Night Vision Pulsar Helion XP28 vs Trijicon IR Patrol M300

[tkp401119]

I'm looking to buy another thermal scanner and was hoping someone has used these 2 side by side to help me decide. I currently have an IR Patrol M300 and IR Hunter MkII 35mm, but want a 2nd spotter for friends. I've used a few of the older 384 core pulsar scanners and wasn't impressed....especially in hot/humid Texas conditions where they became borderline unusable.

However, the new Helion XP28 looks to have similar specs to the IR Patrol with a 640 core and same FOV but for ~$3k less. I mainly just want to know how the clarity is compared to the Patrol (which is top notch). I know it won't be as good but is it 80% as good? Is it a LOT better than their older 384 scanners like the HD19A? Also, is the IR Patrol really 1.4x magnification like the Pulsar and not the 1x they list on spec sheet?

 

[wigwamitus]

IR Patrol is really 1.0x

The Helion does pretty well I'd say ... if you just want to use it as a handheld scanner ... the Helion makes sense ... I ran Patrol side by side with another guy's helion around WF, TX and I'd rate them about the same on those nights ... We had 15-25 mph wind ... and were mostly in large open fields ... 600-1800yds ... neither one of them was great .. but they were about the same ... our main spotter turned out to be the mk3 60mm ... the extra lens size and magnification worked well in the poor thermal conditions are large fields. We were running all the thermals on 2x digital ... given the distances we were scanning.

Now I like the patrol better because I can use it as a wpns mount in a pinch (with a modified 3xg magnifier on the front) .. and once we get all the details worked out ... as a clipon also ... with day scope magnification up to 10x - 12x ... work still in progress ...

But again ... if all you want is a hand held spotter ... the helion gets it done ... the one we had was an XP50 however ...

 

[knuckleballz]

The xp28 definitely has great field of view. I got the xp50 and after using it I was thinking the wider field of view would have been nice.

 

[wigwamitus]

Depends on the terrain. In close terrain FOV is king ... in open terrain ... more magnification is good. If I am by myself, in general,, I'll have Skeet-IR or Patrol on my head on left eye ... pvs-14 and pas-29 on right eye ... and mk3 60mm on carbine ... short, medium and long distance .. I can cover close or far.

 

[tkp401119]

We are mostly hunting in more brush country so 50-200 yard shots mostly. FOV with scanner is important. Even 2.5x on the mkii is a little much for scanning. That’s why I was looking at the XP28 instead of the XP50.

 

[ballistic1]

I have a Patrol M300w and also a Xp50 Trail.. not the XP Helion.. but for comparison
purposes, I actually use the Xp50 to scan.. Alot. It has a 1.6x native 640 core, and it
has proven to be a very good scanner for me because of the FOV it has.
The Patrol at 1x also offers excellent scanner abilities, and in my opinion, the 1x
seems like a strong 1x. More like a 1.4 as you suggested, but is indeed a 1x.

The Patrol eats batteries like fat chic on pasta, whilst the Pulsar battery pack is
2nd to none , IMO, over anything i personally have tried. The battery packs just last, they
were well thought out and work great.
I personally feel the Pulsar is easier to operate, has 1 touch record or still pic abilities, and
optional auto NUC, which I prefer in my scanner.

I have a Helion 384 scanner, 2.5x native.. which i use alot.. it works like a champ, and detects
just fine.. it does lack image in high humidity conditions, as stated above..

It does not compete with the Patrol nor the Trail in image quality.

I got the Patrol to use 3 way purposely, as Wig illustrated above. I like the image, I like
its abilities and multiple role play.. but am not a big fan of the toggle control, but that is just me.

If I wasnt gonna use the Patrol for multiple uses, I would have passed on it and went with
the Helion Xp series, because of the wifi, recording, BATTERY PACKS, and its ability to
switch to alternate lense sizes, if one chooses.


The Patrol is nice, robust, great image, but just chews batteries, and is pricey.
The Helion is also fairly robust, has really good image, the batteries last for several hours for
me, usually several nights worth of use actually, has optional lenses, on board
1 touch recording with RAV, and is more affordable.

Alot of people comment on here that they do not care about recording their outings, whereas
I personally love to record and review later. I have a feeling that many who naysay the recording of outings is because their equipment isnt capable without outboard dvrs and wires., etc.. deterring them from enjoying that aspect.

Comes down to cost vs options/ ability.


After more thought, editing to add:

Yes the Patrol has a user selectable: 60hz or 30hz, to help mitigate battery draw

On 60hz the image is amazing, blazing fast, tight, and batteries go down like the Titanic
On 30hz, the image is a little slurry, for me, when scanning while in moving vehicle.
This is annoying to me personally.. yes the batteries do last longer on 30hz, but I
really do not like the lag(slurred) image the Patrol gives on 30hz.

Yes, there are alternative ways to power the Patrol. I have the battery extension, doubling
the Patrol's onboard CR123 battery from 1 to 2 units.
I also have the external battery pack kit, which requires a tethered power cord to
an outboard Anker battery pack.. I do not use it because I dont care for the added weight
and highly dislike the cord hanging off my rifle.

Another rechargeable insert battery cell is now available for the Trijicon line:

https://www.hueyoutdoors.com/product/trijicon-ir-x-rechargeable-battery-kit/

I havent tried this one yet but looks promising.



Contrarily, the Pulsars I have operate on 50hz and never present a slurred image, extra
battery packs are around $110 ish, not $300 like the above kit.

These are all just observations I've made note of in my nightly tirades while chasing
coyotes.

 

[wigwamitus]

... The Patrol eats batteries like fat chic on pasta ...

... but just chews batteries ...

As you mention ... turning down the 60hz to 30hz ... reduces battery consumption by about 30% to 40% ... just about everybody but you and ONE other guy can't tell the difference between 60hz and 30hz unless they are shooting from helicopters ... I'm in that group ... with lag-slur not detectable

The other thing I do when I have the patrol on my head is use the USB battery pack. It lasts forever on the battery pack. Two nights of 12 hours each atestable. But the way I operate normally, I can run it for more days than I've counted ... (average 10 hours per week) ...

On the gun I use the 2 batt extender ... but I've never gone all night with it on the gun ... 97% of the time I had mine it was on my head with the USB battery pack.

When I do use c123s ... I use "Titanium Innovations" lithiums ... from Battery Junction ... for 98 cents a piece by the 200 ... lithiums matter.

 

[ballistic1]

The price went to 1.13$ each! Lol.. remember i sent you the link

And my particular Patrol has a VERY discernible, noticeable difference
betwixt 60hz and 30hz image lag.

When you come up in November, you can see what I mean for yourself, when
you test out my Patrol!

 

[tkp401119]

I ended up buying the Pulsar Helion XP28 and tested it out this weekend against the IR Patrol M300W. The short story is the Helion is 75% of the image quality, but is also half the price with an 8hr rechargeable battery and onboard recording/pics. The conditions were as humid as it gets and hot in south Texas brush country.

When I’ve tested the older 384 core Pulsars, they were borderline worthless in these conditions. To me, the main reason to buy the 640 core is when conditions are poor and you still want to hunt effectively. Also, the Helion battery and onboard recoding is pretty nifty.

The main ways the Patrol is still preferred though is 1) the image is definitely better and is most noticable at identifying things at distance 2) the controls are easier to use...the Helion has 5 buttons on top and hard to use quickly for zoom 3) when I zoom on the Helion, the right third of the screen gets darker and needs a nuc.

In summary, these two units are what I would reccomend to most people that could afford more than a 3xx core. The Helion is a great option for $3,500 that gets you in the A game with some nice features. The Patrol is what you want though when image clarity is paramount and worth an additional $3,500 to you.

 

[Sledge1]

I ended up buying the Pulsar Helion XP28 and tested it out this weekend against the IR Patrol M300W. The short story is the Helion is 75% of the image quality, but is also half the price with an 8hr rechargeable battery and onboard recording/pics. The conditions were as humid as it gets and hot in south Texas brush country.

When I’ve tested the older 384 core Pulsars, they were borderline worthless in these conditions. To me, the main reason to buy the 640 core is when conditions are poor and you still want to hunt effectively. Also, the Helion battery and onboard recoding is pretty nifty.

The main ways the Patrol is still preferred though is 1) the image is definitely better and is most noticable at identifying things at distance 2) the controls are easier to use...the Helion has 5 buttons on top and hard to use quickly for zoom 3) when I zoom on the Helion, the right third of the screen gets darker and needs a nuc.

In summary, these two units are what I would reccomend to most people that could afford more than a 3xx core. The Helion is a great option for $3,500 that gets you in the A game with some nice features. The Patrol is what you want though when image clarity is paramount and worth an additional $3,500 to you.

The Patrol is also what you want if you care to go hands free and mount your scanner to a helmet. Which, if you haven't tried it, you're missing out.

 

[EZtoForget]

Just to add to the conversation a bit. I didn't see this anywhere in this thread. But I've been awake for 38 hours a this point too...

The Helion's have interchangeable lenses. The lenses are about $600 each. But, you can switch between the 28, 38, and 50 mm lens depending on what you are wanting to do with your device. I think that's a pretty cool feature for making the helion very versatile.

I was going to buy one a while back, I just decided to save the funds for something else. But I was going to pick up the 28 at a steal and snag one of the 50 mm lenses for the times I was doing a little longer spotting without wanting to cut the resolution by zooming.