Nightfox Cape Night Vision Goggles for Helmet | 1x Magnification | Infrared 940nm | Records Video | Airsoft Tactical Gear

This is an interesting unit, essentially it is an infrared digital video camera with a covert IR illuminator. I wouldnt actually classify it as night vision, as it does not amplify ambient light. It does give a slightly improved vision at dusk and dawn without the IR on, but in darkness, or even a moonlit snow covered night, it wont show anything without the IR on. This being said, within 25-50 yards with the IR on you are near invisible to anyone that does not have night vision, the 1x allows you to walk and perform tasks as normal. The view is so clear, that you can read a newspaper in total darkness with the IR on low. Inside a house or building you can see almost as well as daytime. There is very little lag in the transmission, I wouldnt want to run in these, but walking and about anything else is easy to do. I held my handgun in the dark, and under most conditions, you can get a complete sight picture, and though I have not done live fire yet, I see no reason that you cant make good accurate hits within 25 yards once you get a secure helmet mount for this or shooting 1 handed. My guess is that it will be a battery hog, but AA's are cheap and easy too get. The IR level will dictate battery life, and you can see very well with the IR on its lowest setting (level 1 out of 7). With a good helmet, and some training, I think you would be a force to be recconed with unless your opponent was wearing a real high dollar setup. Will see how durable it proves to be, but so far two thumbs up.

Rarely do I ever do an 'out of the box" review. This item is well worth it. In terms of build quality, it is very good, and Nightfox pays attention to details with a decent case and neck strap. I will be mounting it on the helmet using the sturdy supplied hardware.The buttons and menu options are very logical and easy to manage. The 940nm wavelength is absolutely a huge win, as is the 1X magnification. Even at arms reach you nearly cannot see the glow of the illuminator.The backlighting is adjustable, and for good use when you need to keep stealthy, the low settings still produce good contrast.Any drawbacks? Well, this would be a 5 star plus with a better field of view. 34 degrees isn't terrible, but it could be better. Even opening it up 10-15 degrees more would be a major improvement. That may be wishing for more than anyone will get for a very affordable price of $160.This is my second digital unit; far better than the old one I have (now about 7 years in use), and it is superior, in my opinion, to the Gen 1 night scope I also have. I have tried and returned other inferior digital night vision products.

It came faster than I thought it would. The unit is well built and seems to be off top notch quality. I helmet mounted it and took it off for a hike. This is the best digital NVG that I've used. The 940nm illuminator is TOTAL upgrade over earlier versions. On level IR4 I can't even see the red glow of the emitter from 15ft away with the naked eye and the backsplash from the viewing screen to the wearer's face on backlight level 4 is negligible. On these levels I was able to get 2hrs on a set of nimh AA batteries. I prefer the ability to swap batteries in the field as opposed to the older built in rechargeable battery. The only issue I found was that I had to wear a pair of reading glasses because there is no diopter adjustment for the screen unless I am missing something...but it's okay because I have great long range vision but I now need reading glasses for up close. I did notice that after an hour of exertion in the woods that the reading glasses would fog up but maybe I can find fog proof readers. I am used to Norotos rhino mounts but I got a GoPro mount and I am pretty impressed so far. The unit is pretty light for its size and a light counterweight pouch made the whole setup ride like a charm. The focus adjustment works well. I frequently switch between close, medium and distant targets and the focus knob is fine tunable but seems to stay where you put it. I am not used to a zoom, even a slight zoom on nods but found this could be handy if you are observing from a position. If you can't tell... I really like this unit. If Nightfox were to ask me if there was anything that I'd like to see on a future model I'd say that a slightly wider field of view would be nice and full color like the syonix aurora. Because one difference between digital and gen 2 NVG is that I find it a little tougher to differentiate between rocks, roots and leaves going up and downhill because they show up as very similar in digital, messing with depth perception compared to gen 2.....but a little more time in the woods will help with that. The price to value ratio is excellent for this unit. Finally... Digital night vision that I can work with and trust.