Night Vision Flir breach

[veeramani]

I already have a mean thermal scope on my gun . I was thinking it would be good to get a monocular to quickly clear an area without having to keep the rifle optic turned on all the time.

I got an opportunity to buy a slightly used one for 2500.

Is this good or should I go with something else ?

 

[Frog05]

Do yourself a favor and save up a little more and get a IRay MH25, Trijicon IR-Patrol, or wait for Nvision to drop their rumored helmet mounted thermal.

 

[wigwamitus]

If you're gonna get a new breach ... at least don't pay more than $2k for it !!

==
At this point there are rumors of multiple new head mountable thermals on the horizon ... so it might be a decent time to hold off for a wee bit

 

[WhereNow&How]

I already have a mean thermal scope on my gun . I was thinking it would be good to get a monocular to quickly clear an area without having to keep the rifle optic turned on all the time.

I got an opportunity to buy a slightly used one for 2500.

Is this good or should I go with something else ?

$2,500 is pretty high for a used one. Maybe $2,000 and below and it would be worth it.

I get pretty decent service out of the Breach. Many others don't like it. It is basically just a pretty decent detector that will let you know something alive is out there. Then take your mean thermal scope and PID.

Adjusting the Gain on the Breach is a big part of making it perform in bad thermal conditions. It is small, easily carried any way you want, helmet mountable and with the Mod Armory Battery Extender running the rechargeable 16650 batteries has an excellent run time of about 5 hours at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[veeramani]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll skip the breach and wait. I don't want to buy something and then regret not getting something better

 

[kirsch]

The big question is do you want it helmet mounted or not. If not, there are tons of options available.

 

[Frog05]

The big question is do you want it helmet mounted or not. If not, there are tons of options available.

Why would you not want to helmet mount? Warm hands in the middle of winter is so not overrated!

 

[kirsch]

Helmet mount (hands free) can be nice. However, a handheld scanner is more versatile and there are more options. I hunt in ND, and it doesn't get much colder. It can be hard to get a helmet over all the headgear I need to have on to stay warm. Both are good options.

 

[Tuhlmann]

FWIW, I paid less than $2500 shipped for a new Breach about two years ago. It was also my first device and I like it. I have it helmet mounted, and that was a bit of a PITA as the marketing info on mounting options and my rookie understanding of the industry joined forces to confuse the issue. Got that sorted out, and there’s more options now.

IF, the rumors are true, and I mean IF....a helmet mounted option is in the pipeline that is A) smaller B) lighter C) easier/less expensive to mount to your rig, then I might consider swapping out the Breach. I wouldn’t sell it though, but rather shift duties to a designated handheld for situations that better suit a handheld. But I wouldn’t wait on NV world rumors.

 

[wompa]

Do yourself a favor and forget about all things Flir.....there is no support.

 

[TheHorta]

I ordered a Breach through Adorama Camera over a year ago (had a credit with them). It arrived via 1-Day Air.

It was DOA. Seriously.

I returned it to Adorama and that was my last Flir experience. While I have “technically” owned one, I’ve never actually looked through a Breach. The form factor and concept are intriguing, I think I’ll wait for the 640px version before I try again.

 

[Lowdown3]

@TheHorta- I've one customer report similar. Some of the battery compartments on them are a little wonky in that the cap has to be extremely tight. One customer reported that he used a pliers to tighten it enough. I'm guessing the space is just a little off and until that sucker is compressed like crazy it won't make contact??

Anywhoo, it worked via the USB but not via the CR123 and he kept tinkering with it and noticed that.

That also fits with the problem some have reported that they turned the unit either all the way up or all the way down and had shutoff issues. One guy was checking insulation in an industrial building looking straight up and it powered off.

Maybe just a little off spec sized battery compartment cause his unit also worked via the USB and didn't experience those issues with it. However with just the battery it had issues.

The worse mess I've experienced was about 4 months ago FLIR sent us a handful of refurbished units- we DO NOT BUY refurbs- and it took them a couple weeks to get it corrected. Being as they are anal retentive about using the correct SKU numbers on POs, etc. I can't see how the hell that happened but good Lord it was re-inventing the wheel to get them to fix the situation. I was pissed, paid full boat for new units, someone pulled a refurb for one of them and then I have to clean up their mess.

 

[WhereNow&How]

When the Flir Breach first came out, it had a fine thread battery housing that was silver. I think the battery issues were mainly with those.

Flir changed the battery housing to a coarse thread housing that is now gold.

I have had excellent service out of mine. My buddies have as well. All told my immediate group of users have a total of 6 Breaches and no issues at all. We do really like the Mod Armory Battery extenders that allows you to use the rechargeable 16650.

My buddies run the snot out of theirs during deer season while they are on the deer stand during daylight hours. The rest of the guys in their respective hunting club are still trying to figure out why those guys are consistently killing bigger bucks.