Definitely worth checking out! - Athlon Optics Cronus ATS 50-640 2.36-18.9x 30mm Tube First Focal Plane Thermal Scope

Is the Cronus ATS 50-640 thermal from Athlon Optics worth the price tag? When it comes to thermal optics for hunting, there are definitely a lot of options out there to choose from. I will try to keep this review shorter, but there is just so much to talk about, so bear with me here..

At first glance, the Cronus ATS has a really nice build quality. I am also definitely a fan of the more traditional scope look it has when compared to the bigger and blockier ones. The traditional scope style also makes navigating the thermal a lot easier. The weight of the thermal is comfortable to carry out to farther calling stands, and falls somewhere in the middle for its class coming in at 35.3 oz. I also had peace of mind knowing the thermal is waterproof with an IP67 rating. For a little more context I live in Nevada and have been using this thermal for nighttime predator calling in the mountains, and in the lower sagebrush flats.

For image quality I was very pleased. The Cronus ATS thermal optic features an incredibly low NETD rating, allowing for extreme detail without the noise. A sensor with a low NETD value can have a more precise register of small temperature differences. This made target ID a lot easier, especially paired with the OLED display and high resolution. This thermal also has a very impressive detection range of 3600 yards which made identifying predators coming into a call a lot easier to spot from further distances. On the left side turret there is the zoom knob and quick zoom button. The button was a lot faster to use when zooming in to get a nice well placed shot. The magnification range I think is great for any hunter using it, on just about any shooting platform, in any kind of terrain, with a 2.36 x 18.9 magnification range. For the field of view, it isn’t the best for scanning, but you still get a comfortable 8.8 x 6.6 degrees.

The thermal has 6 color pallets which is a great feature, because I found myself changing the pallet depending on the time of day and terrain I was in. Most of the nighttime use I found that black hot or white hot were the best to use, and during the day iron red was my favorite. Another great feature I liked was the use of 2 separate batteries. The thermal has a built in battery as well as an external battery (which is housed inside where your right side turret would be). The thermal will run off of the external battery first and when that one dies, the internal battery will take over. This is a great feature because I found myself a couple times running out of my external battery in the middle of a stand calling coyotes. The internal battery would then take over and I was able to finish my stand without having to stop and swap out a battery or plug the thermal into an external battery bank. Once I got back to the truck I would just swap out the external battery and I was back at a full charge. You get about a 10 hour total run time from both batteries together depending on our settings and the temperature.

For the ease of use it is actually very user friendly. When I got the thermal I of course just pulled it out of the box and started playing with it and found that navigating the settings was really easy, with no real learning curve to operate it. The buttons themselves are easy to find and the dexterity is great even when wearing thicker gloves. When it came to zeroing the thermal, Athlon truly couldn’t have made it easier to sight in with a 1 shot zero process. Long story short you are able to shoot 1 shot, move the reticle to that impact spot, and you are all set. I can also set up to 10 different profile configurations within the thermal so that I can throw it on different rifles, or even change ammo types.

The last thing I will touch on is using the thermal paired with the Athlon Thermal app. The Cronus ATS has built in wifi that you can connect to your phone, allowing for a live feed of what you’re seeing through the thermal. You can also play back and download any recordings on the thermal you may have. In comparison to other similarly priced thermals, the Cronus ATS I found to have a better magnification range, display resolution, and farther detection range. You also get the benefit of having 2 onboard batteries that the others did not have. A lot of the other specs were very similar like field of view, refresh rate, etc.

So who is this thermal good for? Well, if you are someone who is a serious predator or varmint hunter, then I would say this thermal is for you. If you occasionally do some of that hunting, then I would recommend the Cronus ATS 35-400, which is a little more pocket friendly and still comes with a ton of great features.