Used on a couple of outings now so probably enough for my first thoughts.
Weight and size wise these are about the same as a pair of RF 8 or 10 x42 Binos. Maybe a bit heavier. The barrels are a decent width and you can hold them nicely in one hand without strain. Because of the amount of functions on these things there are 6 buttons for control meaning in theory you need both hands on occasion to operate. An example of this would be spot target, ping range with left hand and then cycle to the optical channel with the right hand. I think this will take a bit of getting used to as I have been using a thermal with my left hand and left eye only for many years now.
I find the 3x base mag a touch high for walking and stalking. I would prefer 2 or 2.5 base mag to be honest. Probably because that’s what I am used to. The HH model with the lower sensor has 4 x base mag I think which must be hideous for anything other than static long range spotting.
Performance wise just like a Hik Aplex scope won’t match glass in daylight the optical channel on these isn’t anything like as good as my Zeiss RF’s in daylight. First half hour of deer shooting light and the last half hour though and suddenly the optical channel comes into its own. When high German glass can just see blobs these show you animals with a decent amount of detail in colour as well. I haven’t really tested the legs on the B&W NV option much yet as I have found the colour option more than enough for deer stalking hours and beyond.
Thermally it seems to be about the same performance as my Hik Falcon FQ35. This isn’t a slight in anyway as I and many others really rate the performance or the FQ series of Falcons. I would say though that the image is stretched very slightly to fill the larger screen. Hard to describe and it isn’t distorted or anything it just seems slightly larger pixel wise.
Battery wise the first set lasted I think somewhere between 5 or 6 hours. With the RF function turning off at 25% battery. No idea why they would do this to be honest. As it’s supplied with 4 batteries (2 sets) I guess a run time of 10-12 hours would be possible. These figures were with the units auto standby disabled as well because I found this annoying. Probably just me on this feature though.
With regards to the range finder there isn’t a great deal to say other than it works. I haven’t pushed the distances out beyond 400m ish at the moment but it didn’t struggle to ping items at this range.
I think the big question for a device like this is does it replace the standard bino and thermal combo? Well the answer is both yes and no. As a thermal this device obviously delivers, but optically it isn’t a match for glass. Unless that is the light is poor or it’s completely dark. In these circumstances it outperforms glass easily. I think personally I need to spend some more time with the unit to make a final opinion.
Below are some videos that I downloaded from earlier stalks. As always the actual image though the device seems better, but it gives you a decent idea. Sorry in advance for the poor cinematic experience I was using the device for the first time, while actually staking deer.
The video with the fallow was taken in woodland about 25 mins into first shooting light. The two roe deer clips were taken once the sun had come up.
Weight and size wise these are about the same as a pair of RF 8 or 10 x42 Binos. Maybe a bit heavier. The barrels are a decent width and you can hold them nicely in one hand without strain. Because of the amount of functions on these things there are 6 buttons for control meaning in theory you need both hands on occasion to operate. An example of this would be spot target, ping range with left hand and then cycle to the optical channel with the right hand. I think this will take a bit of getting used to as I have been using a thermal with my left hand and left eye only for many years now.
I find the 3x base mag a touch high for walking and stalking. I would prefer 2 or 2.5 base mag to be honest. Probably because that’s what I am used to. The HH model with the lower sensor has 4 x base mag I think which must be hideous for anything other than static long range spotting.
Performance wise just like a Hik Aplex scope won’t match glass in daylight the optical channel on these isn’t anything like as good as my Zeiss RF’s in daylight. First half hour of deer shooting light and the last half hour though and suddenly the optical channel comes into its own. When high German glass can just see blobs these show you animals with a decent amount of detail in colour as well. I haven’t really tested the legs on the B&W NV option much yet as I have found the colour option more than enough for deer stalking hours and beyond.
Thermally it seems to be about the same performance as my Hik Falcon FQ35. This isn’t a slight in anyway as I and many others really rate the performance or the FQ series of Falcons. I would say though that the image is stretched very slightly to fill the larger screen. Hard to describe and it isn’t distorted or anything it just seems slightly larger pixel wise.
Battery wise the first set lasted I think somewhere between 5 or 6 hours. With the RF function turning off at 25% battery. No idea why they would do this to be honest. As it’s supplied with 4 batteries (2 sets) I guess a run time of 10-12 hours would be possible. These figures were with the units auto standby disabled as well because I found this annoying. Probably just me on this feature though.
With regards to the range finder there isn’t a great deal to say other than it works. I haven’t pushed the distances out beyond 400m ish at the moment but it didn’t struggle to ping items at this range.
I think the big question for a device like this is does it replace the standard bino and thermal combo? Well the answer is both yes and no. As a thermal this device obviously delivers, but optically it isn’t a match for glass. Unless that is the light is poor or it’s completely dark. In these circumstances it outperforms glass easily. I think personally I need to spend some more time with the unit to make a final opinion.
Below are some videos that I downloaded from earlier stalks. As always the actual image though the device seems better, but it gives you a decent idea. Sorry in advance for the poor cinematic experience I was using the device for the first time, while actually staking deer.
The video with the fallow was taken in woodland about 25 mins into first shooting light. The two roe deer clips were taken once the sun had come up.
