There is good, weird and bad about this clip-on - Trijicon Electro Optics SNIPE-IR 35mm Clip-On Thermal Imaging Monocular

Unfortunately, I've used the scope just for one day and I didn't have a chance to take it to the range. So, my review is quite limited to very first impressions.

1) Very Good

First of all, it provides very fine details. Contrast and focus adjustments, seven view modes allowed me to find perfect settings for each situation I've tested it, including my basement. This is only thermal device I've ever tried that was able to find an IDPA target on a basement drywall (cardboard and drywall have very similar thermal signature). That's truly exceptional. I even think that it should be possible to zero it using regular cardboard targets, without all these foil tricks to make a cardboard target visible on thermal. I wish I could try it myself.

Second, they really succeed in reducing the washing of details by the sky and large surfaces. Just wait a moment and the scope readjusts itself to provide maximum details in the center.

Third, there is no freezing or other unpleasant effects that I have on my cheaper 320x240x30Hz thermal monocular and clip-on. Move is really smooth (even at 30Hz, by the way).

Digital zoom is good. 2x digital zoom is simply perfect. I couldn't see any difference in details. 4x digital zoom provides image similar in contrast and details with my Eotech X320 thermal monocular, so usable too.

Screen picture is extremely good and usable at 6x of day scope zoom (1.5x magnification), then survives 8x zoom (2x magnification), but then becomes too blurred at least for my taste. So maximum practical zoom is 4x (2x of digital zoom by clip-on and then 2x of magnification by day scope)

2) Very Good.

It aligns perfectly with ACOG, Specter DR 1-4, VCOG - "tactical" scopes with optical axis is ~1.5' above the rail. After simple, clear and quick "zeroing" procedure (which is nothing but simply adjusting SNIPE-IR own's reticle with the reticle of your day scope). The whole procedure takes 30 seconds. There is no shift of the point of impact, visible at 25 yards (I tested it with a laser bullet from a vise).

3) Very Good.

The joystick control is convenient and easy to reach even in full dark and even for a left-handed person. Another "very good point", light weight, helps a lot too keep rifle steady even with a firing hand (as left-handed have to do).

4) Now about something weird. They tell "the scope is optimized to work with ACOG" but it is hard to guess details, even if you have other clip-on.

My other clip-ons, one I2, and another thermal, both show 1x image without a scope behind. Snipe IR does NOT. Without magnification, the visible screen size is less than a post stamp in the middle of a big black rectangle. All you can is to distinguish gross details. Even attaching a smartphone and magnifying the camera image to maximum creates barely readable menus on the picture. In other words, only true 4x optical magnification is the only way to go. But... 4x ACOG turns into 1x night scope. 1-4x Elcan turns into... 0.25x-1x scope, where 0.25x does not mean wide field of view. It means a big black circle with a very small picture, that takes hardly 1/4 of the whole area. 1-6x VCOG becomes practically a 1-1.5 scope.

It is not good and it is not bad, just weird, and it limits on how the device can be used, so I think it is worth to be mentioned.

5) Now about ugly, bad, terrible... use your word. User interface, and the menus especially. This is why I think it deserves 4 stars, not 5.

Menus are made as a set of VERY small labels and pictures located at VERY side of the screen. "Very SMALL" means that you really need magnification to read it. And 3x-4x is the only magnification where you can see menu and you still can see them.

"Very SIDE" means that touching zoom ring just a hair behind 4x zoom moves menu out of the field of view. So you really need 4x magnification to operate this clip on.

If they did it as big as they did the starting titles and put it in the center, the menu would be easy readable without any magnification or with zoom higher than 4x.

Next, there is no consistency on how the joystick controls the menu. In different situation you have to do different movement of joystick to get the result you need. Selecting of an option may be up, or left/right, or down. Exiting may be click or may be left or right.

I believe that they tried to keep the ability to see the situation while operating the menu, and I believe that, if the scope is used on day-by-day basis, it is quite possible to learn how to operate it smoothly. But for sporting shooting and hunters this may be a problem.

Sorrowful that this small software part makes truly brilliant device less shiny.