Thread: Thermal monocular - thinking about buying one

I'm thinking about buying a thermal monocular for spotting animals. I use bino's spotting scope atm & will continue to do so.
Idea being thermal will allow quicker pickup when scanning the tops then use bino's or spotting scope to get a better look at.
I'm interested to hear opinions/experiences on the different brands/models.
I have received some advice to buy once cry once & get a Pulsar helion Xp50mm but its a lot of cash to part out.
I quite like the Pulsar axion2 XG35 & it seems well priced for the specs.

Is anyone using a thermal with a built in range finder? I have a separate handheld lrf but was thinking a thermal with a LRF might make it redundant?

Anyway I'm keen to hear the experiences of thermal users on the forum.
Cheers in advance

Have a look at the pards, delta mike may have them

The Pulsar Axion 2 XQ35 works well and is a very convenient size/shape for lugging around. The bigger XP50 is so good to use, just comes down to whether you are comfortable forking out that much $$. Don’t own any myself, just based from my experience looking through mates ones.

I think your on the right track. Hunting on the tops with my brother this roar, I was scanning a basin on last light with binoculars with no avail (swaros) my brother pulled out his thermal and picked up two stags walking towards each other 300 and 350m away. That's convinced me how thermals are worth it

My mates selling some pulsar accolade xp50 range finder models.hes Looking for 5k ono. 1st generation about 3.5 years old. Flick me a pm if ya keen.

Originally Posted by Larskramer

My mates selling some pulsar accolade xp50 range finder models.hes Looking for 5k ono. 1st generation about 3.5 years old. Flick me a pm if ya keen.

Great bit of kit had mine for a few years now just bulky if also carrying binos ect

Originally Posted by Padox

Great bit of kit had mine for a few years now just bulky if also carrying binos ect

We only carry the thermals binos, don't need anything else. I just got the new mergers.... wow. Just wow.

Yea I use both as looking at heads normally however for culling I have just gained 1 of the huntsman stellar Sh50 themal scopes so will b interesting to see how that goes

Originally Posted by Padox

Yea I use both as looking at heads normally however for culling I have just gained 1 of the huntsman stellar Sh50 themal scopes so will b interesting to see how that goes

What color modes do you use to see antlers that are hard ?

U can't that's y I still carry binos during the day and trialling nv at night

Ahhhh, my new mergers I cans ee antler out to 150. Tested them in Friday night.

I had a wee play with a monocular last night. It wasn't a model that could range but I could clearly see sheep at night in filthy weather ~300m away that there was zero chance of being able to see with the naked eye.

I hadn't used one before but was impressed especially given it was described as "an older cheap one." (~$2k .....). I'd expect with anything half decent you'd be able to easily see animals half a km away, but probably not clearly identify them. If you're tops hunting I reckon it'd be well worth it if you have the cash to burn.

You're probably aware but it might be worth mentioning that it was very harsh on the eye, takes a minute or so for your eye to work properly after using it. Less of an issue during the day I'd expect.

Hi Shorty,i use a Infiray FH35R,great litttle unit,can range to about 800yds on a good night,batterys last about 3hr.Has built in camera n vid.Picture in Picture.Great unit,detect deer a long way off,1.5k on reds,roos abit closer.Very portable and about 3k cheaper than the big 50s pulsar binoes.Check out utube.Ask Peter at nzgrhunts for a good price.A lot cheaper

Have a good look at the Pard TA62‐35. Very well spec for the money with a higher than usual sensor resolution for its price bracket. Also uses 18650 batteries so super simple to swap out on the run. Have been very happy with mine.

Hi team, appreciate all the comments made. After comparing brands & some field comparisons of my own I have purchased a Pard TA32-35. I went with Pard for a number of reasons. The specs when compared against other brands available at the moment are right up there so good value for money IMO. I thought about the 62-35 but with the lower 2.8x optical zoom it didn't make sense as the advantage of the higher resolution was negated as soon as I used the digital zoom. The type of work it will get will be open tops & faces so the 4.5x optical zoom is better. The money saved over the pulsar is going to allow me to setup a dedicated night vision scoped rifle. Again Pard has won out & a 008s with range finder will sit atop a suppressed .308. once I have built up the rifle.