Night Vision Armasight CO-LR Alpha Gen3 vs L3 CNVD-LR mini review

[LCatGA]

I got an opportunity to pick up L3 CNVD-LR at rather good price and was testing them for last 2 nights in my backyard against CO-LR.


Yesterday night was much brighter thanks to house being lit up and sky being clear - I did not ran my IR light at any magnification.
Today was cloudy and dark and I turned off all lights in the house.
Thanks to my dog I had no wildlife to observe tonight
Distances were 80-120 yards with some limited observation of neighbors at 300 - for halo effect.
Scope used was Weather Tactical 3-15 with EMDR (people claim what EMDR version is a bit clearer)
I was planning to use Leupold MK 6 3-18 like I did last time but Weather proved to be so good and clear I felt no need to go upstairs and grab another rifle and switch scopes around. I was actually rather amazed how well this Weavers preform for money.

1) Fit and finish
L3 gets a clear win - feels like a much finer piece of equipment similar to the Swiss watch. It's also rated for much harsher recoil and is a piece of gear to get for SHTF situation
2) Ergonomics - I like L3 better as well - especially focusing lever and light blocker. It's also a bit lighter and Larue Mount allows mounting on the shorter rails such as MDT LSS chassis - their rail is too short for Armasight double QD mount. Focusing knob on CO-LR is my biggest complaint about unit - you have to fiddle with it
3)Optical Clarity - comparing well lit area to take a tube S/N out of equation. L# is a tiny bit better.

Next areas of comparing have to deal with particular tube in the units - keep in mind what my CO-LR has Alpha grade tube as oppose to hand select tube of CNVD-LR

4) Performance with good lighting or IR torch - virtually no difference - small edge to L# probably due to optical clarity
5) Performance in very dark night - L3 pulls ahead significantly, tonight Aramsight was almost not usable without the IR but I still had no problems with L3 in front of 15X magnification.
6)Halo performance - Again L3 did better, I was actually able to see what my neighbors were doing
I did not get to shoot CNYD-LR but they guaranty shift of POI by less than 0.4MOA. Armasight gave me 0.5-0.7 shifts and 100% repitability

Final thoughts. Considering what L3 costs 2 TIMES more than Armasight Filmless Autogated and almost 3 times more than my Alpha - Armasight is no brainer choice for casual hunter or normal use situation. Even my Alpha was rather close in performance and I have an opinion what if I was using CO-LR Pinnacle or Filmless they would be dead even(CNVD-LR does have a little bit more optical clarity)
But if you have $$$$ burning hole in your pocket and you need to have mission critical equipment or get a really good deal like I did - CNVD-LR is best NV Clip On I looked through. May be by 10% if I have to put a number on it.

 

[Killswitch Engage]

nice report. thanks

 

[Surgeon_Shooter]

Wow I've looked through several clip ons and the CNVd-LR stood way above the rest. If this one so much as compares to it then its a great unit for the price! I already have the L3 LR tho so I'm happy.

 

[Delta4-3]

I wont name names, but someone from the sale got a 30 SNR pinnacle tubed CO-LR. It love to see that next to a CNVD-LR to compare.
Great review! What magnification was it absolutely clear at, and what was the max mag you found it useable to? I only ask because Ive heard the numbers I quoted in the video were "physically impossible". Id be interested in hearing your final results with it there.

 

[shurt]

Nice review .... thanks.

 

[LCatGA]

Magnification was all the way to 15. I would say CO-LR was at the end of it's rope at that point and CNVD had some way to go. Now obviously things were pixelated a bit but you can still tell tree being tree and bunny being bunny - and I'm sure same would go for deer - 4 legged or 2 legged variety.

CO-MR drops off at 8, PVS-22 held till 10-11

 

[Delta4-3]

Magnification was all the way to 15. I would say CO-LR was at the end of it's rope at that point and CNVD had some way to go. Now obviously things were pixelated a bit but you can still tell tree being tree and bunny being bunny - and I'm sure same would go for deer - 4 legged or 2 legged variety.

CO-MR drops off at 8, PVS-22 held till 10-11

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Slug-O]

Thanks for the review.

 

[MosesTheTank]

Thanks for the review. I had the opportunity to use the CNVD-LR a few months ago in front of a NF 3.5-15x50 at IPSC steel with a crescent moon and minimal cloud cover. Starting out at 250 yards the target was clear as a bell. At 400 and 10x the target was less defined but hits were every bit as easy as during daylight. Beyond 400 we had an illuminator and got consistent hits to 1,100. This is a fine piece of equipment. While the price can cause a choking feeling, having used it I have put it on my short list.

 

[redirt78]

Thanks for the review, still kicking tires on what to eventually get

 

[djarecke]

I too would love to compare these units side-by-side. I grabbed a hand-select 30 SNR Pinnacle tube CO-LR from Aaron and I am amazed with how well it works. In my neck of the woods, I'm not able to really get much past 300 yards (without some serious driving), so most of my evaluation has been at short range. Having said that, the optic I most enjoy with the CO-LR has been my USO 1.8-10x and I have found my S&B 5-25 too "tunnely" until you get up around 7x or so. The focus on the CO-LR is an art form, but once you get it and the optic dialed in, it's amazing. I'd love to see how a CNVD-LR compares side-by-side, but it's hard to imagine that it's $5,000 better than the image I'm getting.

Here's a shot with crappy lume, no IR illumination, 263 yards and my 5th attempt at getting a picture through a clip-on.

 

[Delta4-3]

I too would love to compare these units side-by-side. I grabbed a hand-select 30 SNR Pinnacle tube CO-LR from Aaron and I am amazed with how well it works. In my neck of the woods, I'm not able to really get much past 300 yards (without some serious driving), so most of my evaluation has been at short range. Having said that, the optic I most enjoy with the CO-LR has been my USO 1.8-10x and I have found my S&B 5-25 too "tunnely" until you get up around 7x or so. The focus on the CO-LR is an art form, but once you get it and the optic dialed in, it's amazing. I'd love to see how a CNVD-LR compares side-by-side, but it's hard to imagine that it's $5,000 better than the image I'm getting.

Here's a shot with crappy lume, no IR illumination, 263 yards and my 5th attempt at getting a picture through a clip-on.

While it doesn't look anywhere as good as it does in person, it is certainly better than any clip-on pics I ever get!