Night vision

[moforuss]

Hi everyone.Been on the site for a while but not posted much yet.I am looking into getting a night vision monocular and i really like the look of the Yukon NVMT spartan 3.42,Has anyone any experience of this or night vision in general good or bad,I know this is a gen 1 NV but i dont want to spend the money on a gen 2.Cheers
Yukon NVMT Spartan

 

[wingstoo]

I bought one of the Aldi specials a few years back. only £100 and was very good for the price and for what I wanted it for. It was certainly better than the Gen1 stuff but not quite gen2.

Good without the IR Illuminator, even better with it.

Not as adaptable as the Yukon you mention above but for the cost it was OK.

Don't be put off by low prices, get one, try it, if you don't like it then you could probably sell it on or return it.

 

[ammo]

I have a monocular unit, and while I can't tell you the particulars, I would definitely recommend them. You will see far more wildlife with them. You feel far more secure with one, well i do. You can see what trails get the most use, and honestly i find the wildlife act far more relaxed at night.
Just don't spend big bucks on one, if it's your first.

 

[ateallthepies]

I had a Yukon Exelon and also a Cobra Merlin. Both used Gen 1 tubes.

My own experience of them was that without extra IR illumination they were pretty poor. You really need lots of IR light to get the most out of them. I bought both add-on top end Laser and LED illuminators, these helped but you still only see what the light hits and this is not always the full field of view of the NV device.

The IR illumination in the 800 + nM range that tubed devices need is not covert which means what you point at will see the red glow from the illuminator.

Ambient conditions play a big part in what the view is like, moisture in the air kills Night-vision.

I ended up selling both units but if i ever wanted to get back in to NV I would not but Gen 1 again. I hear that Digital night vision is coming on in leaps and bounds and these units can use higher IR wavelengths for illumination which around 900nM becomes covert and unseen to those who you shine the light on.

Steve