Night Vision Ready to buy a thermal

[Jmccracken1214]

Looking for guidance as I’m thermal stoopid.

Scrolling expert voice, I see the athlon Cronus pro 50L 640 in the $3400 range. Watch a few videos and it looks solid to me.

I wanted to ask here before ordering, is anything from another company like pulsar going to be better for the same money?

I want quality and something with a good warranty. The lifetime from athlon seems nice to have for an electronic optic.

 

[CuddlyCat]

The Athlon thermals are made by Guide which is the same OEM for the Steiner C35. Their image quality seems to be great from what I've seen but the only example I've seen in person did have a bit of noticeable lag when panning. Not sure what the software package is on the Athlons or if it's the same. In terms of build quality I doubt you'd be giving up anything to pulsar, from my limited experience I didn't notice a big jump in image quality until I was spending a vastly larger amount of money, and in terms of construction unfortunately it's pretty much the same situation. I don't think you'd have any issues unless you were really beating the thing around, however I have heard of some issues with the mounts but I don't know how overblown that is.

 

[Rerun7]

Given your use case I wouldn’t go with the Cronus.

 

[NorskeFjord]

I have 2 640 thermals for sale with years of warranty remaining and will beat those prices.

 

[kirsch]

I honestly am not familiar with Athlon thermals, but a quick glance at their website says they have a 5-year warranty. I have been in the thermal industry and tested many brands and products over the years. I not only test but use thermals in harsh conditions every winter. During the last two winters alone, I have used thermals to remove 980 coyotes. As a Thermal Product Specialist for Night Goggles, I have helped hundreds of people each year find a thermal that fits their needs. I will send you a PM with my cell number and we can chat.

 

[Abey669]

There is multiple thermals I’d take over than one at that price point as well. Feel free to message me about them. I’m sure I can help you out. Have a basically new demo that I’m selling at a discounted price tbsg would be a great starting out thermal optic.

 

[Rerun7]

I still think OP doesn’t need a 640 and maybe not even a 384 based on the use case and budget he has. He may be better served by a 256 clip on or helmet mounted.

Prove me wrong…