Best Night Vision Monocular | MNVD | Tactical Rifleman
We get asked all the time "what is the best night vision device?" Or "what is the best night vision monocular?" Well, Karl is going to break it down for you.
Karl is an “Ambassador” for FLIR. So, any of you that are interested in getting a good deal on FLIR or Armasight by FLIR products; please reach out to us at Tactical Rifleman.com
Here, at Tactical Rifleman, we are all about showing you how the military “Shoots, Moves, and Communicates.” A big part of shooting and moving in the dark is being able to see. As most of our combat ops are done at night, it only makes sense for us to practice at night, using the best NVDs that the taxpayers can buy.
That said, whether you are military, law enforcement, or civilian; there are certains guidelines that apply.
Match the optic to the mission
Thermals are NOT always better than standard IR
Always get the BEST tube you or your unit can afford
Batteries, batteries, batteries
On this flavor, we are going to continue our series of videos about different night vision gear, including GEN-III & Thermal, and both helmet & weapon mounted versions.
This second video is about the single-tube MNVD that I keep in my Go bag. It’s a sweet little monocular, like the old PVS-14s, but much better. Yes, Bino or Quad NVDs do allow wider field of views. However, I prefer to keep a little GEN-III monocular with me at all times.
It takes up very little space (same size as a flashlight)
I can use it handheld
I can mount it on a helmet or head harness
It eats less batteries than multi-tube NVDs
It can see through glass windows and windshields (thermals can’t)
It only covers one eye, allowing the other eye to respond naturally to surrounding light
It’s this last note that many people overlook. Say you are running bino NVDs inside a house, and the bad guy flips on the lights… you now have to quickly flip up your NODs. Say you’re driving blacked out wearing bino NVDs and you turn a corner onto a street with a street light or neon sign. This causes your NVDs to bloom, and you can’t see shit till you get by the light source. Running a single-tube monocular allows you to use your “free” eye to still see during such occasions. Now, I’m not saying this pro outweighs the con of limited field of view, but it should still be considered.
Before you ask… Let’s play “I Spy” and I’ll answer a few questions that I know my TR family is going to ask:
Yes, we filmed the “indoor” portion of this video in my “Man Room.”
Yes, we did go driving wearing these MNVDs. Blacking out a vehicle is easy but takes time.
Headlights: just turn them OFF, so, they are available if needed
The Dimmer switch for dash lights does dim enough
Black out the dash with custom-cut cardboard or tape
Pull fuses/bulbs or tape over tail & brake lights
If you are going to be doing this often; add a kill switch
Don’t forget the license plate light
We wear running around 30 MPH off-road, and got up to around 65 mph on-road. That completely scares the shit out of any passengers not wearing NVDs. Adding IR Spotlights allows you to drive around 10 MPH faster, but enemy with NVDs will pick you up miles out.
Some of you have asked about the military Challenge Coins that are on display on top of the chair rail. They go all the way around the room, and each of them has a story behind it. I’m gonna share a lot of these stories with some of our supporters, on Patreon, but I just don’t have the time here to do it.
The Livefire scenes; I’m shooting with a FLIR TMAIM (IR & Visible Lasers, and IR Floodlight) Sorry, but I believe it is not currently available to the general public. However, there are similar IR products out there on the market. IR Illuminators are a good tool to have in your tactical tool box.
OK, now here’s a question for you… Back in the “Man Room”... What is the top left picture, hanging on the wall? Your left, and framed. If you know what it is, for sure, let our other viewers know in detail, as they are hard to find but a great piece of our military history. Leave your guesses in the comment section below. You know I read all your comments.
If any of you are interested in taking a training course with any of the Tactical Rifleman team; please reach out to us at tacticalrifleman.com, where you can find course listings and other great content.
Till next time; thanks for watching. Strength & Honor, TR.