-14. Weird to run only one, but we made it work. Then the higher tier guys got an upgrade and we got alot of single PVS-14's. So naturally, we had to dual mount them. Worked great, but they were not articulating. The sado mask (skull chrusher) was never used, but the old ratchet straps, for helmets without mounts, are still in use for the unlucky "poor" units. 😂
Me watching this sadly holding my Photonis 1431s. Kidding. I love running around with the boys getting NODs reps in. Know what you’re buying and its capabilities/limitations and work with them! Having NODs is super similar to shooting ARs at +400m. It’s all about the training and understanding of your setup.
Love these long form videos. You guys always cover a lot of good information. As a support guy with less training opportunity in the field, these videos help shorten the learning curve. Please keep up the good work.
Putting out alot of hate on Photonis despite literaly not knowing that you infact do not have a photonis product on the table. Those jerrys have Nnvt 4 or 5 tubes 100%.
@@RaidObservation no they dont, i have just looked through echos myself. But i did not notice much og a difference between those and my issued pvs14s or qoptic kestrels, witch both use L3 gen3 tubes with like 2000/2200 Fom if i remeber right. In fact i have use "new ish" pvs14s that were noticably worse then the echos, but i dont know the specs on those as they were borrowed from another unit so i didnt have the complete kit with spec-sheet
L3 PVS-14 Enjoyer here! Although tanto with a good iris would be a great choice too. Rockin pvs 14 (L3 supergain), cold harbor aluminum J arm, wilcox G24, ops core carbon bump and otto noizebarrier tacs. Semper Fi
I JUST did the ole buy once cry once. Bought L3s and a manticore ruggedized housing from Steele. Tyler was my salesman and he answered every question I had plus some. Gave me his personal cell number to ask such questions too. That was huge of him!!!! Highly recomend steele industries for all your nod needs.
Jerry 31s have NNVT tubes not Photonis? I have a set of 2400 fom Photonis tubes with 34 SNR and they are hella nice. My only complaint is that they do not get as bright as gen3 tubes in regards to gain but I have not had any issues with that in my environment. However, Photonis does make high gain tubes that I do not have.
The gain thing is way to overrated. Even with lower gain you can see the target. It's just darker. It's not like you wouldn't see it. You can work with other people who run L3 unfilmed tubes. No problem.
Very underrated comment. We have to normalize perfectly collimated binos. I can't believe people out there dropping tubes in shiddy 3D printed housings and call it a day. Collimation is the most important part. Without Collimation it's not usable and especially not sell'able.
@@aesthetic8780 its definitely usable. I used a set of handbuilt katanas for half a year before sending them in for repairs that had nothing to do with collimating. i was using them 2-3x a week for multiple hours a night without issue.
On your green vs white tubes, the first thing will just be your eyes. Everyone’s eyes are different and eye damage is inconsistent between people. If you are just going to go eye science, the eyes have rods and cones. Rods are more sensitive to light and better detect movement (white phosphorus), rods see more detail and see color (green). The density of where these are within your eye vary. Green will allow you to see more detail, especially when concentrating and comparing because rods are concentrated more center of eye, but the white are faster for your brain to detect movement as cones are more around perimeter of eye, so it is hard to compare and prioritize importance. For the military that quick acquisition of movement is more important as target data and identification in detail is covered by unit intel. The white nods, you are more likely to catch some movement at the outer edges of your site view, which could be very important to you against another foe that is evading, but the green should get you more clarity precisely where you are looking. That all assumes you also have no personal eye damage, etc. If you are going slow, green is likely better but white in theory is better for a quick fight where catching movement vs detail is more the priority. I personally get more eye strain from white, but I know others that feel the opposite. The white should keep you more awake and aware, and make your sleeping later harder as well because the blue light in the white does generally tell your brain to stay awake.
Exactly. I prefer green for the vibes, but it makes me sleepy. It hard to stay awake with green tubes for me. I literally fall to sleep. So I don't even have the decision. I'm forced to use white phosphor tubes in serious environments.
@@GiacomoRavioli Please answer me! I always wanted to try it but didn't want to waste money. Can you please upload a small video and show how it looks trough the tube?? I always wondered how it looks!!
A cool option is you can take 2 tanto with thier bridge and turn the into the articulating duals that were mentioned and gives you the option to run on a single battery in the bridge or upgrade to a pack but is super scalable which could be done for less than 10k ready to go
I just got the katana-r and I love them. The one button system is simple and I use focusing caps for "gain control" and if I need additional illumination I use a helmet vampire light
I was issued PVS-7s for my first deployment to Iraq. We didn't have batteries to run them half the time. Ten years later, attached to a 3rd Group AOB and they're running AN/PSQ-20s. The difference a decade made was incredible. Now, as a civilian professional, I'm so dumb when it comes to these new NVGs. I just want to be issued something that works because the stuff discussed is over my GT score. I just need NVGs that work and won't break on me. I feel as though late GWOT veterans got exposed to so much more advanced tech, so they're more tech focused, whereas us old guys just use whatever and didn't focus on gear as much. My vet friends who were in late (2016 - 2018) are all tech nerds when it comes to this stuff, yet they couldn't hit the barn side of a broad with a rifle. I really just want an objective list of "this is the technical best NVGs to buy at these price points." I don't have the bandwidth to learn a new technical language in order to just get something that used to be a simple issued item.
Distortion is in the glass of the Jerry’s not the tubes. And I would bet that the Jerry’s are actually NNVT tubes. And I highly doubt that Steele put Photonis in a Jerry 31. It makes no sense to put a quality tube in a crap housing with horrible glass. It’s like putting a night force scope on a shitty rifle. In normal lighting conditions most guys can’t tell a difference between great photonis tubes and Elbit tubes. Otherwise great video!
Correction on section of "Buttonology' those sets with the soft buttons are the Nocturn Industries Manticore R's not the AB Night Visions RNVG-A @26:00
From my limited experience with personally owned nods, surplus aviator nods are the best way to get into night vision. Got a pair for 3k and then picked up an Argus housing for a little over 1k.
Love the discussion of white vs green phos. I did similar, but instead of pvs15s found on the cheap I got a hell of a deal on a refurb set of Omni vii tubes out of a 15 refurbed and dropped into an rnvg housing. Couldn’t be happier.
One thing that many people don’t consider when choosing white or green tubes is the environment you’re going to be in. When I’m operating in a really snowy area, I actually prefer green over white. I feel like the contrast is a little bit better, and helps me differentiate obstacles and such just a tad better. Otherwise I prefer the white tubes
I’ve gotta TNVC L3 thin filmed GP PVS14 and as someone who thought I’d never own NV I’m pleased with it. Would love to have 31’s but really now that I’ve had NV a few years what I really want now is a thermal unit. One I could helmet mount, use handheld as well as mount on a pic rail on a rifle. Thermal overlay with NV would be dope but I’m not too good for just having a PVS14 and a thermal unit separately. Wouldn’t work at the same time but would be cool to have still.
Can't stress enough the visual fatigue component. Can night hunt for about 4 hours with a PVS 14, whereas can hunt all night without issues when wearing DTNVGS. So much better with input to both eyes.
I went with the tanto, because I envisioned a mixture of uses for it. I'm now in the process of buying the daisho and a second tanto so when I do go out at night to shoot either paper with real guns, or friends with airsoft, I have my binos. But then my kid loves to walk around in the woods at night, so I can get a basic helmet and she gets one unit and I get the other. Or when we want to go out and look at the stars and stuff, I can attach one unit to a telescope, and then the other unit in hand to look around as well. In my very niche use requirement, that ended up being the perfect set up. Sure, no manual gain but whatever. Sure, no IR illum but unit based is trash anyways, I can throw a vamp on my helmet. It's just the perfect units for what my overall use case is.
Same but I use a pano bridge with two tantos so I get that advantage plus being able to lend one to a friend. FYI if you haven't used an iris I highly recommend. It's a better overall system than manual gain anyways. Manual gain just keeps you from seeing the bright light, iris both keeps the brightness down, protects your tube AND gives much better depth of field. If it's bright enough out to crank the iris down you see 4-6' in front of you out to infinity without having to adjust focus.
ANVIS gang bless up 😤 *DTNVS do have the ability to use a battery pack with some aftermarket parts. They're usually around $500 and either work with lemo (ANVIS battery packs) or Fischer (31 battery pack) connectins. Great video as always, rocking ANVIS 9's I got for $3500 that I had put in a Nocturn katana housing and they're still running great
I’m not going to post some copium on here, I am aware there is way better stuff out there… But I have the BNVD 1431 MkII with Gen 3 photonis tubes and at an entry level I can say that it definitely meets all my needs at a price point I think most “prepared” peoples can be more than happy with.
You mean Gen2+ tubes. But why cope? The 1431 is one of best housings out there. I would take it over the DTNVS any day. Not even competition in my opinion.
20:00 I agree; I've had 14's that focused perfectly and I could see a fox at 400m and then I've had NODs that simply will not focus at all and I couldn't tell a person from a tree at 15m. Not sure if that's just the case with old desert storm era 14's or not
The ball and detent mount is so the goggle pops off during a crash and removes the added momentum from a pilot's head so they don't snap their neck as easily. The early nightstalker helicopter pilots found out the hard way that when you add a bunch of momentum to your head it can turn a survivable crash into a fatal one. If you plan on doing a lot of driving or flying the ball and detent maybe for you.
Steele Industry is phenomenal customer service. Sent in my Elbit PVS 14, due to connectivity issues. Had it back in 6 weeks repaired only had to pay for shipment.
The problem is only the tiny metal piece! :D They don't really have to do anything. Would be a crime to charge you for that! But yes, Steele is nice. Recommend!
I have two PVS-14 units and a set of binoculars all green phosphor and they are very clean. It’s a shame to phase GP out, less energy hungry. We were never huge fans of WP. At any rate, both you gentlemen were very informative and I enjoyed your video.
So, I bought 15s earlier this year and could not use them no matter how hard I tried. Id get motion sick almost immediately while using them, and Ive never gotten motion sick in my life. Never felt like I could get the image as sharp as my 14 either. Spent a couple hours adjusting them, making sure everything was set right. Went too do a night drive just to test them again, got sick within 5min. Switched back to my 14 and I was immediately fine. I dont understand, but I ended up selling them to my bud and they seem to work fine for him.
Never had eye fatigue with green, so I got green Omni 8 L3s in my device. Looked through higher end white devices and never thought for a second I was missing out.
This reminds me. My MARSOC buddy legit hates the GPNVG-18s for the sole purpose that they flip up. Killhouse training and it smacked something and strained his neck for two months. The equivalent of a car payment was fastballed into a wall that day. PVS-31A is the way.
Pvs15s were the jewel and we ran them hard till we got the GPs back in 08 just before our deployment to the sand box, and things were never the same 😁.
Been debating between this and regular dual tubes, do you happen to have any experience with both and could recommend between the two (dual vs thermal +pvs14) ? Also, what bridge do you use?
@@dantauche7917 Thermals have some other uses but they are pretty laser focused on detecting animals or people for you to shoot or hide from. If you don't think you'll be doing that then dual nods are probably a better option. Dual band setups are a lot more finicky, and their effectiveness depends a lot on if your brain can make sense of the two images at the same time. Keep in mind that after collimating the two images, you still gotta contend with the fact that thermal is digital and has latency, so your thermal image will always be slightly delayed compared to any analog NV. My brain is ok at dealing with this but still I usually just end up tuning out the thermal unless something super obvious shows up or if I deliberately focus on it. Anyways, I'm using rayvn bridge and have no complaints. Also, since another guy said that you should just run dual nods with a handheld or weapon mounted thermal, I figured I'd give my take. Theoretically that does give you the best of both worlds, but I think it underutilizes the thermal. Having a thermal strapped to your head lets you spot heat signatures at all times whereas handheld is only good when you decide to look into it. In a hunting or SHTF scenario, I'd prefer to have that ability at all times because otherwise who knows what you might be missing.
What do you think about PVS14s with a panobridge and white phosphor tubes? IIRC I was able to figure about $6500 with high spec tubes, the bridge and mount, and build it yourself kits. I'm sure I can do better shopping around. I don't have a ton of experience on NVGs but that is the setup someone handed me to look through and I was quite impressed by it.
Steele is great to deal with I was asking on line with them but I ended call and talking to them which made it faster and I’m happy with what I got because of that. I never had to buy night vision before I always got what the military gave me so ask questions get what you want only cost like two rifles you probably don’t need anyway
Omni 7-8 tubes are my favorite value on the market these days. WP is cool but it’s hard to argue with a 5500 dollar set of solid binos that can do everything you’ll need with Omni tubes
I agree that duals are better than monos, but I feel you get more capability with a mono and a rifle clip on for about the same money. Like you opened with, determine what you want to do and buy accordingly.
Even buying something cheap like a Nightfox Prowl and getting reps and experience in can be a huge benefit when upgrading to real nightvision equipment.
Had a set of Kantanas with 2000 spec photonis fom tubes and where durable as they been dropped numerous times with no issues. Had a L3 wp high spec tube in pvs14 hit the ground and smoked the center of tube, I personally think those are more delicate maybe not.
I've ran NVG for long periods of time and there is for sure a time and a place for a monocular. I'd bring up a thermal handheld to scan and use NVG to identify so I'd have one pod flipped up to do that. I would never run anything else other than articulating binos.
I bought a set of Adams Industries Sentinel's back in 2016, and I wish I would've gotten a PVS-31 style housing instead. Now thr sentinels have been discontinued and it seems like nobody wants them... now I'm looking for a new home for my gen III+ ANVIS tubes...
Ball detent mounts have always been for aviators. They still have their place in the NV world when you require your nods to fall off your head at a certain G force rather than break your neck...
The rvm14 is a pretty slick upgrade to the pvs14. Aluminum body, something like 15% lighter, and it takes cr123s. Could be a viable way to piece meal your way to a binos.
You started to talk about motion sickness and never finished your thought. If I get really motion sick is there any of these I can tolerate or just skip it and buy more ammo?
Gen 2 plus tubes have awesome specs and look great and crystal clear ghe issue is gain is lower than gen 3 so in low light conditions you will have lower performance. The newer photonis super gain tubes woth 90k gain are basically gen 3 . Having said that its still noy a budget options because those new high gain photonis cost as much as elbit
Aviation style nvgs (ANVIS 6/9s) use the ball detent in case of a hard landing or crash. They break away from your helmet so the downward weight doesn’t break your neck😅
i just bought some APNVGs with the best L3 tubes they offered 2405 fom... only downside is the chimera doesnt work with them but i guess argus is making their own articulating mount soon for them. i have a really hard time focusing the diopters on my DTNVS' and often get headaches.. i have 20/15 vision so the conversation about not needing the diopter setting and getting headaches from it hit home haha. any tips on focusing them?
Well well well what a coincidence that I just started looking at night vision. Kinda hard breaking away from what I know as far as PVS-14's with green phosphor.
Nightvison has really come a long way, I still have a traumatic memory of trying to walk through the woods at night wearing a pvs7 and getting tangled in c wire. I ended up looking like I lost a fight with a herd of feral cats
the model you guys are showing as RNVG-A is a Manticore UANVB. thats NOT the RNVG-A. the RNVGA doesnt have manual gain and is only a power and IR button on the front... 26:40
You guys nailed this video as always the information you give is solid and good. I’m glad that you tell people that they don’t need duels and that they should really consider their budget and their usage. A lot of people use for Instagram clout, but in reality The pvs 14 with a quality tube is all you need just walk around and train with it. If you’re in a team environment and kicking doors in the. A quality set of duals not necessary, but helps. I rather have an quality L3 PVS 14, then a photon pair of duels.
This sounds like you never looked through a pvs14 with good photonis tubes. I own both, photonis and l3 unfilmed and have to tell you, in higher light conditions like more moon the photonis beats l3. The l3s develop fixed pattern noise and drop resolution, while photonis shines. On the other side if it is very dark, for example under canopy in a cloudy night the l3 tubes shine and photonis takes a dump (needs IR illumination to see further than a few feet) much earlier. They are different tools for different situations.
1431 MKII with L3 tubes through kosher is absolutely best bang for your buck. Hand select the tubes to spec. The housing does everything and is super cheap to replace.
19:53 want to start of by saying im no expert when it comes to nomenclature, but as someone who has worked on my fair share of nods (repairs) the adjustment should not be a problem unless the nods themselves were assembled without checking for proper resolution, easy ish fix you just need to mess with the depth at which the eyepiece and objective are set at.
When my katana is just articulated up everyone is balanced when i stow them with mh cadex mount and pods down . My counterweight is too heavy and mh head pulls back
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I pick up my dog shit at night with my bi-ocular modern warfare 2 special edition goggles.
I have a pair also. It was my intro into nvd’s.
Wtf haha
Thank you for your service!
You pickup dog shit?! I just mow it up lol
I'm very disappointed they didnt include the COD goggles
00:02 Night Vision allows seeing in the dark using image intensification technology
02:13 Night vision allows for covert visibility without emitting visible light.
06:00 Differentiate between photonis, elbit, and L3 Harris tubes for night vision
07:55 Consult with night vision professionals for tube recommendations
11:47 Benefits and drawbacks of using a monocular night vision device
13:50 Binoculars offer advantages but not recommended as a primary choice
17:45 Properly set diopters in night vision goggles can reduce visual fatigue
19:30 Importance of correct adjustment for night vision goggles
23:10 Night vision mounts are primarily dovetail standard now.
24:57 Consider the security of dovetail mounting for night vision goggles.
28:30 Understanding the button controls is key to using night vision effectively.
30:09 Articulating pods are important for night vision helmets.
33:40 Consider diopters and onboard illumination for night vision goggles
35:36 Using an Illuminator in night vision gear
38:57 Tie down night vision equipment for safety
40:28 Selecting night vision based on feature set and application
43:54 Consider brightness settings for optimal image quality
45:33 White phosphor night vision tubes provide a monochromatic color and are becoming more prevalent.
49:04 Consider cost and quality when choosing night vision goggles.
50:48 Consider budget when choosing night vision
54:10 Night vision devices come in different models and have varying features.
56:05 Night Vision goggles with articulating pods, similar to L3 design
59:41 Comparison of night vision tubes in different price ranges
1:01:19 Understanding the mid-tier night vision technology options
1:04:48 Comparison of night vision goggles battery pack capabilities
1:06:43 Battery packs extend night vision device's battery life significantly.
1:10:04 Consider additional accessory costs when purchasing night vision units.
1:11:47 Exploring high-dollar night vision goggles beyond $10,000
1:15:24 Differences between 1531 and 31 Alphas
1:17:22 Consider the affordable options carefully
1:21:00 The DTNVG manual gain version is recommended in this price range.
1:22:49 Choosing between night vision devices based on features and practicality.
1:26:21 Night vision buyers should consider lasers
My man.
Legend
Not all heroes wear capes.
Thank you for your autism.
I was a mechanical engineering intern for elbit systems of America in southern VA, and the manufacturing processes used are crazy precise. Some absolutely brilliant minds at that company
I love your book, by the way. Instant classic.
Also an Israeli company iirc. Some people might not support that kind of thing.
@@Synergy7Studios Those people are probably not in the market for NODs anyway.
@@danielcoffey2632 well I'm one of them and I'm in the market for NODs. I'm sick of America being beholden to the Israeli lobby.
@@danielcoffey2632We certainly are, and we certainly aren’t supporting Zionist Jews
Bit the bullet and bought Katanas with high spec L3 tubes two years ago and couldn't be happier. Wear them about 100hrs per month either training or hunting and have been fantastic. Well over 500 pigs killed in TX while using them. Battery pack with the actual switch makes it very easy to use.
Love my katana and nocturns warrant I got omni 8 used surplus tubes but I can see in the dark 😅
Important to note the Jerry 31 actually holds NVT 1400/1600 FOM tubes which give bad distortion because of the Jerry's optic system. Some NVT tubes are actually quite decent for the Money And so are Photonis like their High Gain models that actually give out as much gain as cxommercial Elbits. Other than that it is always good to see you guys make niche information available! keep it up it was a great watch!
Hit the nail on the head
Yes yes, but what are NVT tubes? Where did the originate?
@@adamholroyd8862 china. NNVT is a chinese tube manufacturer. Jerry31 is the housing, made by IRAY, also a chinese nv/thermal manufacturer
@@adamholroyd8862 They Are Chinese manufactured tubes. The original tech behind the NVT comes from photonis i will agree with you on that but that tech is now phased out in Photonis tube offering. The tube offering from Photonis especially in the US is now excecivly better than what is in the J31. Not that their is anything wrong with NVT tubes in my opinion but in this case it is more the J31 lense system that would ruins any tube you stick in that housing...
@@northerntacticaldefense lol chyna
The Manticore-R and RNVG-A are mixed up lol Thought that should be pointed out. Respectfully. ✌
Also the Jerry 31's have NNVT tubes, not photonis @ 57:45
I like my high fom photonis pvs14. Super clear, detailed, great picture.
I was gonna say if you know how to read those spec sheets you can absolutely get some solid photonis tubes.
I highly recommend you watch cold harbour supply’s video “does tube generation matter” and see some photonis comparisons before you count them out.
Ayyy. Thanks for the mention. I would also like to say that it's likely the Jerry-14s are using NNVT (chinese) tubes not Photonis unless Steele or someone else retrofitted Photonis into them. Likely also the distortion from the J-14 is from the glass not the tubes, as the rears of the J-14 are known to both have some zone 3 distortion and chromatic aberration, especially in higher light levels. We did a detailed comparison on the differences with non-US mil spec glass vs alternative options, NV is an optical system so the I2 is one element but glass still plays a huge factor in clarity/distortion/light transmission. Great video though covering a lot of end-user considerations for NVGs.
@@coldharboursupply old photonis tubes for sure. Will be glad to see through some newer stuff, and I’m always willing to try! I did see some newer units a few years ago, but still experienced the distortion.
Will do!
The only guys debating on generation are the ones who can't get/sell gen 3 lol
@@RaidObservation So most of the planet unless we're talking about second hand tubes :)
photonis white phos tubes look so god damn crisp, cant wait for mine.
😂
I've always used photonis professionally, old ones are, what a surprise, not great (or even not good). Though their high end military offers are solids considerations, loved using them
@@dasif_ if you're professionally using anything why aren't they issued to you? For the price of their "high end" offerings why wouldn't you go with elbit or l3? I've never seen a photonis tube that truly compared.
its gonna look just as crisp as elbit... until it gets really dark. A gen 3 tube will perform much better in extreme low light conditions where a gen 2+ tube will fall behind. Just something to think about.
@@kamraam1464 they don't compete bro. Save up and buy American.
I remember running PVS-7's back in 2006. Great fun for when you are straight out of basic.
And later we got PVS-14. Weird to run only one, but we made it work.
Then the higher tier guys got an upgrade and we got alot of single PVS-14's.
So naturally, we had to dual mount them. Worked great, but they were not articulating.
The sado mask (skull chrusher) was never used, but the old ratchet straps, for helmets without mounts, are still in use for the unlucky "poor" units. 😂
Got it, ordering panos off wish rn, thanks guys
Me watching this sadly holding my Photonis 1431s.
Kidding. I love running around with the boys getting NODs reps in.
Know what you’re buying and its capabilities/limitations and work with them! Having NODs is super similar to shooting ARs at +400m. It’s all about the training and understanding of your setup.
Love these long form videos. You guys always cover a lot of good information. As a support guy with less training opportunity in the field, these videos help shorten the learning curve.
Please keep up the good work.
Putting out alot of hate on Photonis despite literaly not knowing that you infact do not have a photonis product on the table. Those jerrys have Nnvt 4 or 5 tubes 100%.
Yeah exactly what I also thought
Photonis sucks bruh
@@RaidObservation no they dont, i have just looked through echos myself. But i did not notice much og a difference between those and my issued pvs14s or qoptic kestrels, witch both use L3 gen3 tubes with like 2000/2200 Fom if i remeber right. In fact i have use "new ish" pvs14s that were noticably worse then the echos, but i dont know the specs on those as they were borrowed from another unit so i didnt have the complete kit with spec-sheet
@@mattis537 yeah my issued 14s were trash too lol
Plus isn't the distortion and flaring from the lenses usually?
L3 PVS-14 Enjoyer here! Although tanto with a good iris would be a great choice too. Rockin pvs 14 (L3 supergain), cold harbor aluminum J arm, wilcox G24, ops core carbon bump and otto noizebarrier tacs. Semper Fi
Thanks for the time Adam. The real world experience reviews like this go a long way in helping us.
I'm not even thinking about buying it, but I still enjoyed watching
I JUST did the ole buy once cry once. Bought L3s and a manticore ruggedized housing from Steele. Tyler was my salesman and he answered every question I had plus some. Gave me his personal cell number to ask such questions too. That was huge of him!!!! Highly recomend steele industries for all your nod needs.
Hell yea, you score some good specs?
Jerry 31s have NNVT tubes not Photonis?
I have a set of 2400 fom Photonis tubes with 34 SNR and they are hella nice. My only complaint is that they do not get as bright as gen3 tubes in regards to gain but I have not had any issues with that in my environment. However, Photonis does make high gain tubes that I do not have.
The gain thing is way to overrated. Even with lower gain you can see the target. It's just darker. It's not like you wouldn't see it. You can work with other people who run L3 unfilmed tubes. No problem.
Sickness or eye fatigue on binos can also be caused improperly collimated tubes.
Very underrated comment. We have to normalize perfectly collimated binos. I can't believe people out there dropping tubes in shiddy 3D printed housings and call it a day.
Collimation is the most important part. Without Collimation it's not usable and especially not sell'able.
@@aesthetic8780 its definitely usable. I used a set of handbuilt katanas for half a year before sending them in for repairs that had nothing to do with collimating. i was using them 2-3x a week for multiple hours a night without issue.
On your green vs white tubes, the first thing will just be your eyes. Everyone’s eyes are different and eye damage is inconsistent between people.
If you are just going to go eye science, the eyes have rods and cones. Rods are more sensitive to light and better detect movement (white phosphorus), rods see more detail and see color (green). The density of where these are within your eye vary. Green will allow you to see more detail, especially when concentrating and comparing because rods are concentrated more center of eye, but the white are faster for your brain to detect movement as cones are more around perimeter of eye, so it is hard to compare and prioritize importance. For the military that quick acquisition of movement is more important as target data and identification in detail is covered by unit intel.
The white nods, you are more likely to catch some movement at the outer edges of your site view, which could be very important to you against another foe that is evading, but the green should get you more clarity precisely where you are looking. That all assumes you also have no personal eye damage, etc.
If you are going slow, green is likely better but white in theory is better for a quick fight where catching movement vs detail is more the priority. I personally get more eye strain from white, but I know others that feel the opposite. The white should keep you more awake and aware, and make your sleeping later harder as well because the blue light in the white does generally tell your brain to stay awake.
Exactly. I prefer green for the vibes, but it makes me sleepy. It hard to stay awake with green tubes for me. I literally fall to sleep.
So I don't even have the decision. I'm forced to use white phosphor tubes in serious environments.
I bought green lenses for my WP. Love it. I get the best of both the worlds.
@@GiacomoRavioli Please answer me! I always wanted to try it but didn't want to waste money. Can you please upload a small video and show how it looks trough the tube??
I always wondered how it looks!!
Another great video guys. Thanks for putting out all this information.
Nate
A cool option is you can take 2 tanto with thier bridge and turn the into the articulating duals that were mentioned and gives you the option to run on a single battery in the bridge or upgrade to a pack but is super scalable which could be done for less than 10k ready to go
I appreciate you both taking the time to review these products. It's helped me a lot!
ARNVG GANG (yall had them swapped with the Mantacore though)
I just got the katana-r and I love them. The one button system is simple and I use focusing caps for "gain control" and if I need additional illumination I use a helmet vampire light
I’m glad you’re doing this. Even tho I own a great set of nods I’m looking at a second pair and love to see breakdowns of alternate options.
I was issued PVS-7s for my first deployment to Iraq. We didn't have batteries to run them half the time.
Ten years later, attached to a 3rd Group AOB and they're running AN/PSQ-20s. The difference a decade made was incredible.
Now, as a civilian professional, I'm so dumb when it comes to these new NVGs. I just want to be issued something that works because the stuff discussed is over my GT score. I just need NVGs that work and won't break on me.
I feel as though late GWOT veterans got exposed to so much more advanced tech, so they're more tech focused, whereas us old guys just use whatever and didn't focus on gear as much. My vet friends who were in late (2016 - 2018) are all tech nerds when it comes to this stuff, yet they couldn't hit the barn side of a broad with a rifle.
I really just want an objective list of "this is the technical best NVGs to buy at these price points." I don't have the bandwidth to learn a new technical language in order to just get something that used to be a simple issued item.
Distortion is in the glass of the Jerry’s not the tubes. And I would bet that the Jerry’s are actually NNVT tubes. And I highly doubt that Steele put Photonis in a Jerry 31. It makes no sense to put a quality tube in a crap housing with horrible glass. It’s like putting a night force scope on a shitty rifle. In normal lighting conditions most guys can’t tell a difference between great photonis tubes and Elbit tubes. Otherwise great video!
Correction on section of "Buttonology' those sets with the soft buttons are the Nocturn Industries Manticore R's not the AB Night Visions RNVG-A @26:00
Lasers sound like a great companion to this video.
From my limited experience with personally owned nods, surplus aviator nods are the best way to get into night vision. Got a pair for 3k and then picked up an Argus housing for a little over 1k.
This is the way.
@@aesthetic8780I’ve tried to show a few people the way, but green phos isn’t cool, so they finance a pair or buy crap.
Where is the best place to snag a one?
@@Jh20- both of the pairs I’ve owned I’ve gotten from Facebook groups.
Always appreciate the knowledge drops , keep up the great work🤘🏻🤘🏻
Love the discussion of white vs green phos. I did similar, but instead of pvs15s found on the cheap I got a hell of a deal on a refurb set of Omni vii tubes out of a 15 refurbed and dropped into an rnvg housing. Couldn’t be happier.
1431s mk2 Omni 7 tubes, with manual gain. I'm fine with the green, I'll throw some nocturn oynx filters in for the white effect from time to time.
One thing that many people don’t consider when choosing white or green tubes is the environment you’re going to be in. When I’m operating in a really snowy area, I actually prefer green over white. I feel like the contrast is a little bit better, and helps me differentiate obstacles and such just a tad better. Otherwise I prefer the white tubes
I’ve gotta TNVC L3 thin filmed GP PVS14 and as someone who thought I’d never own NV I’m pleased with it. Would love to have 31’s but really now that I’ve had NV a few years what I really want now is a thermal unit. One I could helmet mount, use handheld as well as mount on a pic rail on a rifle. Thermal overlay with NV would be dope but I’m not too good for just having a PVS14 and a thermal unit separately. Wouldn’t work at the same time but would be cool to have still.
See if you can snag a rh25 for 'cheap'
Can't stress enough the visual fatigue component. Can night hunt for about 4 hours with a PVS 14, whereas can hunt all night without issues when wearing DTNVGS. So much better with input to both eyes.
I went with the tanto, because I envisioned a mixture of uses for it. I'm now in the process of buying the daisho and a second tanto so when I do go out at night to shoot either paper with real guns, or friends with airsoft, I have my binos. But then my kid loves to walk around in the woods at night, so I can get a basic helmet and she gets one unit and I get the other. Or when we want to go out and look at the stars and stuff, I can attach one unit to a telescope, and then the other unit in hand to look around as well.
In my very niche use requirement, that ended up being the perfect set up. Sure, no manual gain but whatever. Sure, no IR illum but unit based is trash anyways, I can throw a vamp on my helmet. It's just the perfect units for what my overall use case is.
Same but I use a pano bridge with two tantos so I get that advantage plus being able to lend one to a friend. FYI if you haven't used an iris I highly recommend. It's a better overall system than manual gain anyways. Manual gain just keeps you from seeing the bright light, iris both keeps the brightness down, protects your tube AND gives much better depth of field. If it's bright enough out to crank the iris down you see 4-6' in front of you out to infinity without having to adjust focus.
Great video, really appreciate you doing it.
Thank you for the video! I really enjoy the long-term information.
ANVIS gang bless up 😤 *DTNVS do have the ability to use a battery pack with some aftermarket parts. They're usually around $500 and either work with lemo (ANVIS battery packs) or Fischer (31 battery pack) connectins. Great video as always, rocking ANVIS 9's I got for $3500 that I had put in a Nocturn katana housing and they're still running great
I’m not going to post some copium on here, I am aware there is way better stuff out there… But I have the BNVD 1431 MkII with Gen 3 photonis tubes and at an entry level I can say that it definitely meets all my needs at a price point I think most “prepared” peoples can be more than happy with.
If it works, it works!
You mean Gen2+ tubes. But why cope? The 1431 is one of best housings out there. I would take it over the DTNVS any day. Not even competition in my opinion.
No such thing as gen 3 photonis lol
20:00 I agree; I've had 14's that focused perfectly and I could see a fox at 400m and then I've had NODs that simply will not focus at all and I couldn't tell a person from a tree at 15m. Not sure if that's just the case with old desert storm era 14's or not
Any artist who needs inspiration should watch this. A shirt of a Crow Mage forging NVG glass… I would buy that.
Thank you for posting this in depth video. Been planning to get some Night Vision for Hog Hunting.
earlier this week I decided to save up for NVGs, perfect timing from you guys!
The ball and detent mount is so the goggle pops off during a crash and removes the added momentum from a pilot's head so they don't snap their neck as easily. The early nightstalker helicopter pilots found out the hard way that when you add a bunch of momentum to your head it can turn a survivable crash into a fatal one.
If you plan on doing a lot of driving or flying the ball and detent maybe for you.
This was very informative. Lasers next please!
Great video, just a heads up the Manticore r and rnvg-a s are switched up. Any opinions on supergain tubes? And I vote yes on the laser video.
Steele Industry is phenomenal customer service. Sent in my Elbit PVS 14, due to connectivity issues. Had it back in 6 weeks repaired only had to pay for shipment.
The problem is only the tiny metal piece! :D
They don't really have to do anything. Would be a crime to charge you for that!
But yes, Steele is nice. Recommend!
Custom Night Visions turn around time is phenomenal and in my experience have top notch customer service. 🤙🏽🤙🏽
I have two PVS-14 units and a set of binoculars all green phosphor and they are very clean. It’s a shame to phase GP out, less energy hungry.
We were never huge fans of WP.
At any rate, both you gentlemen were very informative and I enjoyed your video.
So, I bought 15s earlier this year and could not use them no matter how hard I tried. Id get motion sick almost immediately while using them, and Ive never gotten motion sick in my life. Never felt like I could get the image as sharp as my 14 either. Spent a couple hours adjusting them, making sure everything was set right. Went too do a night drive just to test them again, got sick within 5min. Switched back to my 14 and I was immediately fine. I dont understand, but I ended up selling them to my bud and they seem to work fine for him.
Never had eye fatigue with green, so I got green Omni 8 L3s in my device. Looked through higher end white devices and never thought for a second I was missing out.
This reminds me. My MARSOC buddy legit hates the GPNVG-18s for the sole purpose that they flip up. Killhouse training and it smacked something and strained his neck for two months. The equivalent of a car payment was fastballed into a wall that day. PVS-31A is the way.
Pvs15s were the jewel and we ran them hard till we got the GPs back in 08 just before our deployment to the sand box, and things were never the same 😁.
Solid video, good tips.
My requirements: I need night vision that will allow me to effectively do room to room clearing while I LARP in my mom's basement
A video on lasers/IR illuminators would be good.
Baller vid that answers all my question and some shit I didn't even consider.
Been loving my L3Harris Unfilmed PVS14 and thermal bridged together. Keeping skunks, racoons and fox in check on the farm has never been so easy.
Been debating between this and regular dual tubes, do you happen to have any experience with both and could recommend between the two (dual vs thermal +pvs14) ? Also, what bridge do you use?
So thermal in one eye and NV in another?
@@dantauche7917 I'd highly recommend just getting duals and getting a thermal monocular and running it handheld or weapon mounted.
@@RaidObservation thank you that sounds good! Appreciate the feedback
@@dantauche7917 Thermals have some other uses but they are pretty laser focused on detecting animals or people for you to shoot or hide from. If you don't think you'll be doing that then dual nods are probably a better option. Dual band setups are a lot more finicky, and their effectiveness depends a lot on if your brain can make sense of the two images at the same time. Keep in mind that after collimating the two images, you still gotta contend with the fact that thermal is digital and has latency, so your thermal image will always be slightly delayed compared to any analog NV. My brain is ok at dealing with this but still I usually just end up tuning out the thermal unless something super obvious shows up or if I deliberately focus on it. Anyways, I'm using rayvn bridge and have no complaints.
Also, since another guy said that you should just run dual nods with a handheld or weapon mounted thermal, I figured I'd give my take. Theoretically that does give you the best of both worlds, but I think it underutilizes the thermal. Having a thermal strapped to your head lets you spot heat signatures at all times whereas handheld is only good when you decide to look into it. In a hunting or SHTF scenario, I'd prefer to have that ability at all times because otherwise who knows what you might be missing.
What do you think about PVS14s with a panobridge and white phosphor tubes? IIRC I was able to figure about $6500 with high spec tubes, the bridge and mount, and build it yourself kits. I'm sure I can do better shopping around.
I don't have a ton of experience on NVGs but that is the setup someone handed me to look through and I was quite impressed by it.
Steele is great to deal with I was asking on line with them but I ended call and talking to them which made it faster and I’m happy with what I got because of that. I never had to buy night vision before I always got what the military gave me so ask questions get what you want only cost like two rifles you probably don’t need anyway
Omni 7-8 tubes are my favorite value on the market these days. WP is cool but it’s hard to argue with a 5500 dollar set of solid binos that can do everything you’ll need with Omni tubes
Also as far as I know the Jerry’s only have NNVT tubes, not photonis
I agree that duals are better than monos, but I feel you get more capability with a mono and a rifle clip on for about the same money. Like you opened with, determine what you want to do and buy accordingly.
Even buying something cheap like a Nightfox Prowl and getting reps and experience in can be a huge benefit when upgrading to real nightvision equipment.
Yes, I literally watch so I can listen to yall. I kick on the videos and go to sleep with my headphones on 😂
Had a set of Kantanas with 2000 spec photonis fom tubes and where durable as they been dropped numerous times with no issues. Had a L3 wp high spec tube in pvs14 hit the ground and smoked the center of tube, I personally think those are more delicate maybe not.
I've ran NVG for long periods of time and there is for sure a time and a place for a monocular. I'd bring up a thermal handheld to scan and use NVG to identify so I'd have one pod flipped up to do that. I would never run anything else other than articulating binos.
Yo Adam, great video, but ya mixed up the manticore-r and rnvg-a.
Can’t win them all. Thanks for the catch.
I bought a set of Adams Industries Sentinel's back in 2016, and I wish I would've gotten a PVS-31 style housing instead. Now thr sentinels have been discontinued and it seems like nobody wants them... now I'm looking for a new home for my gen III+ ANVIS tubes...
What's the cost of this night vision device ?
7's looked kinda cool with the 1 eye but they are rough to work with compared to 14's and 31's.
Ball detent mounts have always been for aviators. They still have their place in the NV world when you require your nods to fall off your head at a certain G force rather than break your neck...
This is comprehensive.
Wow useful! Also glad u guys got a GPNVG-18!
The rvm14 is a pretty slick upgrade to the pvs14. Aluminum body, something like 15% lighter, and it takes cr123s. Could be a viable way to piece meal your way to a binos.
Is there a version of this in consideration to thermal nods?
You started to talk about motion sickness and never finished your thought. If I get really motion sick is there any of these I can tolerate or just skip it and buy more ammo?
Gen 2 plus tubes have awesome specs and look great and crystal clear ghe issue is gain is lower than gen 3 so in low light conditions you will have lower performance. The newer photonis super gain tubes woth 90k gain are basically gen 3 . Having said that its still noy a budget options because those new high gain photonis cost as much as elbit
Aviation style nvgs (ANVIS 6/9s) use the ball detent in case of a hard landing or crash. They break away from your helmet so the downward weight doesn’t break your neck😅
1531's vs 31A's; 1-PVS14 optics. 2-relocated power port. 3-IR illuminator. 4-1531 2K cheaper than 31A. 5-31A lighter than 1531.
i just bought some APNVGs with the best L3 tubes they offered 2405 fom... only downside is the chimera doesnt work with them but i guess argus is making their own articulating mount soon for them. i have a really hard time focusing the diopters on my DTNVS' and often get headaches.. i have 20/15 vision so the conversation about not needing the diopter setting and getting headaches from it hit home haha. any tips on focusing them?
What if my Marine unit still gives us gen 2 green phos with a j arm and rhino mount?
Well well well what a coincidence that I just started looking at night vision. Kinda hard breaking away from what I know as far as PVS-14's with green phosphor.
Nightvison has really come a long way, I still have a traumatic memory of trying to walk through the woods at night wearing a pvs7 and getting tangled in c wire. I ended up looking like I lost a fight with a herd of feral cats
I thought you were joking with "traumatic experience". But then I continued reading the comment...
Damn
the model you guys are showing as RNVG-A is a Manticore UANVB. thats NOT the RNVG-A. the RNVGA doesnt have manual gain and is only a power and IR button on the front... 26:40
You guys nailed this video as always the information you give is solid and good. I’m glad that you tell people that they don’t need duels and that they should really consider their budget and their usage. A lot of people use for Instagram clout, but in reality The pvs 14 with a quality tube is all you need just walk around and train with it. If you’re in a team environment and kicking doors in the. A quality set of duals not necessary, but helps. I rather have an quality L3 PVS 14, then a photon pair of duels.
This sounds like you never looked through a pvs14 with good photonis tubes. I own both, photonis and l3 unfilmed and have to tell you, in higher light conditions like more moon the photonis beats l3. The l3s develop fixed pattern noise and drop resolution, while photonis shines. On the other side if it is very dark, for example under canopy in a cloudy night the l3 tubes shine and photonis takes a dump (needs IR illumination to see further than a few feet) much earlier. They are different tools for different situations.
The edmund glass on the tanto be looking at me crazy.
Buy all of them 😀👍🏼
1431 MKII with L3 tubes through kosher is absolutely best bang for your buck. Hand select the tubes to spec. The housing does everything and is super cheap to replace.
They in Fact Published That
Any new ar15 setups you're testing out?
19:53 want to start of by saying im no expert when it comes to nomenclature, but as someone who has worked on my fair share of nods (repairs) the adjustment should not be a problem unless the nods themselves were assembled without checking for proper resolution, easy ish fix you just need to mess with the depth at which the eyepiece and objective are set at.
edit: it also depends on the distance youre having issues adjusting the focus to
Wait!!! your telling me that I don’t need to keep the knob twisted the whole time while using the illumination on my pvs 14 🤯
Adam is hilarious 😂
What are your thoughts on LLI MH1?
I have Photonis 4G with Fom 2638 and Snr 34,72. They work very beatifull. I would not call them tier 3.
When my katana is just articulated up everyone is balanced when i stow them with mh cadex mount and pods down . My counterweight is too heavy and mh head pulls back
The instagram video was the best