SPI T14X - I own one!
Hi all,
I am new to the forum but just noticed this thread and wanted to chime in here. Yes, despite the infomercial which was pretty funny, I got to know the guys at SPI pretty well - Jim over there is an absolute expert on this subject and was able to answer all my questions about the device before I decided to buy. This is NOT an endorsement but rather my personal experiences with SPI and this particular sight that is being discussed in this thread.
I wanted to dispel some things right away.
1. If you have any doubt as to the validity of the company or if you feel "sketchy" about sending this company 3900 bucks, I can say that I am a police officer and I was too -- it's a lot of money (especially from my payroll perspective) but I was amazingly pleased with their professionalism and I did check them out with a fellow officer in Nevada. They are 100% legit and checked out.
2. I was concerned about the rifle mount being able to take the recoil of my 5.56 and I was real glad to see the quality mount they use on the device. It was easy to attach and locks on perfectly. Very much MIL-SPEC.
3. The image was good - much better than the NVG option I as considering with all the thermal advantages. I liked the fact that it could be used as a hand-held viewer too. Comes in handy when off the weapon for spotting crooks hiding when they run from me. Since I was "new" to thermal imaging I was a total N00B and did not know you could not see through glass so that was awkward to have to call and think it was broken... Jim and I had a good laugh about that.
4. Price point. 3900 bucks is a lot of dough for anyone but this is also NOT a 10,000 scope either so you get what you pay for and then some. Not many entry level FLIR scopes can record video, take photos and are mil-spec. It is a little bulky but gets the job done for sure. They toss in TONS of stuff that you would be paying through the nose for like the cables, extra batteries, charger, soft and hard cases, etc. and the hard case is real tough. I like it. I keep my thermal and my digital camera in there.
5. Reliability. The device has been in use now for about a month and while it does eat batteries a little bit, the extra set they give makes this a moot issue. The device will auto-calibrate sometimes when looking through it which pauses the image but this happens very rarely - usually on boot. I've never had a failure and it functions perfectly every time.
6. Use. If you can look through a scope you can use this thing. The only pain the A** is zeroing the device but I read where this is a pain with virtually every thermal sight. I used frozen water bottles and hand warmers to get the job done. Using the buttons on top were a little cumbersome at first but after a few zero adjustments, I was old hack at it. Snapping photos, recording video etc. is very easy as is swapping hot-white/black and switching reticles, etc. There are a TON of thermal views but I lean towards the standards black and white imaging. Auto tracking is cool but I just don't use it because I don't need it.
7. Support. The guys over at SPI are just awesome from Sales, billing to shipping! I keep in contact with them and plan to attend the shot show if I can get the time off and visit with them. They even timed shipping for when I would be off duty and home, now how convenient is that?
Overall, for my first FLIR device, I love this thing it's just awesome and for the price, I don't feel like I have an inferior product, in fact -- others are envious of it! Not everyone has a thermal sight on their rifle!
Personal note--- when the SHTF, this is MINE MINE MINE and I don't share so you can imagine who's rifle it will be on!
Dave Evans
