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

Took mine out to the range on Saturday night, and managed to get a couple of pics. You may have to zoom in on them since they are unmagnified straight from the unit. We were using Grabber sticky-backed handwarmers as thermal targets at 300 and 500 yards. They measure 4"x6". The white dots showing at 300 (right of center) and 500 yards (center) are the handwarmers. No problem targeting them at x4-x6 scope magnification.

Second pic shows 4 deer around 350 yards out. If you look closely, you can see a bird in the trees above and behind the 500 yard berm.

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Deer.PNG
 
Got my S35 zeroed the other day. Least intuitive zeroing procedure I've ever undertaken, but I got it done.

Temps were in the mid-50s with some humidity, so less than ideal, but a black 6" shoot 'n see left in the on again/off again sun which was then stapled to a 14"x14" white target made for a hot enough spot to put the Steiner reticle on and get zeroed at 100yds.

I've read elsewhere that saving a zeroed profile only keeps it viable for the magnification level it was zeroed at. Ie: changing the zoom level on the scope will change the POI. Anyone able to confirm this is a thing? When I step through the zoom levels in the zeroing function, I see the X and Y numbers change, but haven't shot at distance across a number of zoom levels to see if there's any difference in impact. Think I'll try that next time out.
 
Got my S35 zeroed the other day. Least intuitive zeroing procedure I've ever undertaken, but I got it done.

Temps were in the mid-50s with some humidity, so less than ideal, but a black 6" shoot 'n see left in the on again/off again sun which was then stapled to a 14"x14" white target made for a hot enough spot to put the Steiner reticle on and get zeroed at 100yds.

I've read elsewhere that saving a zeroed profile only keeps it viable for the magnification level it was zeroed at. Ie: changing the zoom level on the scope will change the POI. Anyone able to confirm this is a thing? When I step through the zoom levels in the zeroing function, I see the X and Y numbers change, but haven't shot at distance across a number of zoom levels to see if there's any difference in impact. Think I'll try that next time out.
Yes, you will have to zero for 1X 2X 4X and 8X.

When you are in the zero menu you should see the ZOOM option.
 
Yes, you will have to zero for 1X 2X 4X and 8X.

When you are in the zero menu you should see the ZOOM option.

Yeah, the ZOOM function in the zeroing menu made me wonder if the zero would apply across multiple zoom levels once completed, but it doesn't look that way. Guess I'll do a few zeroes for the main rifle at say 1x and 4x and 8x. Or is it just easier to zero at 2x in the zeroing menu and then see what your POI is at 1x and other zoom settings once outside of the zeroing menu?
 
Depending how different, you might run out of screen adjustment before zeroing.

I’m running the below and they worked for me

Badger unimount 1.40
JP flattop mount 1.47

hmmm.... it would be for my mk12mod0 gun, that sits in medium ARMS rings at 1.18".

it may not work out for that gun but the 2.5-10x32 NXS would be perfectly mated to the C35.

will swap over to the Sr-15 with an NXS 1-4 on it.
 
hmmm.... it would be for my mk12mod0 gun, that sits in medium ARMS rings at 1.18".

it may not work out for that gun but the 2.5-10x32 NXS would be perfectly mated to the C35.

will swap over to the Sr-15 with an NXS 1-4 on it.
I’m running it in front of a NXS1-4 on my 300BO SBR. Seems to be a good fit for it. I am like you and waiting to get a rail setup for using it in front of a Lupy 2.5-10 mk4. That one is on a bolt gun though and sits in some badger rings.

I am in the same thinking of a 2.5-20 being almost perfect for the c35 as well.
 
hmmm.... it would be for my mk12mod0 gun, that sits in medium ARMS rings at 1.18".

it may not work out for that gun but the 2.5-10x32 NXS would be perfectly mated to the C35.

will swap over to the Sr-15 with an NXS 1-4 on it.
I've used mine with 1.063-1.95" heights and 0-30 MOA mounts including a 1.125" with 20 MOA, zero to minimal difference in adjustment necessary on the C35. Seems pretty tolerant so far.
 
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I’m running it in front of a NXS1-4 on my 300BO SBR. Seems to be a good fit for it. I am like you and waiting to get a rail setup for using it in front of a Lupy 2.5-10 mk4. That one is on a bolt gun though and sits in some badger rings.

I am in the same thinking of a 2.5-20 being almost perfect for the c35 as well.
I would look through the c35 with a 20x optic before buying one. I had not planned on buying an LPVO but I’m glad I did now.
My scope is 1-10x and at about 6x the imagine is pretty maxed out and pixelated. In my very limited experience with my c35 so far 20x would be absolutely worthless.
Hell, on 10x it’s worthless. Check it out before buying a 20x unless you just wanted the 20x for daytime.
 
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I would look through the c35 with a 20x optic before buying one. I had not planned on buying an LPVO but I’m glad I did now.
My scope is 1-10x and at about 6x the imagine is pretty maxed out and pixelated. In my very limited experience with my c35 so far 20x would be absolutely worthless.
Hell, on 10x it’s worthless. Check it out before buying a 20x unless you just wanted the 20x for daytime.

I think he meant to say 2.5-10
 
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I would look through the c35 with a 20x optic before buying one. I had not planned on buying an LPVO but I’m glad I did now.
My scope is 1-10x and at about 6x the imagine is pretty maxed out and pixelated. In my very limited experience with my c35 so far 20x would be absolutely worthless.
Hell, on 10x it’s worthless. Check it out before buying a 20x unless you just wanted the 20x for daytime.
Sorry that was a typo. I meant 2.5-10. I have found 8x to be the top end for me so far
 
Called in a bobcat last night and got a neat video of him through the c35 but I have no idea how to save the video to my phone.
Anyone figured out how to do that yet?
 
Called in a bobcat last night and got a neat video of him through the c35 but I have no idea how to save the video to my phone.
Anyone figured out how to do that yet?
Turn your wifi on and you can share to your phone. Go to media on device and click the file you want. Save it to your device. My stuff is out in the shop, and I’ll too lazy to walk out and get it or I’d post some pics
 
I did that. I can delete the media but can't save it. The little icon that looks like a rectangle with the arrow pointing up was where I thought I could save it but that didn't work. Gotta be something small Im missing.
 
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I did that. I can delete the media but can't save it. The little icon that looks like a rectangle with the arrow pointing up was where I thought I could save it but that didn't work. Gotta be something small Im missing.

Try turning off the cell service on your phone while connecting via wifi on your phone and C35 (really bluetooth I think). I had some issues streaming from my S35 to my phone and turning off the cell service fixed that. I wonder if it'll help in this instance too. The directions in the manual are pretty poor for these things. Trial and error seems to be the way, though the S35 and C35 do have some differences even though they're the same general electronic guts.
 
I’ve had some time with the C35 now and i feel that it’s a great value for the price.

Pros-
-Affordable
-Durable
-Easy to adjust settings
-Good picture quality
-easy to zero
-Returns to zero when taken off and put back on
-Usable at mid to high magnification, if you have a positive ID on the target you can zoom in quite far on the scope and make shots. Longest shot so far is 320 yds on a coyote.

Cons-
-Heavy!
-Hard to adjust focus from behind the rifle
-Battery doesn’t last long. That’s ok because you can switch them out or run external pack.

Overall I would buy it again.
 

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Throw Lever done
 
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Throw Lever done
I'll stick with a short scope and throw lever like Doogie provided, but that is an interesting solution for use with long scopes
 
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The Vortex Defender O-24 cap is a bit tight on the ocular, but on the good side once it's on it won't move.

The Defender 0-44 is good for the front objective, but it's just a hair looser than I'd like. I bought the 50mm Switchview lever and with longer screws it will fit over the Defender cap and as a bonus holds it in place.
 
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I like pretty much everything about the S35 thermal I got over BF...except the mount. The bolts take forever to tighten all the way down and I question the (my) ability to get it back to the same specs on each bolt. So, what's the thinnest quality QD mount I can slap this thing on to make moving it between a couple of rifles with saved zeroes a trustworthy endeavor? I saw Larue makes a 5/8" riser with their QD mounts for $140, but wondering if there's anything out there that's a little cheaper.

On the flip side, is there an aftermarket QD mount that can replace the OEM mount? I haven't seen one mentioned in any of the forum posts I've seen about the S35 and C35, but perhaps there is one available.
 
On the flip side, is there an aftermarket QD mount that can replace the OEM mount? I haven't seen one mentioned in any of the forum posts I've seen about the S35 and C35, but perhaps there is one available.
There isn't and I've been looking for over a year as the Steiner matches the Burris BTS footprint. I reached out to ADM and Bobro about making one but neither were interested at the time because of current backlogs.
 
The Vortex Defender O-24 cap is a bit tight on the ocular, but on the good side once it's on it won't move.

The Defender 0-44 is good for the front objective, but it's just a hair looser than I'd like. I bought the 50mm Switchview lever and with longer screws it will fit over the Defender cap and as a bonus holds it in place.

I have a set of these on a scope from 30 years ago

But I can't find them anymore. Would be perfect for it.