Solid build quality, solid value. - Armasight N-14 Multi-Purpose Gen 2+ 1x Night Vision Monocular

I bought the Armasight N-14 with the HD gen2 tube, and it seems well built, solid, and has worked very well so far. I have only used one other NV device to compare it to, and that was a military gen3 monocular, so I guess this Armasight N14 is being compared to top notch gen3, so its not true apples-apples, but I can say this mono performs at 70-80 percent of that military gen3. The picture quality is what I best describe as like a 480p video format on a crt tv, just to give you an idea. Very good for such a small device. But, the 2 outings I used this device, there was very little star light, and little to no moon under clouds. Worst situation for any NV. With it that dark, or being in a virtually total dark room, the picture is dark and grainy, but this is expected, but turn on the IR, and for an inside area, the picture is much better and bright and smooth. Outside the IR is worthless, but the manual states that clearly. However, on a dark night, sitting on a white snow covered iced over lake, I could be confident in spotting a predator sized animal at least 200 yards away, and easily ID the animal against the ice or cattails at 150. I have noticed later that if there is good moonlight out, the picture is much clearer and brighter and no pixelating like on dark nights. I have toyed with a hi powered IR led, and wow, total complete darkness in an interior room will be lit up brilliantly, so I can bet an add on IR will greatly improve use in very dark areas, at least interiors. I would like to give this a 4.5 stars, right now the only complaints is several dark specs on the viewing area, I suspect actual dust particles on the tube or lens inside of unit, but not a big deal, just slightly annoying against the hd resolution. Also halos are pretty apparent against street lights and such but I think this is normal on gen2. And remember I can only compare this to a military gen3, so the bar was set high from the start. NV devices are not cheap, they wont turn you into superman like you might be thinking, but I am glad I sprung for this and it is always a joy to be able to see what is going on in the dark and is a great recreation device and would be a great advancement to a night predator hunter.