I'm sure there's plenty of people researching NVG that are considering a Nocturn Manticore-R. Tonight was my first night out with my set, so I figured I'd give an initial impression. I'll also talk a little about Apollo Gear which is where I purchased them.
The Manticore-R is their rugged (hence the R) that is an aluminum housing. First impressions it it feels like it's built like a tank. These will be seeing some fairly hard use which is why I chose this housing over others. First impression is that it accomplishes the goal.
The articulation is stiff yet smooth. I believe you can adjust the tension via screws, but the way it is set currently is prefect for me. Not sure if that's how it's set from factory if the builder set it. Regardless, it means that one way or another, you can get the tension you like. The tubes have individual shut off when rolled up and that seems to work as intended. There is no obstruction from the battery port, so they will fully articulate just shy of vertical.
The controls are push buttons and very stiff. Which is a good thing as you basically can't accidentally press a button. It has +/- manual gain buttons, an onboard IR, and power button. I do feel a knob is easier/faster to fine tune the gain....but not enough that I regret the push buttons. The battery cab does somewhat get in the way so you have to position your hand/fingers in specific positions to press the buttons. Not a huge deal.....just being picky mentioning it.
The rest of the unit is the generic Carson Pvs14 glass. I decided to go this way vs something like a 31a or 31d or anything fancy like RPO or boomslang.....just for the ease of maintenance in the event of damage.
That's about all I can say for the housing and such as there's really not much too them and that's part of the reason I chose the Manticore. It's a minimalist rugged housing that has manual gain. No large housing or anything I don't need.....except on board illuminator. I don't need that as I use other illuminators for different tasks and will likely never use the onboard.
As far as Apollo Gear, Ryan (owner) was extremely helpful. We talk about my needs for housing and tubes. He agreed that something like the Manticore was likely a better choice than a 31a, and while the 31d was also a good choice for my neon eds.....I'd be able to get better tubes for the same price as a 31d.
He tends to use 24um or 24ua L3 tubes. We mutually agreed that it made sense to look for around a 35snr (since that's not a hard number to get on L3 tubes), and then prioritize the lowest EBR in the tubes he had on hand.....mainly because I work in a very hot environment and while EBR is overvalued a lot, it made sense to make that a secondary priority just to be safe.
The packaging from Apollo was far and away better than it needed to be. The nvg came with a case, a single 123 batter, stickers, wipes, and the spec sheets. A very nice and need package.
I'll post the spec sheets below. And while I'll keep the actual price private (since pricing can fluctuate on many things that are things that can and can't be controlled), it's in the +/- $10,000 range. Just so anyone reading has a ballpark price to see if a build like this is in your budget.
The below pics were taking with an iPhone. Conditions are completely overcast with no moon or stars visible. Very little ambient lighting in the immediate area as its in a semi remote heavy brush area. And just started with a new moon even though it's not visible currently.
Pic 1: just taken with iPhone
Pic 2: same area through a single tube with gain set to around medium to low
Pic 3: same area with gain at max
The Manticore-R is their rugged (hence the R) that is an aluminum housing. First impressions it it feels like it's built like a tank. These will be seeing some fairly hard use which is why I chose this housing over others. First impression is that it accomplishes the goal.
The articulation is stiff yet smooth. I believe you can adjust the tension via screws, but the way it is set currently is prefect for me. Not sure if that's how it's set from factory if the builder set it. Regardless, it means that one way or another, you can get the tension you like. The tubes have individual shut off when rolled up and that seems to work as intended. There is no obstruction from the battery port, so they will fully articulate just shy of vertical.
The controls are push buttons and very stiff. Which is a good thing as you basically can't accidentally press a button. It has +/- manual gain buttons, an onboard IR, and power button. I do feel a knob is easier/faster to fine tune the gain....but not enough that I regret the push buttons. The battery cab does somewhat get in the way so you have to position your hand/fingers in specific positions to press the buttons. Not a huge deal.....just being picky mentioning it.
The rest of the unit is the generic Carson Pvs14 glass. I decided to go this way vs something like a 31a or 31d or anything fancy like RPO or boomslang.....just for the ease of maintenance in the event of damage.
That's about all I can say for the housing and such as there's really not much too them and that's part of the reason I chose the Manticore. It's a minimalist rugged housing that has manual gain. No large housing or anything I don't need.....except on board illuminator. I don't need that as I use other illuminators for different tasks and will likely never use the onboard.
As far as Apollo Gear, Ryan (owner) was extremely helpful. We talk about my needs for housing and tubes. He agreed that something like the Manticore was likely a better choice than a 31a, and while the 31d was also a good choice for my neon eds.....I'd be able to get better tubes for the same price as a 31d.
He tends to use 24um or 24ua L3 tubes. We mutually agreed that it made sense to look for around a 35snr (since that's not a hard number to get on L3 tubes), and then prioritize the lowest EBR in the tubes he had on hand.....mainly because I work in a very hot environment and while EBR is overvalued a lot, it made sense to make that a secondary priority just to be safe.
The packaging from Apollo was far and away better than it needed to be. The nvg came with a case, a single 123 batter, stickers, wipes, and the spec sheets. A very nice and need package.
I'll post the spec sheets below. And while I'll keep the actual price private (since pricing can fluctuate on many things that are things that can and can't be controlled), it's in the +/- $10,000 range. Just so anyone reading has a ballpark price to see if a build like this is in your budget.
The below pics were taking with an iPhone. Conditions are completely overcast with no moon or stars visible. Very little ambient lighting in the immediate area as its in a semi remote heavy brush area. And just started with a new moon even though it's not visible currently.
Pic 1: just taken with iPhone
Pic 2: same area through a single tube with gain set to around medium to low
Pic 3: same area with gain at max
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