Thermal scopes comparison thread - what do you have and what do you like/dislike?

Anyone out there feel like sharing their experiences (good and bad) with their make and model of thermal scope?

There are a ton of brands on the market these days all with apparently similar spec sheets, but almost no independent reviews or footage online, and often the retailer is on the other end of the country making seeing the product in person difficult. That makes it pretty difficult to choose, especially when you're shelling out the price of a used vehicle for one, so I thought I'd get the forum's input on what models they like or don't like.

As far as I can tell, the current brands on the market are: Pulsar, Pard, ATN, Hikmicro, Sytong, Infiray, Night Tech, Conotech, Iaiming, Guide, Dali, Zeiss (rebranded?), and Burris (rebranded Guide scopes).

So - what thermal scopes have you used, what did you like or dislike, and which would you choose if you were getting one?

I have an Infiray FH25R monocular. Good spec with range finder. I can easily spot cattle over 2km away.
Selling points for me were its size (or lack of it) and it's wide FOV. Cons, non replaceable battery but that can be overcome with an external 18650 power bank if necessary. I can get around 4-5 hours from one charge. Fine for most of my use.
I have only directly compared it with a Pard of similar price and the Infiray had better resolution.

@Shearer What would the realistic range on deer be with the fh25? Like 100%, yip thats a deer. Im on the fence with one but with no one local with one im nervous about dropping the cash and then being disappointed.

i had a pulsar hd38s viewer and it was the shizzle in its day . replaced it with a conotech tracer lrf35 and its been awesome .big step up. also have a burris bts30 on a 22 and a bts50 on a 223 . both very good for a basic rifle thermal . a mate has a hikmicro thermal scope on his rifle , not sure exact model but think thunder 35mm .its better imo than either of my burris ones. better quality picture and detail . would be keen to try out the new pard or sytong ones for a comparison . hint hint ian lol

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Originally Posted by Dyls

@Shearer What would the realistic range on deer be with the fh25? Like 100%, yip thats a deer. Im on the fence with one but with no one local with one im nervous about dropping the cash and then being disappointed.

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Difficult to say exactly.
Depends a bit on conditions but at 500m you can see if it is a pig or a deer. Where I use it I just need to identify it is an animal and then I will get closer to properly identify. I spotted a mob of pigs tonight from about 2km away. I knew they were pigs as they couldn't be anything else in that area. Stalked to within 100m and was about to shoot when the wind betrayed me.
I also use a Hikmicro Thunder TQ35C scope (it can be used as a monocular, a scope or a front clip on) and it is on par with the Infiray picture wise but doesn't have as wide a field of view or range finder.

Used the Hikmicro Falcon 50 ($5000)and compared it to the same size Pulsar ($7500) couldn’t see any difference and Hikmicro runs off single 18650 battery. Can carry spares in your pocket or pouch really easily.
Was watching a stag chasing a hind around, could see the stag flicking its tongue out as it went. Was out at 300 metres. Would definitely be picking the Hikmicro over Pulsar.

Sika show in a couple of months will be your best opportunity to compare makes and models, features and price.
Thermals are like scopes. They are all different, lens size affects resolution FOV and magnification etc. what works for one hunter won’t work for another

Has anyone got first hand with the ATN to share. Have watched it used on the Youtube 'Coyote down' vids

I hate the fact that every single pulsar and infiray I have had dealings with have had to go back to the shop under warranty. Some things not so major such as faulty pixels but every time they have gone back it has been a minimum of 4 months wait to get it, sometimes 6. Terrible when you rely on them for work.

I use pards have the original scope it’s smaller in size and weight compared to a comparable pulsar and a fair bit cheaper. Can detect animals from k’s away can I.d them from roughly a k. The new handhelds have better specs and are a lot smaller then some of the other brands out there fits in hand or pocket easily, they both run on 18650 batteries so can swap out easily usually use 2 batteries per night if I’m doing a 10 night, I don’t run them till they very low as I’ve had them go flat on me at wrong time

Being able to use 18650's is a major plus - my head torch runs on them, spare battery bank runs on them, they're easy to get and have heaps of power. Makes sense to also run any electronic scope on it too.

I used InFiRay thermal all last summer.Fh35 handheld,great little unit.InFiRayCh50v2 clip on just sits on rifle on all night.I only turn it on when I see a deer or pig.50mm lens in clip on gives great clarity at good distance.Runs on cr123 rechargable batterys.One pair of batterys last 3 hours but as I said only turn on when something is walking in close.
The monoculers go well on a camera poll thru my sunroof in truck.Got a power lead from cig socket taped on poll to the fh35.Fh35 bluetooth to my phone.Just watch my phone screen all night,touch screen phone to take photos,vids,zoom in n out.Have total control of fh35 from my touch screen phone.Just turn my fh35 360 degrees with my left hand.Bottom of camera poll just sits in cup holder beside me.Got a water proof cover over total sun roof with little hold thru it for poll.Total water proof,can watch for deer in pouring rain.Amazing what animal come out in the rain.I can see deer up to 900yds away heading in my direction.So I know when to get out of truck when they on my blind side on in bit of cover.Turn phone screen dimmer down.Great way to watch for deer sipping coffee on a chilly night when you touching the 70.Now I had a torn tendon off my left rotacup for the last 8 months and its going to be a slow healer.Lucky I'm a right handed deer watcher.
Rifle scope a 2x16x50 nikko stirling.Has about 35yds fov at 50yds and big 50mm lens matchs the clipons 50mm lens and good light gathera.

I’ve had a few monoculars and a pulsar trial lrf scope.
It really is a case of buy the best you can afford.
Two leading brands IMO hik and pulsar
Dali s253 - cheap and nasty found deer but hard to differentiate
Guide track ir50 - great unit for price lacked some clarity compared to 640 sensor but picked up deer easily at range
Pulsar helion xp50 - great unit, effective in daylight, huge field of view, nice contrast, outdated definition
InfiRay fh35r - awesome at night, poor during day, too much heat detection, too bright, RF was awesome
Hik micro oq35 - awesome unit day and night unmatched by any of the above
Pulsar trial xp50 lrf - great scope, low def (compared to newer thermals) struggles in fog but good contrast and field of view

I’ll be upgrading to the hik falcon fq50

I'm in the market for one( not just yet).

Thinking monocular to scan treeline/trees or paddock for small game. Distances be 200m max. Plan woyls be to go to the where seen with thermal n use a night vision scope

Sent from my SM-T225 using Tapatalk

Thermal not designed for day time use,their best performance on a cold black night.

I have spotted a lot of game during the day with mine that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Shearer

I have spotted a lot of game during the day with mine that I wouldn't have seen otherwise.

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Once you get used to using one in daylight it’s surprising what you see, good for spotting animals in fringe bush areas and scrub. Useful when pest shooting, still have philosophical problem with using one for recreational game shooting though. Like to give animals a chance.

Yes they are handy in the day as long as there not too many rocky faces .Good for those last 2 hrs of day light when the deers start to get hungry and you can still use yr day scope for shooting them.

They sure work during the day tho… don’t do the NV use a thermal scope

Had a NVpulsa 38 clip on,Guide 35mm and now Infiray chv2 50.
Monoculars, Pulsa XQ 38(2016),Conotech 50 and now Infiray 35.

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Originally Posted by tiroahunta

I'm in the market for one( not just yet).

Thinking monocular to scan treeline/trees or paddock for small game. Distances be 200m max. Plan woyls be to go to the where seen with thermal n use a night vision scope

Sent from my SM-T225 using Tapatalk

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Last night the negatives of a digital night vision scope kicked in: The hand held thermal showed up 3 bunnies within easy shooting range. Turn on the pard 008 and hit the IR illuminator and its white rabbit in a snow storm stuff. The mist had rolled in. Didn't bother the thermal at all, but the digital night vision with illuminator is identical to spotlighting in misty conditions. All you get in the scope is the IR backscatter off the water droplets.

Tonight though, no mist, and the bunnies are down

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Originally Posted by Dyls

@Shearer What would the realistic range on deer be with the fh25? Like 100%, yip thats a deer. Im on the fence with one but with no one local with one im nervous about dropping the cash and then being disappointed.

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https://thermalbase.com/brands/infiray/finder-fh25r

That unit must be crap, 46m to identify a rabbit. Have a look at other units if this is true

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Originally Posted by KiwiinSeattle

https://thermalbase.com/brands/infiray/finder-fh25r

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See post #5.
I think the figures given on that site are pretty realistic.

If your not doing it all the time 500m would be acceptable

I think with all thermal gear,its important not to have too higher base magnifation.It gives you a false view of the size of the animal you are looking at.When animal is in too close 100yds-50yds,yr pixels start to get big n blurry.Lower base magnifation gives you a wider fov and better judgment of size, distant of animal and nice picture.Remember most of yr shooting is inside 300yds.

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Originally Posted by Fat ninja

That unit must be crap, 46m to identify a rabbit. Have a look at other units if this is true

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Identify, in that case is being able to see their nose twitch and when they blink.

If that’s what you need to see to identify a rabbit, so be it.

Reviving an oldy here.. Tech has come a fair way in the last year with the TNC635R – DNT ThermNight Thermal & Night Vision & Pard TD32.

Any one had any hands on experience with these types of scope? Keen to hear your thoughts

Ive got a Sytong XS06-50 hand held. And it's good. Fantastic picking up wallaby night and day. Exceptional detail. You get to figure it all out through experience for daytime hunting. No range finder but that doesn't bother me. The 35mm and down Sytongs have range finders. I had a Guide 50 before that and it was good but not a patch on the XS06. Ive tried a XS06-35 and it was perfect for deer but the 50 had better definition for the wallaby.

A couple of days ago in the evening I asked an experienced mate of mine how many deer he could see through his binos in a pine block about 700 yards away. He scanned for a few minutes and said "2". I ran my Sytong over the block for about 30 seconds and said "17". True story.

Ive also got a Sytong XM03-50LRF thermal scope. Now thats just plain cheating. It's got a range finder tied to the ballistics. I have no problem using it on wallaby during the day (best if it's a bit cooler or overcast) but certainly a few hours before dark in almost any conditions it works. On deer for "meat collecting" and culling it is next level. In fact it scares me a bit it's so efficient. It's not something you would pick up if you want to have a sporting evening pitting yourself against the deer. But it has its place.

Don't buy a thermal without talking to someone who knows about sensor size and focal length and a bit of the techo stuff. Its complicated. Thats why I went to Sytong 'cos I got what seemed like good advice. Im sure there are others' too.

@Jukes These new combo night vision/thermal things look like a compromise to me. Not going to excel at anything??

Hi, I have a couple of pulsars, keen to get something like the new duo. Something I can use day and night and day view is like a conventional scope. Has anyone had any experience with the duo ? Does any other brands make similar ? Cheers

I re-sighted in my SYTONG XM03-50LRF thermal today after having it off the rifle (Rem M7 .223). What an amazing thing.

Too easy. The freeze frame zeroing took me to 1" inch high and dead centre. Two "clicks" down and it was spot on.

I did this at 1pm in the sun using a heat pad as a target (the red dot means nothing). 100 yards. I then tested it on the 513 yard gong using the LRF and got 2 hits from 2. The steel gong was a bit indistinct in the sun but good enough to identify as a round steel disc. Love 'em or hate 'em, these are amazing devices.

Pic: I was using the top edge of the heat pad as the vertical aiming point. You can see the 2 shots that I adjusted 2 electronic "clicks" down from, and then the last shot absolutely dead on. 74 grn Targex, 2950 fps.

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Originally Posted by sig4x4

i had a pulsar hd38s viewer and it was the shizzle in its day . replaced it with a conotech tracer lrf35 and its been awesome .big step up. also have a burris bts30 on a 22 and a bts50 on a 223 . both very good for a basic rifle thermal . a mate has a hikmicro thermal scope on his rifle , not sure exact model but think thunder 35mm .its better imo than either of my burris ones. better quality picture and detail . would be keen to try out the new pard or sytong ones for a comparison . hint hint ian lol

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i have the conotech as well, and want to try out the Sytong Scope, its supposed to be great performance for cost, if you get to try one let me know how it goes

havent tried the sytong but have bought a couple of hikmicros recently , and they are the shizzle . have a gryphon gq50l 50mm handheld and a pq50l . hindsight the gryphon 35mm would have been fine . have spotted deer at about 2km on both of them . have even been able to tell the diff between red and fallow at a 1 km with the gryphon . both make my conotech and burris thermals so last year lol

Here's my SYTONG XM03-50LRF last night. The wx was a but murky so not ideal.368 yds with the .223.

VID: https://youtu.be/JiPkNl9wy_g

The ballistics work spot on... exit

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