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

[canross]

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?

[Shearer]

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.

[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.

[Shearer]

@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.

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.

[KiwiinSeattle]

@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.

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

[Fat ninja]

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

[Shearer]

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

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

[Shearer]

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

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

[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

[Moose]

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

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

[sig4x4]

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

[McNotty]

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.

[55six]

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

[Moa Hunter]

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

[TLB]

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.