Nox 35mm first impressions

[1trkyhntr]

I've only had it for 5 nights so my experience with it is pretty limited but I'll gladly share my thoughts so far.
I have been hunting with thermal for about 7-8 years and the Nox is the 6th thermal that I have owned so I do have some experience with thermals in general.

I'll start by picking at it a little.

You read my post about the battery status bar. I'm still evaluating that and I'll pay a lot closer attention to that. If I follow my usual protocol and recharge everything every other night that won't be a real issue but I would like an accurate battery meter especially at this price point. I remember reading somewhere that someone else had the same or similar issue but I never saw any follow up post about it.

I have a VERY small defective pixel, or something. It shows up within a minute of start up and will gradually get brighter. It disappears when I nuc but it gradually reappears. Again it is VERY small. Like the tiniest speck. It is not noticeable unless you have it angled to a contrasting background.
I can't hardly notice it at all on black hot and probably would not if I had not noticed it on white hot.

There is a rubber plug that fits into the video out port. On mine it fits pretty loose and it falls out with the slightest touch. On just about every stand or two I will notice that the plug has come out. It is attached by a rubber cord so I have not lost it but I do wish that it fit tighter.
I must add that I am using the NOX as a hand scanner. It is either hanging from a lanyard or in a chest pouch so it is constantly rubbing against something. If you were using it weapon mounted the plug might never, or rarely, come out.

I contacted N Vision about the battery and the pixel and they replied back to me the same day and told me to send it in and they will take a look at it. I have chosen not to do that until after the hunting season and to be honest I might not send it back at all.

That's it for the pick it apart, now for the good.

The size. It is just about perfect for a hand scanner. I would not recommend the 35 for helmet mounting. It is a little big for that and I think that the 18mm would be a better choice for that application.

2.5x native magnification is very useful for me. I cannot see as well as I used to. I went from a 1x native to the Nox 35 for that very reason and even though I gave up field of view the fact that I can actually see again makes it a real joy to use.

Instant nuc. It shares 1 button with power on/off and nuc. One 4-5 second press for power, one quick press for nuc. Much simpler and faster than my Trijicon. It does not have an internal shutter so you do have to cover the lens.

Ease of use. For a dedicated scanner I easily removed the dovetail mount and the weapon mount. I also disabled the reticle and disabled the edge detection palates. I like to keep it simple. Other than changing settings in the menu or photo/video there are only three buttons that I use. The power/nuc button, the simple white/black hot palate button and the zoom button. I really like the fact that I do not have to navigate through a bunch of menus/sub menus. This thing is as simple as a point and shoot camera.

The Nox does spill a lot of light out of the eye piece. I noticed that when it was hanging from my lanyard it was like I had a flashlight on. It illuminated everything that it was pointed at for several feet. I replaced the standard eye cup with a shuttered eye cup and an upgraded retention ring and solved that issue. To be fair every other thermal device that I have ever used will spill light. I knew this going in and expected to have to replace the eye cup. This is not a defect on N Visions part.

The rechargeable 18650 battery is 100 times better than having to use a battery pack or CR123's. They got that part right for sure.

Image. It is outstanding. It has the best image that i have ever seen in a thermal and I've seen quite a few.
My scope is a Trijicon MK3 35mm. I used to switch from my hand scanner to my rifle scope just to get a sharper image and a some brief eye relief. Now I don't do that. The Nox has a crisper, sharper, more detailed image than my Trijicon and that is saying a lot.

In summary, assuming that it proves to be reliable, would I buy it again. Absolutely.

 

[Edgecrusher]

I would not recommend the 35 for helmet mounting. It is a little big for that and I think that the 18mm would be a better choice for that application.

This seems to be the general consensus from what I've seen. Just for shits and giggles though, I'd like to see a photo of a helmet mounted 35. You would think that N Vision would have one somewhere considering they tout the 35 as helmet compatible.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[fanninland]

Thanks for the review. I’m running a HaloLR and plan on getting a NOX35 at some point for scanning/backup shooting, so good to hear it’s working well for you.

 

[Eurodriver]

Thanks for the review. I’m running a HaloLR and plan on getting a NOX35 at some point for scanning/backup shooting, so good to hear it’s working well for you.

Do it.

Best $6k I ever spent. I ran mine helmet mounted for a night. It just seemed way too big. Now it lives on a rifle. Seems more at home there.

 

[1trkyhntr]

Updated review.
I've used the Nox for a little over a month now and I need to revise my previous comment about the battery status bar.
I typically run the NOX about 1 1/2 - 2 hours each night. At the end of the 1st night the battery bar is typically down to 3 bars. On start up the next night it will typically display 4 bars but drops back to 3 after few minutes. At some point it drops to 2 bars during continuous use. Then on start up on the next stand it might display 4 bars, then 3 bars, but only for a very brief time before it drops back to 2 bars. I think that this is probably caused by the battery itself, not a defect in the Nox battery status bar.
I recharge the battery every other night (3-4 hours) and it has not died during a hunt since that first time and I don't know how much time that I actually had on it then. I intentionally ran it until it died then to get a feel for the battery life and when it died it showed 3 bars on startup but immediately shut off due to a dead battery. Now that I understand that the battery may display a surface charge/no load charge on startup I am not dissatisfied with the performance of the status bar.

 

[patriotunknown]

Thank you for the write up. How is the RTZ? Have you swapped it on different guns with the profiles yet?

 

[1trkyhntr]

I am using it strictly as a hand scanner. I disabled the reticle feature and removed the weapon mount the day that I got it. I have never mounted it on a rifle so I can't answer that.