Reviews & Ratings for Pulsar Helion XP50 2.5-20x42mm Thermal Imaging Monocular — 14 reviews — Page 1

I have used this scope for 2 seasons now. First off, the imaging is fantastic. Super clear with the ability to focus the lens is solid. That said, the advertised 'wifi' to let another, or yourself, view on your phone is pathetic. I mean a total PoS. It is 'cool' when it works, but you have to be within 3 feet - and even then it does not stay connected. God forbid if you take a step or two away from your device, or even turn around.

The other big negative is the menu system - you have to click through everything - completely and totally non intuitive. So hard, I found the setting I use most often and never used the menu again.

I get the tech for the imaging is very expensive and this unit stands up well to that standard - I just wish the engineers and product team did not short cut the other features - especially the wifi - which would have been great - and swung my purchase... zero stars for that - which is why I gave 3 stars instead of 5.

Superb image quality in this Pulsar Helion XP50. Despite humid conditions, the image remains crisp and clear after contrast and brightness adjustments to match the weather. Convenient size with adjustable hand strap makes it quick and easy to access while scanning. Also comes with durable carrying case with quick clip making it quick to access. Ive attached a shoulder strap to mine so i can quickly transition from scanning to swinging it around my shoulder to be ready to shoot game. I have used this unit to spot and identify hogs in the pouring rain at over 800 yards and 2,000 yards in good weather conditions.
Battery has lasted me over 6 hours of hunting time without turning it off.
Absolutely nothing bad to say about this unit. Only thing I would like to see improve on this unit is the quality of the lens cover that it comes with.
No complaints on this outstanding unit.

I was contacted by Pulsar Europe and told to forward my contact information to their distributor in Texas to see about free battery testing and replacement. Pulsar considers the battery that comes with the unit to be under warranty for one year. I didn’t know that. When I did contact their people in Texas, their QA department just jumped straight to sending me a replacement immediately. It hasn’t arrived yet, as the exchange of info just happened, but they totally deserve props for outstanding customer service and I didn’t want my review to stand unamended. Unfortunately I can’t edit my original review, but I can’t post a new one to reassure folks this company really stands behind their products. Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

First, I gotta say, this unit is absolutely astounding, and brilliant in clarity identification and detection. It was way better than I hoped, and I can’t put enough praise on it. I live off the grid in remote wilderness of rural North Idaho. I’ve used gen 3 night vision as a police officer, and I own night vision equipment. Which is why I decided to add in thermal. Now, my NVG is just a dust collector. If I have a reason to pull out optics at night, it’s thermals that come out. Screw the NVGs. I can count the hairs on a coyote in thick underbrush at twenty yards, or I can see a person in a ghillie suit hidden in a tree line at 100 yards like they are in a neon suit. This thing is amazing. I used the internal video camera to record a field mouse in a pasture at 80 yards in total darkness. It was so bright, I was shocked I was literally watching a mouse from 80 yards away in total darkness in dense grasses. So yeah, if I’m trying to see what’s out there, I only go for the thermal now. I highly recommend this unit. Now, the downside, and I can’t say if it’s normal or not (I doubt it is) but the unit I got from OpticsPlanet has a battery that won’t hold a charge for long. From day 1, even fully charged, it loses its charge quickly. I’m guessing it’s an internal short or something causing self discharge. I think I just got a bad battery, because I did NOT see this complaint from other owners when researching the unit prior to purchase. I wish I could just get a functioning batte...
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I can’t believe how remarkable this product is. I went from a first gen to this and WOW, what a difference!!! Cant wait to use it in the actual field, rather than the field in my back yard! But so far it’s everything I’ve hoped for and more!

This unit has amazing clarity at long range. I had a pair of coyotes wind me at 400 yards and continued to watch the coyotes until they hit a wood lot 1200 yards away. Being able to identify and monitor animals at a long range allows for ample time to adjust and prepare for a shot if it is a target animal.

Awesome picture quality, ID animals with ease and record. Battery life is good also. Transfer videos or pictures quick with the app. Has black hot or white hot. I’ve been using this for 3 years now with no problems.

Because I work in the defense industry and we install state-of-the-art thermal sights in the weapon systems we build, I am familiar with the performance profiles of both cooled and uncooled thermal gear. Since uncooled thermal is lighter, more compact and requires less current to run, most R&D is in this area. This is having a trickle-down effect on the thermal equipment available to the civilian market. The Pulsar Helion XP 50 is a salient example of the benefits of this situation. I have been very impressed with the performance of this unit given its price point. The image is clear, the auto calibration is a welcome feature, and many will find the picture-in-picture a nice option. My only criticism is the color palette is a gimmicky add-on that adds nothing to the usefulness of the unit. You only need white hot and black hot. Those looking for a high quality thermal viewer will find the Helion XP 50 an excellent value for the money.

Its been about six months now, and it has gone through a successful Deer season. I have used this for just about anything one can think of, and it has never let me down at anything I have tried using it for. Deer season was sweet, mine is the monocular, not the scope, but 1st of all you don't get bored in your stand, as you are searching for deer that may be coming in you find all kinds of critters out there you would have never known existed. But as for the deer, my land is fairly dense, and even with snow on the ground, you'd be lucky to see a deer moving in the woods 25 yards in, but with the thermal there only has to be a small part of the animal poking through, and you know something is out there. So you keep watching, and hopefully that small part gets bigger, and bigger, then you know its time to get ready, no getting caught with your pants down, and blowing a shot because you set your gun down etc. Then if it doesn't drop on the spot, you can find it a lot faster looking for that hot body laying down in the snow!
I thought about buying a cheaper monocular, just to have something show that something was out there, but I have wanted one for at least ten years, and was probably only going to do it once, so I wanted good performance, I wanted to actually see the true shape of the animal in a clear, and if I choose a magnified picture, the quality would still be there. Watching video's on you tube, and seeing some of the blurry images, it makes me even happier I bought ...
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1st the Helion XP50 is a great rig, it does what it says, and more. yesterday morning I had a great opportunity to test it out. I was looking through the woods in my backyard, (i have it on red hot) and I see a lot of red through the trees, and brush, so I keep watching, and out comes a fawn, and mom only came to the edge while her kid terrorized our flowers. Then they went back in the woods, behind heavy brush, and also trees, I could pick them out no problem with the unit, then I would try and find them with the naked eye, just couldn't do it, even though I knew right where they were, brought the unit back up, yup still there, could see them no problem.
OK, now about the title, I'll try, and keep this shorter. I called to order a unit that said it was in stock, but it wasn't after all, so I tried my second choice, nope not that either, by then I was getting a bit up set, only having a limited budget, I could only go so high, so I tried one last unit, anew scope with the LRF, and they were willing to give me an extra discount for my troubles, got all the way through the ordering process, and darn it out of stock 4 - 6 weeks lead time. So at that time I was even more upset, and told them that I wasn't going to be ordering anything today.
Well the next day I got a call from one of the big dogs (I won't use his name) lets just say he was a God's sent, he apologized too many times, and then went on working with me trying to find exactly just what features, and what I wa...
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