Night Vision Talk me out of an MH25

@jstokes1 has experience between both.

Well, when it comes down to image quality, there's not that much difference, so if that's the only thing that concerns you, save the money.

Build quality, not made in China (Fuck the Chinese BTW), weapon mount option and US service and support may make a difference to you.

I visited N-Vision last week for a bit and spent a little time with NOX18 and NOX35.

Aside from where it is made, in terms of image quality, there is a difference. Chinese companies are getting much better, but N-Vision still has an edge. Interestingly, where I saw the most difference is in subtle detail where you do not have very strong contrast to look at and in lag. The alst couple of Iray imagers I have seen were a significant leap forward from a couple of years ago, but they were a bit laggy when moving.

ILya

Yeah, I forgot to mention the refresh rate, 50Hz v 60Hz. The Nox is better, the question is is the image $2K better. I vote NOX, but that's with my money.

If you know that your are getting a thermal scope to mount on a firearm and will only use this one as a hand held or helmet mounted unit perhaps the MH25 is your answer. On the flip side the nox 18 goes one step further than the MH25 in that it can be mounted on a firearm so if you do not pick up another dedicated thermal scope you are covered.

If I were spending my own money (something I intensely dislike doing) on a general purpose thermal device, it would be very difficult for me to not lean toward Nox35. I plan to do a thorough test of one during the next hog hunt and see what I decide to do after that.

There are several interesting thermals coming onto the market and I want to look at them and see how things shake out.

For example, for around $3k, the Burris thermals I am looking at right now, are really excellent and hard to bet against. As the price goes, up I am increasingly less wiling to compromise, so I keep on going back to N-Vision. It is going to take me a few more months, I think, to have a proper overview of most things out there. SHOT should help to some degree.

ILya

The nox: has a better housing, better warranty, the image doesn't degrade as much in poor thermal conditions, more "realistic" image (helps with depth perception), weapons rated, true 1x optical thermal so that you can use it on a bridge mount with a PVS 14, and US made. I have had both units, and the still have the Nox.... the MH25 has since been sold.

The MH25: does have a smaller build/lighter (at a cost to the housing durability; there have been quite a few reports of people breaking them), better display (1280 HD as opposed to 640 on the Nox, which equates to a better digital zoom). The housing feels cheap and the factory eye piece is a POS (so you'll need to spend another $350 upgrading it to the PVS 14 eye piece), not weapons rated, and is slightly optically magnified (which makes running this on a bridge very difficult). The refresh rate is 50 Hz on the MH25 as opposed to 60Hz on the Nox and it is VERY noticeable when you're trying to navigate with the units. The nox gives you a smoother transition when on the move, the MH25 not so much. Also, in big open fields (like in my AO), on blk hot the MH25 over saturates the upper right hand corner with contrast making for an uneven "messy" image that actually affects your detection range(white hot doesn't have this issue though, but I mostly use black hot) The Nox evenly contrasts the entire area giving a greater sense of uniformity and extending the range to which you can see (I can see over 30 miles with the Nox easily).

This being said, the MH25 out performed the Halo 25 and Halo LR 50 units I had at the time in inclement weather, but does NOT outperform the Nox. The MH25, since it's slightly magnified, will do better as a handheld spotter for PID....but is not weapons rated like the Nox like stated above (nor would I trust it for that task, the housing doesn't feel built for recoil). If you are going to helmet mount it, that optical magnification will cause issues with depth perception and using it on a bridge (a PVS 14 is a true 1x, the MH25 is more like a 1.5 times even though it states 1.1x optical mag).

My hunting buddy has an MH25 and I have the Nox now, so I got to do comparisons of both using them as handhelds and helmet mounted units in varying terrain in all weather conditions, and the Nox holds an edge in general usage.

All together having both, the Nox is by far the better option. It's a more....complete thermal thats built for hard use. I bought one of the first MH25's in the country before the Nox was avaliable, but if the Nox was produced at that time I would have went with it over the MH25 plain and simple. Oh, and both can take rechargeable batteries (for completion sake).

Let me first say I have an adversity of late to adding anything that goes on my firearms or related that is manufactured in China. A little late to the party but the sentiment has grown.

That being said…..the MH25 is a solid unit. I have owned two. If you are using it for general scanning and identification at close range you will not be disappointed. The image quality is excellent and weight great for helmet mounting. And you can obtain a battery extender to run a rechargeable or add a battery pack via the cable to stretch out the time of use. I have seen used units go for the low $3000s…..and really, with a little patience you can probably find a like-new unit for a good price if you pay attention to various thermal sales forums. From what I see, very few of these units see hard use. If on a tight budget then by all means do this, better to have a device you can afford and enjoy over one that puts you in a financial bind. Get what works for you!

But, the Nox will be a better unit backed by a warranty you can rely on so if you have the coin by all means get one. And resale value will likely be much better if you ever need to let it go. Just be realistic about use. If you plan on utilizing as both a scanner (helmet and/or hand) and scope this is better said than done. In my hunting environment in South Alabama it is near impossible as things are very fast paced and dynamic…..there just is not enough time to make the transition onto the firearm…..with darkness (and putting the scope on the exact rail location for RTZ), adrenline, stalking, etc. In more open areas, out West for example, where game can be spotted from longer distances and there is more time for the transition then it may be a better option....but generally you are going to be better off having a HMT or scanner and also a WMT. And the Nox 35 does look sweet as a lightweight WMT.

The MH25 is hard to beat, for the price, but I no longer use them and use my Halos virtually every night I go out… for a reason:



And, well… I own a few things, so take it FWIW:

@TheHorta will you take me out for an evening predator hunt.... Dayumnnnn!

a few things.... Pshhhh... now THAT's FUNNY!

Just got in from using my mh25...run it as dual with a WF14 works great....love it for the price.