Night Vision The Official: Steiner C35 Thermal Clip-on Review and User Thread!

Are dead pixel(s) "normal" or expected for thermal display screens? I see one or more dead pixels on my C35, I verified the placement of the pixel location with several different optic scopes and I see the same dead pixel location.
Is this indicative of the screen going to have further display issue under recoil i.e. more dead pixel will occur?
 
Finally took the C35 out for a test run. Collimated it, shot it, the works.


Zeroing was easy and can be done with the wifi enabled on the Steiner App. You can actually watch the display moving when doing this. It will save your settings and attached them to the scope. You have 3 save settings for different rifles.

Upon turning the unit off and on, dismounting and remounting, and disconnecting then reconnecting the app, it seemed the unit retained zero (which was what I was hoping for...obviously).

The image is.....damn good. I'd risk to say that it looks almost BAE like in the detail, sensitivity, and realism (if you play with the settings, that is)

For 1999..... you can't find a better 640 res clip on and I'll take that to bank all day.

Anyway, here's some pictures. The target is at 25 yards, EOTech vudu 1-6×24 was at 2x optical magnification.
 

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Finally took the C35 out for a test run. Collimated it, shot it, the works.


Zeroing was easy and can be done with the wifi enabled on the Steiner App. You can actually watch the display moving when doing this. It will save your settings and attached them to the scope. You have 3 save settings for different rifles.

Upon turning the unit off and on, dismounting and remounting, and disconnecting then reconnecting the app, it seemed the unit retained zero (which was what I was hoping for...obviously).

The image is.....damn good. I'd risk to say that it looks almost BAE like in the detail, sensitivity, and realism (if you play with the settings, that is)

For 1999..... you can't find a better 640 res clip on and I'll take that to bank all day.

Anyway, here's some pictures. The target is at 25 yards, EOTech vudu 1-6×24 was at 2x optical magnification.
That is atrociously large. Glad you like it. How did you get it down to 1999? Cheapest I saw was 2449.
 
That is atrociously large. Glad you like it. How did you get it down to 1999? Cheapest I saw was 2449.
1750 after the rebate here. Couple of places had sub 2k offerings on them a while back. Some were called blem, but so far I don’t think anyone has had any issues with a blem unit. I don’t believe you will find one for less than what you stated now though
 
1750 after the rebate here. Couple of places had sub 2k offerings on them a while back. Some were called blem, but so far I don’t think anyone has had any issues with a blem unit. I don’t believe you will find one for less than what you stated now though
Interesting. I didn't even try to submit a rebate for mine because the very first line of the T&C in their ads was that it didn't apply to their refurbs.
 
So I did remove the stock C35 mount and re-tighten the screws of the mount, 25 in/lb for the 2 larger screws to the two pieces of the mount and then 15 in/lb for the smaller screws into the body of the C35. I don't know if this is the correct torque amount but I didn't want to over-tighten the screws.
The clamp mount still has side-to-side play on my primary handguard, URX 4, but on other pic rail handguards it seems to be quite sturdy i.e. no play.
I contact Steiner today and they shipped out a new clamp mount to me, hopefully it fixes my issue.
Also if you know what torque values I should use please let me know.
All I did was tighten them down while trying to not do my normal spin the screws. My mount was loose when I received it. I didn't notice it until I was at the range trying to zero it and I just couldn't get it zero'd. I then realized that the mount was loose. Went home, tightened it up and back to the range and it is all good now.
 
All I did was tighten them down while trying to not do my normal spin the screws. My mount was loose when I received it. I didn't notice it until I was at the range trying to zero it and I just couldn't get it zero'd. I then realized that the mount was loose. Went home, tightened it up and back to the range and it is all good now.
Same here. Just tightened until I thought they were good. Didn’t heavy hand it and used green loctite to be sure later
 
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All I did was tighten them down while trying to not do my normal spin the screws. My mount was loose when I received it. I didn't notice it until I was at the range trying to zero it and I just couldn't get it zero'd. I then realized that the mount was loose. Went home, tightened it up and back to the range and it is all good now.
Thanks, I installed it with the same torque value I listed before and I don't think its overkill and used blue loctite.
I received the replaced clamp qd mount from Steiner and it seems to fix the side to side play I have with the prior mount.
Very fast shipping by Steiner and great customer service over the phone.
 
We interrupt for a short PSA...

Green "threadlocker" is the one you want... NOT Green "retaining compound"!!!

Just hoped to save some poor guy out there some trouble
Why use green when you can use red? Or just weld it together and be sure it won't ever loosen up :LOL: :LOL: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

Don't use red Loctite, that is just a joke and don't weld it, just had to say that for the "high speeds":eek: out there.
 
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What is the purpose of the castellated ring at the back of the unit? Is it a jam nut for use with an eyepiece or does it serve some purpose in use as a clip on?

Both the ring and the included spanner seem to be way overbuilt for use on an electro optical device.

They appear more suited for use on 1960’s era Soviet farm equipment.
 
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Hey PlinkIt...Got another question for ya.
About the saved profiles. Can they be deleted to make room for new profiles?
I can foresee the need to do just that; and since I'm getting Three of whichever thermal I end up choosing, I don't want to end up triple butt-hurt if
we run out of profile ability.
 
To those with questions about the batteries, the S35 uses flat top (unprotected) 18650s and ships with NCR18650B cells that are exactly 65mm long (the longer protected cells will not work). Any 18650 meeting those criteria should work fine, though panasonic/samsung batteries would be ideal. Anything advertised as higher than 3500mah is a scam. You can't fit more lithium than that into a cell this size.

As a note, if you're wary about the cells, they're extremely common. I have a ton of flashlights, lasers, weapon lights and random other stuff that all use them, they're basically the gold standard for proper high end replaceable rechargeable cells so having a thermal that also uses them is incredibly convenient.
 
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To those with questions about the batteries, the S35 uses flat top (unprotected) 18650s and ships with NCR18650B cells that are exactly 65mm long (the longer protected cells will not work). Any 18650 meeting those criteria should work fine, though panasonic/samsung batteries would be ideal. Anything advertised as higher than 3500mah is a scam. You can't fit more lithium than that into a cell this size.

As a note, if you're wary about the cells, they're extremely common. I have a ton of flashlights, lasers, weapon lights and random other stuff that all use them, they're basically the gold standard for proper high end replaceable rechargeable cells so having a thermal that also uses them is incredibly convenient.

Yea I tested my cloud defensive 18650s today and they worked great in it
 
Hey PlinkIt...Got another question for ya.
About the saved profiles. Can they be deleted to make room for new profiles?
I can foresee the need to do just that; and since I'm getting Three of whichever thermal I end up choosing, I don't want to end up triple butt-hurt if
we run out of profile ability.
I think I'm following the question and I'll try to explain the entire process as its in my head so you can get whatever info you need out of it. If I'm not following / answering your question / thought process just send me a message and we can plan a phone call or hit me with a follow up question so that I can get on the correct path

This should apply to most thermals with profile options. I'll apologize now cuz I'm not sure how to say this in short form...

The profiles are coordinate saves.
You are saving "zero" coordinates for each profile.
Basically doing the same thing you do in a day scope.... when you adjust X & Y coordinates in the program its the same as you'd adjust the elevation and windage turrets on your normal scope... but on a day scope we spin our turrets to 0 as a reference. Can't really do that on a thermal. We always have 0 0 as it came from the factory amd we basically recorded how many "clicks" we needed on the turrets to get poa & poi to the same place

So if you have 3 rifles let's say a 22lr / 223 / 308.
Let's say we throw the Thermal on The 22lr and we go "zero" it.
Let's sat we did this on profile "A" and the result was X -3 Y 4.
Means we needed an offset from the factor thermal "zero" of -3 & 4 to get our poa and poi to the same place

Now we decide we want to swap this unit to the 223 rifle
We mount it up and switch the thermal to profile "B"
We now have to "zero" the thermal for this rifle and let's say we end up with X 10 Y 7 to get our poa & poi in the same place

Need to mount on your 308
Swap to profile "C" and repeat the process to find "zero" coordinates

From now on...
We should be able to mount the unit back on the 22lr and simply change to profile "A" which should move your reticle to X-3 Y4
Shoot stuff
Decide later you need to mount it back on the 223 just mount it the same way and switch to profile "B" which should move reticle to X10 Y7
Shoot stuff
Need to switch back and forth 50 times no problem just mount the same way and use correct profile for each rifle

Now to get to where I think the disconnect might be...
let's say you rebarrel the 223 Or trade it for another
Profile "B"s zero coordinates are now worthless
We don't delete that profile necessarily, but we can edit the "zero" coordinates to go along with our new barrel / rifle

So we mount thermal on the new set up and select profile B
This will move our reticle to X10 Y7 cuz that's what we had saved... doesn't matter though... you can just "zero" (poa/poi) for new rifle from here or you could move to X0 Y0 and then "zero"
However you do it... you will end up with new coordinates to get poa & poi together for the new set-up. Let's say it's X5 Y5... hit save.

From now on profile "B" is going to move your reticle to X5 Y5

All these saves are just coordinates for a zero the same as spinning your turrets on a scope.
If a scope had no profiles I could just punch in -3 & 4 when I mounted to the 22lr
And change it to 5 & 5 when mounting to my new 223

I could also do a factory reset of the scope (which will likely set all profiles to X0 Y0)
Set "A" as -3 & 4 and "B" to 5 & 5 and it'll be ready to throw on either again and shoot stuff

And the above basically applies to clipon or dedicated scope but with a clip on you are usually moving the screen a certain number of "clicks" from factory zero to make your day scope not need to be moved.
Alternatively... you could always leave a clip on unit at X0 Y0 and mount it to twenty different guns...
But you'd have to adjust day scope for the offset.
So rifle 1 might need to spin both elevation and windage a up certain amount to get poa / poi together
Then rifle 2 might need to spin both down
3 might need 1mil left and 2 mils up
4 might need 3 moa right and 1 moa down

Now what I wouldn't depend on is buying 3 of xxxx thermal and think I can zero a unit on this rifle and if it dies I just punch in same XY coordinates on another of the same... that might not work out

Hopefully my rambling contained the info you needed but if not like I said just hit me again we will help you get it sorted
 
That's a long ass way of saying "you don't delete the profile, you write over it with a new one"
I'll apologize now cuz I'm not sure how to say this in short form...
I warned you lol

I was thinking they might be missing the fundamental process and it might help them clear up thoughts on how to pick their new units to purchase three of

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
I think I'm following the question and I'll try to explain the entire process as its in my head so you can get whatever info you need out of it.

Hopefully my rambling contained the info you needed but if not like I said just hit me again we will help you get it sorted
You nailed it! That was exactly what I needed to understand, Thank you
 
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Got my review video finished up..... thought those of you in this thread might enjoy a first look at it.


What’s your opinion on the C35 being able to pid a 50% iPSC at 710, and a full size iPSC at 1k? Reason I ask is I am interested in trying to do a night shoot, and got asked if I though this unit was capable of that. Sitting in front of an HDMR II.
 
What’s your opinion on the C35 being able to pid a 50% iPSC at 710, and a full size iPSC at 1k? Reason I ask is I am interested in trying to do a night shoot, and got asked if I though this unit was capable of that. Sitting in front of an HDMR II.
Would be tough....depending on the temp of the plate vs the background
 
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Would be tough....depending on the temp of the plate vs the background
Kinda figured that was the answer cause it’s the one I didn’t want to hear. I just needed to hear it from someone else to take my subjectivity away. I’ve only played with it out to 300 or so, and that was just glassing. Thanks
 
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What’s your opinion on the C35 being able to pid a 50% iPSC at 710, and a full size iPSC at 1k? Reason I ask is I am interested in trying to do a night shoot, and got asked if I though this unit was capable of that. Sitting in front of an HDMR II.

Agree with @Huskydriver PID of anything at those distances would be tough. I was only confident in my targets given I knew the general lay of the land and knew were to look for them.
 
Kinda figured that was the answer cause it’s the one I didn’t want to hear. I just needed to hear it from someone else to take my subjectivity away. I’ve only played with it out to 300 or so, and that was just glassing. Thanks

Also, did I hear it was rated up to 308 semi auto somewhere? Or did I dream that?

Would love to know what the unit is actually rated for. I ran mine on a .308 SR25 as well as a 6.5 SR-25 for 300-400ish rounds and I believe that might have caused failure in my unit. I sent the unit back to Steiner and they advised they would replace the unit, curious to see if it happens again.
 
What’s your opinion on the C35 being able to pid a 50% iPSC at 710, and a full size iPSC at 1k? Reason I ask is I am interested in trying to do a night shoot, and got asked if I though this unit was capable of that. Sitting in front of an HDMR II.
Past 200-250 you really gotta know where the steel is with naked eye or NODs to be able to pinpoint it. Past 400 is not really visible depending on backdrop and temp variation unless it has enough of a signature. Anything with a good signature (warm blooded) though no problem.
 
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Past 200-250 you really gotta know where the steel is with naked eye or NODs to be able to pinpoint it. Past 400 is not really visible depending on backdrop and temp variation unless it has enough of a signature. Anything with a good signature (warm blooded) though no problem.
Thanks for the input. I have only played with mine tracking living things so this info helps me a ton.
 
Th
With that said..... We tracked a coyote np at 750, to well over 1k until he made it into defilade space😂
That’s impressive for this little thing though. I tracked a house cat from about 150ish or so across a field. I’ve been meaning to take it out to a buddies and see if we can find some coyotes at longer ranges than I have in the back yard
 
I believe he is talking about expert voice, however you must be eligible to join to see pricing and purchase.
The C35 is not listed on the site, the S35 is but out of stock. When I bought mine from HebrewHammer a few months ago they were not listed, then they popped up at a great price during the same time as the blem deal. Now they are gone again?