Night Vision Any Regrets w your purchases?

Borrowed one from a coworker to try out and it was alright. Trying to decipher what a woman says and doesn’t say into a piece of gear selection is interesting. From my translations I think she’s telling me she likes the idea of a helmet for night walks and camping but she doesn’t like the weight of Kevlar. A bump would be fine for her because I think the biggest threat she’s going need protection from is either tripping over something or a random tree branch at short girl height. Oh, and it must be an OD green helmet. That much was loud and clear.

Definitely do a bump. Big +1 on the 4d pads WHH recommended. My wife's noggin is too small for the small size bump and the 4d make it workable. With the stock pads it just rattled around on her head. The amp arms make a big difference in stability too. They make adapters so you can just get the arms and run whatever muffs.
 
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I also would like to see a write up on this. The missus doesn’t like the weight of my PGD helmet using nods. She’s definitely looking for a lighter weight bump and since she won’t be using it as much as I do, I really don’t wanna buy some 250 and up piece of kit she’s rarely going to use.

As for regrets, only thing I can say on my end is not getting the game sooner.

*edit for typo

Here you go :)

ATAIRSOFT Adjustable Maritime Helmet ABS for Airsoft $71.98
Amazon product ASIN B00KS41F6Q
Tactical Helmet NVG Mount Shroud Steel Sports Camera Bracket Base for ACH MICH OPS-Core Fast Helmet $8.98
Amazon product ASIN B07QM38QRP

H World Shopping Airsoft Tactical MICH Helmet Retention System H-Nape with 4 Points Chin Strap $13.99
Amazon product ASIN B01HI0TSKM
4D TACTICAL ZERO G DELUXE RETROFIT COMBAT LINER $97.50
https://tnvc.com/shop/4d-tactical-zero-g-deluxe-retrofit-combat-liner/


Total Cost for helmet: $192.06 with out adding accessories.

Accessories

WILCOX NVG LANYARD FOR VAS SHROUD $64.50

WILCOX NVG LANYARD L2 G05 $63.50


TNVC MOHAWK MK1 GEN. 2 COUNTERWEIGHT $89.00

EOG LOW PROFILE COUNTER WEIGHT SHORT (1LB.) $35.00

EOG LBM COUNTER WEIGHT (1.5LB.) $39.00

DLP Tactical Picatinny Mount Adaptor for ARC Rail Equipped ACH/Fast/MICH Combat Helmet (Black) Pack of Two $19.95
Amazon product ASIN B075DKT4QK
Streamlight 14531 Sidewinder Compact II Aviation Flashlight with Helmet Mount, Headstrap, CR123A Lithium Battery, White, Green, Blue and IR LEDs - 47 Lumens $83.46
Amazon product ASIN B00J2X35X0
UniqueFire T20 IR Flashlight 850nm, 5W IR Illuminator for Night Vision Devices, Infrared Light, Night Vision Adjustable Focus LED Flashlight, 3 Modes IR Torch with Memory Function $35.00
Amazon product ASIN B011I9R3JM
Monstrum Tactical 1" Offset Picatinny Rail Mount for Flashlights $9.95
Amazon product ASIN B00JQNCMJO
Element Manta Strobe LED Helmet Light Hook Signal GREEN Infrared IR IFF (TAN) $26.80


Total Cost for accessories : $467.59

Mount

NOROTOS PVS-15/ PVS-18 SOCKET $72.25

NOROTOS Titanium Rhino Mount II New $125.00


Total Cost for NV mount : $197.25


All in total cost for entire helmet, accessories and mount: $856.80 per helmet not including any respective tax or shipping costs.


Some take aways.

1. Those (cheap cost) Steel NV shrouds I have found to fit better and tighter than most of the Tier 1 shrouds.
2. All my counterweights are on this setup to run duel 14's with COTI. Adjust counterweight to fit specific NV device hanging off your noggin.
EOG LOW PROFILE COUNTER WEIGHT SHORT slides perfectly into the TNVC Mohawk battery pouch to provide additional counterweight for duals plus COTI.
3. Rhino 2 Dovetail smokes the crap out of the Wilcox G24 Mount it every single category, bar none.
4. I run 2 lanyards on helmets. You can save money if you want to run just one.
5. Element Manta is stronger than S&S Precision because the Element has a metal battery cap that does not break.
6. The EOG LBM Pouch is used to store 12 Primary CR123 batteries on the skinny part of the Mohawk behind the Manta for emergency use. So you ditch the weights and stuff it full of batteries.
7. Always counterweight your system such that it is a tad bit heavier in the back so that your NV device hanging off the front is kind of "floating lightly upwards" where you actually apply a tad of back neck muscles to keep it down level. This will result is much less strain on your neck than trying to "lift up" a too front heavy NV system.
8. And most importantly remember, Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself.

Well that should provide you with some options. You can leave some of the crap I put on mine and make the bump helmet pretty darn light for your wife. Mine are set up for heavy duty use.
 
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Rest of the story. Slap a 950 nm IR Pass Filter on the T20 helmet light front bezel and it will kill the red dull glow that can be seen by both animal and human eyes when looking directly (or slightly off axis) of the device. Those T20's are so strong that even when you throttle them back with a IR 950 Pass Filter they still have great throw out to about 300 yards. If I need more than that, I just unscrew the IR 950 Pass Filter out of the adapter I put on the T20 and I can shine out to about 800 to 1,000 yards.
 
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What’s unergonomic about it? The buttons are nicely positioned and weighted and having it to the side allows use on SBRs that struggle for rail space with some top-mounted units. I like mine a lot more than the D2 it replaced.
 
No regrets with my milspec L3 UWP pvs14 from @Surgeon_Shooter. its right around 2400 FOM and I was blown away with it, then again i I have nothing to compare against it.

Dbal d2, zero complaints with it either. Laser works perfectly well for monocular/bino work. Illuminator is the same. It’ll light stuff up wayyy out there. It is a little bulky.
 
Regrets, well i had an atn thermal, it was fine but couldn’t see anything past 250 yards, but everything was clear at 100 or under. It was a 1-10.

Some cheap ir stuff has not worked well, kept zero or whatever, except that flashlight mentioned above. They work great!
 
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Biggest regret: 3x MAWL-DAs.

- residual battery drain kills a -123 in about an hour regardless of cap setting

- doesn’t hold zero on my 7.62 (or larger) guns

- Shuts off after about 15 seconds if ambient temps are below freezing


No ragrets: my busted ass old LA5 UHP that’s been chugging along for the better part of forever
 
I'll be the Barbara Streisand bur I've honestly regretted every purchase.

Pulsar XP50s and a Thermion = maddening poi shifting with 6 month + warranty replacements. Streamvision never working on any unit.

NVision Halo LR & XRF = constant lock up glitches and lrf never working.

Iray Rico RH50 IRL 1000 = Zero eye relief, horribly over contrasted, poor image lrf not functioning.

Best advice I could give is don't start down the rabbit hole. If you just have to; set your expectations low and then cut that in half. IME the above use you for R&D. IF you get one that more less works don't ever let that unicorn go!

Be prepared once you've dropped all that hard earned cash on a steaming pile; the dealer will direct you to the manufacturer for a return and then the manufacturer will direct you back to the dealer. Neat how that works, no accountability. Reviews on their sites are filtered like the news in Russia. Only 4 or 5 star ratings get published. Criminal as far as I'm concerned, an industry in desperate need of a class action lawsuit.
 
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Save your money and get dual tubes instead of rushing to a monocular. If the duals are well outside of your budget, get a high quality mono that will hold its value while you save for duals.

Then you can either keep the mono as a secondary or sell to fund duals.

I never understood the obsession with the MAWL. Sure, it’s a nice unit but you could buy two FP PEQ15 for 1 MAWL. Especially now with people selling PEQ15 to fund things like an NGAL. I wouldn’t waste your money on a civilian unit other than a D2 or one of the higher cost units if that’s what you really want.

My only regret is not having more friends with nods.
I did exactly this: saved for WP RNVG + FP PEQ15. My night hunts involve walking up on pigs through plowed fields. Having duals makes me much more sneaky than my friend with a single PVS14 or his brother with nothing. I also don't fall into holes like they do.

Plus duals are maximum LARP - unless you have quads!
 
Cheap helmets and Jarms....just save the Jarm for the cheap loaner rig you'll put together eventually.

Civ power lasers are a waste of time, find a legit FP.

Those focus adjustable front lenses on duals are great, but taking a spare set of covers and punching a hole centered in them with a 556 brass gets damn close for a fractional price.

Get a good lanyard to retain the shit on your head.

Insure your stuff, by the time you put together a helmet, mount, dual tubes, a few thermals, lasers on and on and on your rolling around with a pretty sizeable investment....would break my heart to walk our of What A Burger and see a broken window knowing your fucked.

Go to demo events, rent items, go with a guide to see gear that gets used often and often pretty hard. Don't rush to purchase, resale value slips everytime there is a new release 🤣 I've flipped through alot of thermals and eventually said fuck it and just stuck to a Halo LR.

Good luck!
 
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Biggest regret: 3x MAWL-DAs.

- residual battery drain kills a -123 in about an hour regardless of cap setting

- doesn’t hold zero on my 7.62 (or larger) guns

- Shuts off after about 15 seconds if ambient temps are below freezing


No ragrets: my busted ass old LA5 UHP that’s been chugging along for the better part of forever
And when you want to switch the device on or change between vis and IR- you have to awkwardly get to the very front of it/(probably your muzzle too) and turn the impeller cap which lacks positive detents between modes.

The battery issue mentioned above lends to the rebuttal to my complaint which would be- "just leave it on"
 
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Believe it or not, the 50/50/200 and 80/50/200 aren't super rare, it's just a lot of LEOs don't want to pay for them so they don't matriculate there way to the gray market. But anyone active duty or with something on letterhead can get one.
Just like the Raid X, I should have bought one or three when I was still on active. I regret not doing that.
 
Can someone please tell me where this trucks route is exactly?

CM
Well it currently departs every day from the White House in DC.

Its currently driving somewhere around the Ukraine right now with about 40 Billion of goodies that are being sold so the cash can be spread out amongst the principles and the "big guy".
 
Be prepared once you've dropped all that hard earned cash on a steaming pile; the dealer will direct you to the manufacturer for a return and then the manufacturer will direct you back to the dealer. Neat how that works, no accountability. Reviews on their sites are filtered like the news in Russia. Only 4 or 5 star ratings get published. Criminal as far as I'm concerned, an industry in desperate need of a class action lawsuit.
This story sounds familiar.

Damn quick to cash your check.

Damn sure don't want to let go of the money once it's in their account, even after the defective shit you got has been returned over 6 weeks earlier.

In a day where checks can be electronically cashed within minutes, you'd think a manufacturer (N-Vision) could credit their dealers account so a refund could be issued in a timely fashion, but I guess that's just as unrealistic as expecting these things to be in working condition, let alone tested before they're shipped and sold new.
 
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