Great for those on a budget - Night Optics Adventurer Gen 1+ Night Vision Goggles

Some background info: I hunt, and was looking for night vision goggles that was under $1,000. The properties I hunt are feeding areas for the game, and I like to be set up in the morning about an hour before shooting time starts. Also, archery season in my area runs from 9/1 to January, and turkey bow season is March thru May so I am definitely in the woods alot. I wanted night vision googles so I can keep noise to a minimum, and I also don't like giving myself away by using a regular flashlight. I have tried red light, but it doesn't light the way well enough for me. Prior to this I had never used night vision before.

I like these goggles but had to make some modifications so I took off one star due to that. As some have noted I do see the fishbowl view a little, but that is the nature of Gen1 from I have read so I didn't mark off for that. It just takes a little getting used to. The IR light that is on the goggles can be seen by the naked eyes when it is on if you are looking at someone else. Also the IR light is a focused beam, and I wanted a wider beam because I am picking my way through woods in the dark and want to see down as well as in front of me. The head gear works fine for me and I haven't had any issues using it. When tightened the straps stabilize the weight of the unit and it doesn't make a sound when I walk. Overall 4 stars for this unit as it is delivered.

My modifications: As noted above, I wanted a wider beam so I started looking for an IR Torch to either supplement, or use in place of the light on the googles. I found a great torch on another site (site is named after a river in south america) for about $45 with Prime shipping, and this uses blacklight IR so is definitely even less visible to the naked eye. I found that the blacklight IR also provides a more realistic view with the googles versus the red IR light that came with the goggles. It took me a couple of tries to find a light that worked well. The regular gun size IR lights do not have enough light, but instead I had to go with a light that was a little larger (rated for 850nm on the ad). To keep costs down I use rechargeable batteries in everything including CR123a batteries, and I have spare rechargeables for everything so I am never without power if one set fails.