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

[roostercogburn98]

@godofthunder reached out and let me test fit a throw lever he made for the C35. My use is limited, but will get more and more as I get time with it. My first impression is I like it a lot.

The throw lever is just big enough to make adjusting the focus tons easier while not sticking out far enough I’m worried about snagging or breaking it constantly. I ran it on my 10.5 inch SBR and it works great. I will get it out on my longer gun this weekend and run it. If anyone else wants to see something I didn’t post here, feel free to let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

 

[mi650]

Do you need the thermal and package in hand by the 31st, or just purchased and received an email for proof of purchase by the 31st?

Probably in hand, you'll need a pic of the barcode.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Th

That’s impressive for this little thing though. I tracked a house cat from about 150ish or so across a field. I

Watch out for them cats.

 

[WhereNow&How]

Its deer season.

 

[GordonsGarage]

Decided to take some pics through the c35 last night to give some more feel of what it's capable of.
These pictures were taken on my samsung note 8, held up to a razor 4.5-27, I didn't take a lot of time to get the best picture possible (view how clear the reticle is to get an idea of how fuzzy the pic is compared to real life), but even the clearest phone picture isn't as clear as what your eye sees.
Around 10x is about the zoom limit where you're just making the image bigger and more pixelated vs actually making it clearer. I think where the C35 really shines is with a 1-8 or 1-10 LPVO, 1x scanning is extremely nice, and then being to zoom up to 8 or 10x with a decent reticle makes for a very capable unit.
I'll drop pictures below for some rough ideas, I've played with the brightness and contrast settings as well, I think where it's at now is ideal for my area.

 

[GordonsGarage]

All these pictures are a person standing next to a golf cart on the road. Ambient temp about 65 degrees, and about 2 hours after the sun went down.
100yds, 4.5x and around 10x zoom.

 

[GordonsGarage]

200yds, 4.5x and 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

300 yds, 4.5x 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

400 yds, 4.5x 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

400yds, 4.5x 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

500yds, 4.5x 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

600yds, 4.5x 10x

 

[GordonsGarage]

700yds, 4.5x, 10x, 16x. The 16x picture was getting tight on the eye box, so it's a little more blurry than some of the others.

 

[GordonsGarage]

These pictures are of a buck 116 yards away, these were taken through the unit itself, so they have no zoom, this is just what the unit itself was displaying on its screen.
Ambient temperature was about 72.

 

[Huskydriver]

Do you need the thermal and package in hand by the 31st, or just purchased and received an email for proof of purchase by the 31st?

Yes

 

[twin_57_hound]

These pictures are of a buck 116 yards away, these were taken through the unit itself, so they have no zoom, this is just what the unit itself was displaying on its screen.
Ambient temperature was about 72.
View attachment 7985158
View attachment 7985161

Does anyone know what the PIP zoom magnification value is?
I can't find it in the owners manual and Steiner doesn't list it in their product specs on their website.

 

[5-0 MTB]

Does anyone know what the PIP zoom magnification value is?
I can't find it in the owners manual and Steiner doesn't list it in their product specs on their website.

If I had to guess… I’d say it’s 4.21738

FWIW, I only found the PIP useful when viewing on the app since there isn’t a zoom on the thermal. So those not looking through scope can at least be see what you’re aiming at

 

[Secant]

Looks like a 2x zoom

 

[twin_57_hound]

Looks like a 2x zoom
View attachment 7985181

Very nice, thanks!

 

[Gasgun]

I was playing with mine at work the other night.
Pic uploaded to my phone via WiFi.
The most interesting thing to me is that you can see the ribs under the skin of the fuselage.

 

[Concrete shooter]

Looks like a 2x zoom
View attachment 7985181

Send me the EXACT location of this buck and I'll verify it's dimensions for everyone

 

[Doogie]

No animals were harmed in the making of these videos…cause my zero was off.

Two separate videos both rabbits at 200 yards.

Non zoomed


Zoomed

 

[NCgreentick]

The hot spot tracking is pretty cool.

 

[Huskydriver]

I was playing with mine at work the other night.
Pic uploaded to my phone via WiFi.
The most interesting thing to me is that you can see the ribs under the skin of the fuselage.View attachment 7985220

Already looked for insulation leaks around the house lol... I can see the studs on my exterior walls on the cold nights...


Really trippy to see the veins in someone's hands and arms up close

 

[towerofpower93]

Yes

I emailed Steiner yesterday asking which it was, but never heard back. At this point I'll probably hold off if the $250 or $500 rebate is off the table and do a bit more research on clip-on vs dedicated scope for my purposes.

 

[7magsavage]

I heard back from Steiner saying it had to be SUBMITTED by the 31st.
I sure hope the mail man doesn’t drag ass.
Mines scheduled for delivery tomorrow.

 

[Huskydriver]

No animals were harmed in the making of these videos…cause my zero was off.

Two separate videos both rabbits at 200 yards.

Non zoomed


Zoomed

That lone rock area ?

 

[Doogie]

umm I’m a little concerned now.

Actually just west of the old incinerator site.

 

[Huskydriver]

umm I’m a little concerned now.

Actually just west of the old incinerator site.

Lol you bought something off me I think last year locally. I shoot at night north of Dell

 

[Doogie]

Haha oh yeah the RMR.

Went south of Dell one night and only saw mice.

Found this guy near the rabbits.

**Video from buddy’s Pulsar**

 

[Huskydriver]

Haha oh yeah the RMR.

Went south of Dell one night and only saw mice.

Found this guy near the rabbits.

**Video from buddies Pulsar**

That's awesome. How far was he and what chambering?

 

[Doogie]

Saw him at 300 yards, @Eznutz shot at 200 yards.
22 Creedmoor.

Funny enough the dark “river” in front of the dog was a ravine full of tumble weeds that almost swallowed Eznutz trying to check the dog out .

 

[JaredCO]

I got mine set up. Now I need to figure out a battery pack. Any suggestions?

 

[srt-4_uk]

Why mount a battery pack for a 2lb clip on?
Just keep a spare 18650 in your pocket.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Why mount a battery pack for a 2lb clip on?
Just keep a spare 18650 in your pocket.

^^^^^^^
For 6-8 dollars a piece, and maybe 25-30 bucks for a multi pack charger, just keep 3-4 with you and save the hassle. Keep them in the little carrier and put two in your pocket

 

[blbennett1288]

I got mine set up. Now I need to figure out a battery pack. Any suggestions?

What upper is that?

 

[JaredCO]

VLTOR VIS https://www.vltor.com/shop/ar/upper-receivers/vis-km-fusion-polylithic-upper-with-keymod/

 

[cake5150]

Why mount a battery pack for a 2lb clip on?
Just keep a spare 18650 in your pocket.

This is the solution I landed on as well. Missing out on 30 seconds of viewing while changing batteries is more appealing to me than having an unsecured power junction, cable, and external battery pack. YMMV.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

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

Thank you sir. Haven't tried it yet or really messed with it but that's what I was wondering about the different zeros on it. Thanks for typing all of that

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

This is the solution I landed on as well. Missing out on 30 seconds of viewing while changing batteries is more appealing to me than having an unsecured power junction, cable, and external battery pack. YMMV.

Yeah, I already had a few from some other crap I bought and the charger thay comes with it will do 2 at a time so, I think having 2 spares and one in the unit will be good no matter what

 

[wizardpc]

Just playing around today, I found that a Magpul D60 pouch from Tactical Tailor is just about the perfect size for the C35.
I'd still prefer something padded if anyone's got suggestions.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Just playing around today, I found that a Magpul D60 pouch from Tactical Tailor is just about the perfect size for the C35.
I'd still prefer something padded if anyone's got suggestions.

View attachment 7987116View attachment 7987118View attachment 7987119

I got another of the L3 optic bags from @LAR Dragoon
They are perfect and have the battery pockets ect

 

[Glassaholic]

I got another of the L3 optic bags from @LAR Dragoon
They are perfect and have the battery pockets ect

Thanks for the info, that looks intriguing

Accessories - FS: NIB U.S. Military L3 (Eotech) Optics Carrier

L3 Laser Pointer Case Thick-padded protection for a sensitive spotting scope, binoculars and even a rangefinder. It's military-grade, padded protection for your optics, plus dedicated pockets for accessories! Fits most styles and sizes of spotting scopes. Has top zipper, storm flap with buckles...

www.snipershide.com

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Thanks for the info, that looks intriguing

Accessories - FS: NIB U.S. Military L3 (Eotech) Optics Carrier

L3 Laser Pointer Case Thick-padded protection for a sensitive spotting scope, binoculars and even a rangefinder. It's military-grade, padded protection for your optics, plus dedicated pockets for accessories! Fits most styles and sizes of spotting scopes. Has top zipper, storm flap with buckles...

www.snipershide.com

They are ideal for clip on units. It's just like my bag that came with my 2124LR but without the L3 patch on it. I have bought several from him. I keep multiple suppressors in one of them too with the various wrenches and stuff for them.

 

[7magsavage]

Received my c35. Played with it for only a few minutes before the battery died. I assume they ship with a low battery.
Charged mine last night.
Is the consensus that I should grab those batteries from a Vape shop?

Can’t wait to take this out. Watched the dog leave a pile of glowing goo in the yard in the pitch black.
Pretty cool!

 

[951Hunter]

Received my c35. Played with it for only a few minutes before the battery died. I assume they ship with a low battery.
Charged mine last night.
Is the consensus that I should grab those batteries from a Vape shop?

Can’t wait to take this out. Watched the dog leave a pile of glowing goo in the yard in the pitch black.
Pretty cool!

I grabbed some 18650s from the vape shop and they work perfectly. Just confirm they're flat tops. I brought my OEM batteries with me to compare

 

[7magsavage]

Ok. Sounds like a plan.
Thank you sir.

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Ok. Sounds like a plan.
Thank you sir.

That's what I did too

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

That's what I did too

Also, they have these little battery cases that hold 2 batteries, so I'd recommend getting one of those too. Very handy and I think with 1 in the unit and 2 spares we will be good for all we would need for one outing

 

[7magsavage]

Excellent. That sounds like a great idea.
I was wondering about a carrier of some sort to put my batteries.