Night Vision NV helmet setup

[alexgunner]

Ok, so I am new to night vision and thermals. Like a previous thread, other than in a SHTF situation, I won’t be using this for anything but for fun around the house, yard, and woods. But I want it to also be something decent for a SHTF situation also. I’d like a at least IIIA helmet setup with NV. Can someone recommend a decent combination of specific items I need to purchase? It doesn’t have to be the top of the line, but I am willing to spend some money on it as long as it’s worth the extra money for the quality. I’m also not sure about actual shelf-life of NV, helmets, etc., so given my application, the longer this setup can last with little maintenance, the better off I am.
Thank you in advance.

 

[plong]

See this thread: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/newb-wanting-to-pick-up-night-vision.6955586/

 

[aslrookie]

If SHTF is your main concern for ballistic, I would venture to guess you probably don't need it. Now I am all about being prepared even for unlikely situations, but the extra weight on your head/neck won't be worth it unless you need it. Even wearing my non-ballistic helmet for a few hours makes me sweat and feel the weight when running around and shooting.

Team Wendy, Ops Core, M-tek, and Revision are a few to name. You could go with something ballistic like a hard head veterans helmet, but I've also heard from reputable sources that if the bullet doesn't kill you the deformation will. There's no such thing as a nice ballistic helmet for cheap. However, you can get a nice non-ballistic (bump) helmet for usually 50% less than ballistic.

There are so many options out there that it's difficult to name them all. Just pick your helmet flavor and use their accessories for whatever you think you need. Most people have too much shit on their helmets for looks. I try to keep weight off my head as much as possible.

 

[alexgunner]

I was somewhat concerned about weight, but likely will only be wearing it for short periods of fun tinkering around with it. I was considering the new AR500 helmet. It looks like their Patriot helmet is only 2.75lbs and has some type of mount on the front. Can you recommend any specific NV that would affix to a helmet such as that? Thank you for your responses and help!

 

[wigwamitus]

I have 2 ballistic, 2 bump and a night cap (and 2 skull crushers I would never use except in an emergency if the others were all broke).

And TBH, with all the crap I put on my helmets, I can't tell the difference in weight between the ballistics and the bumps.

Here's recent pic of the two bumps (I use the ballistics in the cool half of the year as they are a size larger (for thicker balaklvas) and have no holes in them.

Now, when I first started going out with dual NODs up there ... my neck got sore and I got head aches.

I solved the neck soreness by going out for 10 hours a week and not taking the helmet off. The neck muscles eventually caught up to the new requirements. No neck soreness in years now.

The headaches solved also by going out a lot but also by turning down brightness (gain on PVS-14s) (brightness on thermals). And by balancing the counterweight against the weight on the front of the helmet. This makes a HUGE difference as without such balance, the tensioning system has to try to redistribute the weight. Much better to give it an easier job. This is probably the single primary cause of headache reduction.

You should be able to walk around with your helmet on and your chin strap undone and between the counterweight balance and the tensioning system, not have your NODs moving around.

==
Oh, and here's a pic of a ballistic from a couple of years ago ... the basic load out of the ballistics and the bumps hasn't changed in several years ...

As to NODs, I use some combination of these ... depending on what I'm doing:

From left to right:

PAS-29/COTI
Skeet-IR
ODIN
PVS-14
PVS-14
IR-Patrol

 

[TheGerman]

You don't need a IIIA ballistic; they're heavier and they aren't really meant to stop bullets. While they actually have on occassion, ballistic helmets are designed to protect you from high speed flying debris.

As a NV host, get a polymor bump helmet with a good suspension and pad system. I have a Crye Airframe, Ops Core Martime and a custom Ops Core Maritime high cut polymor; I wear the lighter bump helmet 99% of the time. With that said, do not buy the helmets with the molded in shroud.

My helmet setups are almost identical outside of the differences in what the actual NV units need to have on the helmet (PVS14, dual NV/thermal, ANVIS9).

The helmet I use the most if the polymor maritime with Ops Core suspension, 4D tactical helmet pads and ARC rails.

ANVIS9 in the ITT ANVIS 9 mount

Mohawk counter weight in rear with ANVIS9 battery pack attached to it via the battery pack velcro and dummy cord

Batteriescounterweight inside mohawk (weigh your batteries, figure out what you need to replace everything youd run once and take enough of the right batteries to do so; try to have redundant battery needs as much as possible)

On the rear almost to the top of my helmet is a VIP 3 setting light (IR flash, IR on, green light on)

Infront of the VIP light, more forward is a mini chemlight holder for 5x IR chemlights as well as used to route the ANVIS cable through towards the rear

Peltor COMTACH w/mic on ARC rail mounts; PTT cord is stowed in mohawk if not in use

Inforce IR/white light weapon light on my left (weak) side on a pic rail mount in the ARC rail

Smith Optics 'boogie' mounts on the bottom of each ARC rail incase I need to wear my ballistic face shield

Here, this should make more sense with pics now. Only thing that changes on this helmet is the color of ballistics face shield (clear at night, red during the day) and whats in the counterweight pouch if the battery pack and ANVIS unit is stowed.

 

[Shifty6BR]

Ya the 4d pads are tits.......literally like a soft pair on your head.

For me, quite possibly the best add on I put on my shell. Coming in second would be the mpls.

 

[Wyfox]

@alexgunner sent you a PM, I have a ballistic helmet I'm considering parting with.

 

[Freedomfighter68]

I personally love the Team Wendy helmets. I would consider them! Or Put 4D pads in a Ops core or airframe helmet.
As for Nods go, having used all the duals. the best SHTF nods are "RNVG" or "sentinels". they are the most robust. I personally Run pvs15's and 31's. but if I could only have one set and needed to go through Hell, RNVG'S or SENTINELS are the way to go in my opinion!

pic of my setup below.

P.S. if you have any questions about purchasing nods I would be happy to help educate you!

 

[Strykervet]

German laid it out: 3A is mostly frag armor and even if you did take a .44 to the dome and survive it, I doubt you'll be walking around talking about it for a day or two. It still deforms the armor and knocks the piss out of it. It won't stop a rifle round but it can deflect one if conditions are right (and if wrong it can redirect it right through your brain pan). It's also about the worst possible platform for NODs there is.

I understand wanting something though for "just in case". When I got my 14's I had to get something to mount it to and I knew I didn't want a PASGT or MICH or ACH. I wore those motherfuckers long enough. So I got a Crye Airframe. They make two, when I got mine they only made one. Anyway, that's the lightest helmet you can get with a 3A rating (and they have the police version with a bit higher rating but it also weighs a bit more). It's also $1000. The vent on top is pretty damn nice for a helmet though and if I had to wear one, it'd be that one. I have it, but I wouldn't get it again if I had it to do over. But hindsight was all 20/20 for me...

After I got it, I mean right after I got it, Vic at TNVC turned me onto the Crye soft cover. I got one of the first ones to come out. Now THAT'S some shit I wish I had YEARS ago. Basically it's like wearing a baseball cap with a chin strap with 14's attached. Folds up and fits in a pocket. Not uncomfortable like the "skull crusher" they used to come with. Now there are even more options, Norotos and Wilcox both make very nice skull crusher type setups. But for $150 including the shroud, you can't beat the soft cover. And there are bump helmets too but I'd get a soft cover first just for the price and function and go from there.

Now that you've got that covered, go find a cheap ACH at a surplus store and you'll have your 3A "just in case" shit. I'd get used military surplus over a new cheap one though. Can probably find one with a suitable shroud already on it too along with the updated pads and straps (though you will want to change those out if you buy used).

If you buy armor DON'T CHEAP OUT! While there are deals on certain ceramic plates and kevlar, helmets not so much. They either are made right or they're not. There's a video on Amazon Prime where a few fuckups "test" (ie, blast) a few different helmets with a few different rounds. All the cheap shit caved in and some failed completely. But they all looked identical to begin with.

 

[Strykervet]

I personally love the Team Wendy helmets. I would consider them! Or Put 4D pads in a Ops core or airframe helmet.
As for Nods go, having used all the duals. the best SHTF nods are "RNVG" or "sentinels". they are the most robust. I personally Run pvs15's and 31's. but if I could only have one set and needed to go through Hell, RNVG'S or SENTINELS are the way to go in my opinion!

pic of my setup below.

P.S. if you have any questions about purchasing nods I would be happy to help educate you!

Fucking nice bro.

 

[aslrookie]

I personally love the Team Wendy helmets. I would consider them! Or Put 4D pads in a Ops core or airframe helmet.
As for Nods go, having used all the duals. the best SHTF nods are "RNVG" or "sentinels". they are the most robust. I personally Run pvs15's and 31's. but if I could only have one set and needed to go through Hell, RNVG'S or SENTINELS are the way to go in my opinion!

pic of my setup below.

P.S. if you have any questions about purchasing nods I would be happy to help educate you!

So much hotness in this picture.

 

[Shifty6BR]

I personally love the Team Wendy helmets. I would consider them! Or Put 4D pads in a Ops core or airframe helmet.
As for Nods go, having used all the duals. the best SHTF nods are "RNVG" or "sentinels". they are the most robust. I personally Run pvs15's and 31's. but if I could only have one set and needed to go through Hell, RNVG'S or SENTINELS are the way to go in my opinion!

pic of my setup below.

P.S. if you have any questions about purchasing nods I would be happy to help educate you!

Yea..I like TW products and their cs was great. Actually swapped out my occ dial for the cam fit retention, also an excellent life changing decision.
Some folks are still sour at TW and their political antics but shit man, what kind of world would we live in if second chances was not a thing, I know I would be screwed.....a good product is a good product aside from everything else.

Perhaps we need a "Show your shell" thread.

 

[Freedomfighter68]

Yea..I like TW products and their cs was great. Actually swapped out my occ dial for the cam fit retention, also an excellent life changing decision.
Some folks are still sour at TW and their political antics but shit man, what kind of world would we live in if second chances was not a thing, I know I would be screwed.....a good product is a good product aside from everything else.

Perhaps we need a "Show your shell" thread.

Exactly man. And I work in the industry, people don’t realize what other companies have done that never went public...that if it did, they wouldn’t ever buy from them again. Every company has skeletons in the closet. It’s just the fact if they go public or not. That being said I don’t condone what TW did. But they make the best factory pad system in my opinion. You can do just as good with a upgrade kit in other helmets. But it gets expensive

 

[alexgunner]

I personally love the Team Wendy helmets. I would consider them! Or Put 4D pads in a Ops core or airframe helmet.
As for Nods go, having used all the duals. the best SHTF nods are "RNVG" or "sentinels". they are the most robust. I personally Run pvs15's and 31's. but if I could only have one set and needed to go through Hell, RNVG'S or SENTINELS are the way to go in my opinion!

pic of my setup below.

P.S. if you have any questions about purchasing nods I would be happy to help educate you!

I definitely need all the help I can get! So a quick google search of the names I read leave me having to pick tube configurations, etc., which I am clueless about. Where is the best place to purchase, price and possibly warranty wise? Are used sets worth considering?
For reference, I am an athletic female that is more into target shooting than anything else in this category (not really a hunter), so I have no previous nv experience to compare one set to another. I obviously would like to get the best value possible, but would rather spend a little more to get quality if i am going to set up a helmet configuration. Also, the less maintenance and longer lasting (my understanding is the tubes have to be replaced every so often?), the better.
Thank you for all of your help!

 

[goatboy]

I definitely need all the help I can get! So a quick google search of the names I read leave me having to pick tube configurations, etc., which I am clueless about. Where is the best place to purchase, price and possibly warranty wise? Are used sets worth considering?
For reference, I am an athletic female that is more into target shooting than anything else in this category (not really a hunter), so I have no previous nv experience to compare one set to another. I obviously would like to get the best value possible, but would rather spend a little more to get quality if i am going to set up a helmet configuration. Also, the less maintenance and longer lasting (my understanding is the tubes have to be replaced every so often?), the better.
Thank you for all of your help!

Call the team at TNVC, they are just great. They know their stuff and if the person on the other end of the phone / email doesn’t, they will find someone in the organization who does.

 

[Frog05]

I definitely need all the help I can get! So a quick google search of the names I read leave me having to pick tube configurations, etc., which I am clueless about. Where is the best place to purchase, price and possibly warranty wise? Are used sets worth considering?
For reference, I am an athletic female that is more into target shooting than anything else in this category (not really a hunter), so I have no previous nv experience to compare one set to another. I obviously would like to get the best value possible, but would rather spend a little more to get quality if i am going to set up a helmet configuration. Also, the less maintenance and longer lasting (my understanding is the tubes have to be replaced every so often?), the better.
Thank you for all of your help!

Give @Surgeon_Shooter a dm. He can help you out.

 

[Strykervet]

I definitely need all the help I can get! So a quick google search of the names I read leave me having to pick tube configurations, etc., which I am clueless about. Where is the best place to purchase, price and possibly warranty wise? Are used sets worth considering?
For reference, I am an athletic female that is more into target shooting than anything else in this category (not really a hunter), so I have no previous nv experience to compare one set to another. I obviously would like to get the best value possible, but would rather spend a little more to get quality if i am going to set up a helmet configuration. Also, the less maintenance and longer lasting (my understanding is the tubes have to be replaced every so often?), the better.
Thank you for all of your help!

Call Vic at TNVC and tell him you're a member on here. Or you can call the other guys too, that's just who I deal with. He's on here all the time and after they took care of me the way they did, I won't go anywhere else unless I HAVE to. CS is stellar and what warranty experience I have with them was "send it to us, we'll handle it" and I had a replacement WITH a return label for the damaged one sent the same time. Fast. They said I shouldn't have to deal with the mfg. on that item while under warranty, that's their job. Depsite mfg. fucking them over on it, they still squared me away. I hope I never have a problem again but if I do, I want them making it right.

 

[Strykervet]

I did have some pictures of the Crye soft cap. Mine has a pouch on the back for extra batteries, not only do you have 'em it helps counterweight the 14 in the front making it fit perfect:

550 cord tie downs with clips and end of bowline knots make excellent and cheap tie downs. While you CAN use bungees with these, it isn't necessary. Since it fits like a hat, the whole unit moves in tandem with your head, moreso than with a helmet.

Get the kit without all the bullshit. They sell one with a soft case like this, just the NODs and the soft case. Forget about all the junk that comes with the milspec kit, you won't use it unless it comes with the updated shit and even then I think you can do better on your own. I went with the Norotos INVG because I wanted a solid and fully positionable setup after the army. That's definitely it but may not be for you. Lots of good mounts out there. The shrouds I'm using are pretty nice though. The one on the soft cover is polymer with aluminum or ti inserts and it's solid as hell and weighs almost nothing.

 

[Freedomfighter68]

Going off the information you provided in your first post. I would buy the following

RNVG’s with L3 omni7-8 auto-gated tubes in them. These will range you from 4500-6250

I would also buy a team Wendy ballistic. These are about a $1000

You will need a counter weight also. Which I would go with a Pvs31 pack if you can swing it. They have a built in IR strobe. And are the most durable. $600-800

Wilcox G24 for Mount $375

And a full power peq15 for your rifle $1750-2000

This would definitely get you ahead of the 8 ball