Purchased at the BSS on Friday, a so-called break in the weather yesterday evening gave me a chance to get into the field with the LH25. Having waved it around at the ceiling of the NEC, which is as effective as waggling fishing rods in tackle shops, I was keen to see if my upgrade from my beloved Pulsar XM30 was money well spent.
In short, the difference is stunning. The detail visible is very clear out to about 200 yards, with heat signatures well beyond that, on small birds and rabbits. Panning was fine and a nice wide field of view - no interruptions with the shutter. Some of the colour palettes are not quite to my liking but others might disagree. I could find what suited me and easily toggle through them although in gloves and the cold, it took some practice.
The unit itself is perfect fit for my hand and controls very intuitive in the pitch dark. The focus was very easy to adjust and I really like that it turns itself off when hanging from my lanyard. Battery life was similar to my XM30 at 4 hours, but two good quality 18650’s came with it, so no issues there.
Two hours in the biting wind and I was questioning the wisdom of my enthusiasm, when a fox popped out at about 120m.
The detail was good enough for me to identify it before it emerged from the wood and watch it as it snuffled about, long enough for me to reposition my sticks and get it visible in my Alpex 4k lite with a tight Wulf IR beam. A safe shot later and I could see hot blood in the thermal.
Earlier I tried the auto movement option, which track moving images but the green crosses were bouncing around and obscuring the targets, so I turned that off.
When I was getting set up, I swept it past the setting sun by mistake and it sternly activated the Auto burn prevent with a big message, so shan’t be doing that again!
It’s a good upgrade from the XM30, over the relatively short ranges I will use it at (<300m) and it’s a more ergonomic unit than the Pulsar for me. Next will be deer stalking in woodland - I have every confidence It will do what I need. High recommended.
In short, the difference is stunning. The detail visible is very clear out to about 200 yards, with heat signatures well beyond that, on small birds and rabbits. Panning was fine and a nice wide field of view - no interruptions with the shutter. Some of the colour palettes are not quite to my liking but others might disagree. I could find what suited me and easily toggle through them although in gloves and the cold, it took some practice.
The unit itself is perfect fit for my hand and controls very intuitive in the pitch dark. The focus was very easy to adjust and I really like that it turns itself off when hanging from my lanyard. Battery life was similar to my XM30 at 4 hours, but two good quality 18650’s came with it, so no issues there.
Two hours in the biting wind and I was questioning the wisdom of my enthusiasm, when a fox popped out at about 120m.
The detail was good enough for me to identify it before it emerged from the wood and watch it as it snuffled about, long enough for me to reposition my sticks and get it visible in my Alpex 4k lite with a tight Wulf IR beam. A safe shot later and I could see hot blood in the thermal.
Earlier I tried the auto movement option, which track moving images but the green crosses were bouncing around and obscuring the targets, so I turned that off.
When I was getting set up, I swept it past the setting sun by mistake and it sternly activated the Auto burn prevent with a big message, so shan’t be doing that again!
It’s a good upgrade from the XM30, over the relatively short ranges I will use it at (<300m) and it’s a more ergonomic unit than the Pulsar for me. Next will be deer stalking in woodland - I have every confidence It will do what I need. High recommended.
