Review for Pulsar Challenger GS 1x20 Night Vision Minocular with Head Mount Kit

Author: wschmidt from NashuaNH on Nov 11, 2011
Pros:  Weatherproof, good deal for money
Cons:  Limited Capability
Would recommend:  yes

wschmidt wrote:

If you are looking for cheap NVG, they are pretty cool and worth the money I think, considering that the awesome stuff is an order of magnitude more. They do have limitations. without the IR illuminator they are only slightly better than your adjusted eyes can see in some instances, but it is enough to make the difference in low light. For instance, in my basement without it there is still enough ambient light coming in the windows for me to navigate with adjusted eyes, but with it, all the dark corners go away so it would definately help orientation and DRI in that sense. Where it really helps I think is far away at night outside, with all the background light in my town, you can see enough to make your way around pretty easily, but with this you can see into all the shadows far off in the distance (only tested out to around 50m) Then all it takes is a flick of the switch and the IR comes on and its bright as day. The issue with the IR is that it is essentially a bright red light that gives you away. It is hard for someone else to see the light off axis, but if I am looking at you and you looking at me, you will see it especially becuase your eyes will be trained to the dark. This is probably only an issue close up, like in your house or something as it would be harder to see a little red light from far off (unless you had NVG). Also, as expected the off axis resolution goes to hell pretty quickly. The head set is pretty good, has a lot of adjustment (except for IPD) and the thing doesnt bounce around on you. It does get uncomfortable after wearing it for a while though. I think the FOV of an mono is enough to get around in the open, but the tunnel vision makes going through thick brush to a stand a little disorienting, especially with the illuminator on. I think no matter how much you spend on NVG, you have to get used to the limited FOW and loss of depth perception, I think the military spends a lot of time training for this. All in all, I am happy with it, it will serve the purpose for which I am most likely to use it, out in the woods at night. I dont think I would want to use them in a life or death situation, but it is a well priced entry level NVG for playing around with.