How to Find the Best Night Vision Goggles
Perfect for surveillance, security, or whatever else your mission may be
Night vision goggles are used by civilians more and more each year, and they are not the cheapest items to purchase, but unlike a handgun light or even a headlamp, they allow you to see without being seen, making them essential for any survival situation or something like hunting, as they make stalking prey that much easier. There are a lot of options out there, from dual tubes to single monoculars, so it is important to find night vision goggles that fit your needs and do not break the bank. So, how do you find the best night vision goggles?
As always, the term “best” depends on certain constraints and criteria. “Best” is often relative to an individual's needs, budget, time to acquire their unit, etc. In order to help you determine the best night vision goggles for you individually, we’ll quickly go into certain considerations to have when researching and purchasing night vision tools.
Monocular Night Vision
Despite what many online users will say or imply, the night vision monocular is a very viable option and tool to have available, hence the reason it is in our article detailing the best night vision goggles to throw on your tactical helmet and really complete the look of your kit. While a monocular night vision option will bring a bit longer of a learning curve due to adapting to having one “usable” eye in low light conditions, it still gives you the power to see things you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. It also makes it easier to look through an optic or an LPVO with your eye that is not blocked by the lens.
An often undiscussed point, or argument for a unit such as a NL-914C, is how natural it is to continue to read the lighting conditions around you. The importance of this is paramount with any night vision goggles, but greatly overlooked. It is natural for newer, and sometimes more experienced users, to get tunnel vision through a pair of night vision goggles (dual tubes) and completely miss the fact that they are in a very well lit position. Let's remember that while night vision helps us to see at night, it does not also make us invisible.
An additional capability gained with a single tube night vision unit, as opposed to standard night vision goggles, is the ability to bridge it with a thermal unit. While you would not find moving under thermals to be very worthwhile, it is very handy for detecting heat signatures.
Single tube night vision devices such as the 914C and PVS14 can run anywhere between $1500 and $4500. Understand that you will likely be disappointed and underwhelmed with the performance of the lower end priced options. You would be better served to save up for a new unit with an intensifier, such as Photonis 4G Echo, rather than getting a cheap unit. Those can be found at Night Vision Network. for roughly $3,500.
If you’re looking to buy once, cry once for a night vision monocle, you can’t go wrong with the NL-914C paired with an L3 WP (white phosphor) image intensifier.
Night Vision Goggles (Dual Tubes)
When it comes to dual tube night vision goggles, the first thing worth mentioning is the reality that a monocle with a great intensifier will be a far better purchase than duals with a good one. While dual tube night vision goggles are much more natural with a more reasonable learning curve, they still only offer a 40 degree field of view like single tube night vision does. Ultimately, the goal is to see better in lowlight conditions, having a better intensifier to see further and in finer detail is giving us the edge intended when we purchase the best night vision goggles.
The market for the best night vision goggles has a very broad range of options when it comes to the housings (bodies) that are available. The most common differing factor is bridged versus articulating, with bridged being the generally cheaper option. On a bridged unit, the individual eye pieces are in a fixed position whereas with an articulating housing, the eye pieces swivel up and out of your line of sight. While this is not an absolute need of a feature, it comes in handy in the instances where you may come across rapidly changing lighting conditions.
A great bridged unit to consider if you’re looking to go that route is the RNVG (Ruggedized Night Vision Goggle) which can be found here for around $7,000 - $10,000. This unit is made with machined aluminum, making it one of the heaviest options on the market while also being very durable.
For a lighter but still very rugged fixed bridge model, the Aeternus from Low Light Innovations is a great option for night vision goggles, ranging from $6,300 - $9,000 with top of the line intensifiers (L3 filmless WP) and ultralight optics. You can find more information on the Aeternus on our site.
When it comes to articulating night vision goggles, there are quite a few models we feel are worth mentioning. There are the BNVD-1531’s and PVS31’s that are utilized by the DOD and Government entities (and priced accordingly). While these are both great units, they simply are not worth the additional cost for civilians in our opinion. So, let's talk about the open market focused night vision goggle models such as the DTNVS and LLUL-21.
DTVNS
The DTNVS would be considered by many to be some of the best night vision goggles for the consumer market. The DTNVS offers articulating tubes, 25 hours of run time on a single CR123, onboard IR Flood, and is a relatively lightweight option, at 510G with PVS Optics. These generally run between $9,000 and $14,000, with L3 unfilmed WP intensifiers and ultralight optics. You can find more info about the DTNVS on the NV Incorporporated site.
LLUL-21
A strong contender and arguably the best value in the dual tube night vision goggle market, is the LLUL-21 from Low Light Innovations. While it does not have an onboard battery or IR flood, it comes in at only 460g and comes with an external battery pack and cable. The external battery pack runs off of 4 AA’s for powering these night vision goggles, as well as two outboard slots for spare batteries in the pack. A cool feature akin to the PVS-31 battery pack is that if you only have two batteries, you can run them on the outboard powered slots and your device will work.
With the lightweight nature of the housing in conjunction with the battery pack working as a counterweight, this is not only very well balanced on a ballistic helmet but pairs incredibly with a product such as the Crye Precision NightCap for low signature applications.
The LLUL-21’s range from $6,900 with Elbit intensifiers to $9,600 with L3 Unfilmed WP paired with ultralight optics. They’re also available in Black, Flat Dark Earth, Ranger Green and Gray at no additional cost based on the color you select. You can find more info on the LLUL-21’s on our website.
Training
Training with these things on is crucial, just like gettin accustomed to other pieces of your gear like plate carriers and boots. You will move differently with night vision on, whether you are in close quarters or you are out in rough terrains with nothing but your backpack and a rifle.
That being said, training is important to get used to maneuvering with night vision on. Check out some training with Core Vision to learn how to do everything with night vision on.
Best Night Vision Goggles Wrap Up
In summation, when it comes to purchasing the best night vision goggles, the market is full of different options. Don’t shy away from a quality single tube night vision unit just because it’s not as cool as duals tube night vision goggles, and don’t purchase duals with questionable intensifiers when your goal is to see better at night. Both styles of night vision units have their own pros and cons, so focus on finding the best option you can in your price bracket.
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