The night vision market is like the PC market, the technology to make the actual intensifier tubes is like the technology to make CPUs. There are tons of companies making PCs, but at the end of the day it's basically just two companies making the really important components. likewise there are tons of companies selling and assembling night vision devices, but not very many companies making intensifier tubes.
I'm into firearms but not night vision. I still watched because you do quality reviews and I like to learn. Genuinley, thank you for the work you do here and at TFB. Your one of us and not full of shit. Please never change my friend. Keep em coming.
I don’t know how you fit so much information into such a short video, and yet still make it very interesting and enjoyable to watch. Excellent work as always, Hop.
As of summer 2024 AGM's website shows that the Wolf has the same threaded hole as a PVS-14. But not every retailer shows updated pictures and some of them may have old stock that still has that "quick rail" mount interface.
What lies beyond infinite is time travel. So when you can dial past infinite on the wolf, you can actually see into the past in the dark. That’s directly from the company’s website.
This appears to have been useful information it seems. We need this sort of dialog to keep coming to help make this market more available and help drive down costs. Keep it coming and it appears I'll be saving my bucks for an NVM-14.
Hi Hop, have you considered checking out decomissioned soviet/eastern block nightvision gear? Here where I live (Poland) I can get this stuff dirt cheap. It's an old tech but analog and fully functional. Cheers.
@@Hoplopfheil I have a PNV57e, I've used pvs 14's, 7's, and gen 3 5's or 15's can't remember. It's equal to a gen 2 in quality but dim, it's alot easier on the eyes and does not give a headache over long usage time.
I just got my NVG-40 3AW1's today and I went to a dark part of my house and checked them out before tonight and I am more than happy. I know AGM gets a lot of hate for their products but I am more than happy with them and I've only had them for a hour give or take.
I just picked up an AGM MUM-14a (Gen2 GP lvl3) from optics plant for $1499. It’s smaller and slightly lighter than a pvs-14. Its a smaller cousin to the wolf. You should do a comparison of the MUM-14a seeing it’s another great lesser known budget NV option.
I would like to know how your mum14as is? I have 2 same model as yours and they are completely different tubes. One seems to have a ton of noise and darker tube that makes difficult to see sometimes and the other is really bright and crystal clear. I don't get it, how there seems to be that big of a difference between them. Im interested in knowing which one is normal?
Thanks for this review..I've been waiting to see how the Wolf14 performs and attachment problems saved me a whole lot of headache, thank God I cancelled my order with AGM from Arizona. Can't wait to get my pvs14 gen3 from U.S. night vision, they're a lot more transparent with lead time and customer service is top notch. Hoping you'll do a review on their products..
Hop, I'll leave the comment that I posted in your latest video asking about the cheapest way into night vision to help the algorithm. Thanks for covering this topic. BTW, that rubber plastic peice is priceless when being engaged by someone else with NV. Don't throw it away.
As owner of both. The agm is better. Weight unnoticeable for me on a helmet. Rubber eye cup is something I prefer. Field of view seems better on the wolf. Really don't even notice a clarity issue on gen 2+ wolf vs the pvs.
AGM absolutely supplies a spec sheet WITH THERE DEVICES! I have a gen2+ WP wolf 14 level ONE. it’s amazing, compared to a green gen 3 pvs 14 I have I think imagine is better with the wolf . Wolf just has a stupid mounting point and a little longer and a tiny bit more weight. If I was able to put pictures in the comments I would photo the spec sheet. Its a great NV device. I use it way more then my gen 3 pvs 14 green. The only better device I have was made by flir for a short time. It’s a WP pvs-14 like device by FLIR. AND ITS ONLY BETTER BECAUSE it has a 51 degree field of view. Other than that the wolf rocks
Mod armory- get there bayonet style wolf 14 adapter. Then get a good rhino mount. I would suggest rhino 2 since you have more adjustments. Don’t buy the optics planet mount it sucks and is way expensive. It makes the 14 poke in to your eye.
Well said. Same price as something that’s totally better... I dipped my toes in with the SiOnyx and I like it, but will hardly ever use it. Color night vision is great under moonlight though.
Unrelated; you should check out the Steyr SPP as a firearm from the 90's people have been sleeping on. There aren't a lot out there, but minus suppressor capability they are mostly the same as a B&T TP9 if you build them up accordingly. I bought mine for $1100.
The duals are easier on the eye, and for your brain to process what you are seeing. The PVS-14 is obviously lighter, and technically it means if you go without it one eye is already naturally adjusted. Typically speaking, the duals are always better, even with the extra weight, for night vision use. That being said, the 14 is better in terms of weight and, obviously, cost savings. So if you're not under NV as much, the 14 is fine. Imo you won't really notice much of a difference after getting used to the 14, unless you use NV for long periods of time. That's what I've gathered from listening to others. Take it with a grain of salt, I've never owned any myself, at least not yet. Someone like Hop will have a much better opinion for you, and they know far more than my second hand "knowledge" can ever provide.
>The Cheapest Night Vision Monocular >$1000 i know this is a 2 year old video, but nvg10's were around. If you wanted cheaper than that a nightfox or even a nerf modulus scope would even do
@@Hoplopfheil How so? It offers similar abilities that the average $1000 set of pvs14's, usually at around half the cost. I've been using the same nvg10 setup for the past 4 years, and not once have I had any issues with it.
Hop: "Why don't you just make the Infinite Focus setting higher and make that the Infinite Focus?" Night Vision Engineer: "But these go to eleven.......?...."
My deal is mounting options. I can manage to drop $3K on a good mono. Spending $1,400 on a helmet and $400 on a fuckin mount, I have trouble digesting.
Past infinite focus is necessary when you can’t assure the infinite actually is infinite because the machining skills of factory making it aren’t up for it
I have a wolf14 level 1 it was $1795 new from nv Universe good monocular I have handful of different mounting solutions, I have mod armory mum14/nvm-14 j arm with dove tail shoe, I have tier none mum-14/wolf14 j arm, and jdapt plate, I use my argus g24 clone and Wilcox g11 with either one I switch from, I also have a a milspec gen 3 pvs7D which is my go to, currently building a pvs14 monocular with blem gen 3 mx11769 image intensifier tube. I like my wolf 14 good beater unit.
There awesome dude,bro is a little jaded cause hes used big names too long lol,get a modarmy flir j arm and thank me later that thing is insanly badass check them out
Would you recommend the AGM PVS-14 3AW3 Auto-Gated Night Vision Monocular (Gen 3+ White Phosphor)? What's the price on AGM PVS-14 3AW3? Great content. Thanks for your contribution.
I want to the new DTNVS NVGs but also like the larger field of view that the less expensive 51 degree fired of view BNVD Dual Tube NVGs have. How do you think they compare quality wise? The dual tube 51 degree, Gen 3 white phosphor version are about $7500 for the hand selected ones. The DTNVS ones are about $10k. Recommendations? I used the PVS31 when serving overseas. I like the auto stop feature for interpupilary distance but did notice they have a part for the DTNVS goggles that achieves the same thing.
Hey Hop. Will the QD J-arm fit the NVM body? You said the Wolf was too fat, but I'm assuming the NVM is narrower and shouldn't interfere. I found one with a dovetail mount and the QD for the NVM
Thanks for the video. I’m trying to find something like this that I can actually afford. I’ve already bought a cheap ass chinese digital monocular and it sucks balls. But it has me wanting something better (but something I can afford). So anyway thanks for doing these videos focusing on cheap nvg stuff.
Just a tip buy the intensifier tube separately, its easy enough to install with maybe 1 screwdriver and can make a $1,500 PVS-14 into a $700 one if you can get a used PVS parts kit for a good price. Just do more research, if you have I'm sure you know that already but its gonna save me a lot of money
Do you know if the eyecup ring is removable?seems pretty snug on there,thanks for any help and if you own a wolf there great but you need the modarmory flir jarm,it uses mini rail system which is actually really nice as its adjustable which helps with balance of unit and eyerelief
Hey Hop.. I have a gen 2+ WP HD tube armasight mono. Should I upgrade to Gen 3 green TUBE? I like WP image...what would I grain with green 3 ? What's the main difference.
Now that the NVM 14 doesn't seem to be around anymore do you think the wolf 14 is worth it? More spwcifically do you think the Wolf 14 is worth it if you cant afford the extra $1k for a PVS 14
How about the mini-14 monocular? Act in Black sell these. As far as I understand the ocular lens is bigger on these than on the cheap monoculars. At least Brandon optics in Canada seems to be selling these housings for a fair price. In comparison I found 1 seller in Europe selling the mini-14 housing for like 1500€. Thats like 5x what Brandon Optics want for it.
You mentioned stars first video ive heard "stars" then you moved on . security and "starvision" are my main reason im shopping . little hunting coyote . mostly stars and tweekers breakin into ranch very low light . for me big investment so i havent jump on anything .
For stargazing where you need to be able to see detail, and especially for actual use against humans, you need to go to gen 3. There is no alternative justifying the cost savings. Autgating on gen 3 alone is important for security purposes as with a gen 2 as you can see in the video above, just shining a light would blind you while with an autogated unit you can still see the person's outline. Everyone has 1000+ lumen flashlights these days with 25k cd and up so it is a realistic issue to concern yourself with. I would wait on the purchace as right now there is a shortage in night vision so gen 3 units are significantly inflated by ~$500 or more. If you need something now for security/hunting, buy a FLIR scout TK thermal handheld which is ~$500. This will be sufficient to allow you to pinpoint what you need to focus your attention on and you can then use a weapon mounted light to ID once you have a good position.
@@DaveSmith-cp5kj I've been waiting 8 to 10 yrs on price to go down thinking the newest breakthrough color digital might drive down$ but not a chance. I have missed a few good deals on ebay but seems sketchy with that amount of $
@@robertzack1635 I get you, I felt the same way. IIT is not going to go down until SWIR starts grabbing hold in military usage (SWIR makes IR IIT obsolete, but currently they are not light or power efficient enough to be of use). I wouldn't be afraid of buying on ebay. If you see a good deal, worst case senario you paid for parts to contribute to future upgrades. Personally most of my NVD come from ebay and I've never had anyone scam me. This Chirstmas I picked up 2 Gen 3 autogated monoculars from Superior Tactical's ebay account. They were absolutely flawless despite being labled as blems. I paid 2,000 each, and since it coincided with ebay bucks, I got $200 back which I used to buy some Rihno II and two ballistic helmets also from Ebay. Currently on loan to guys in our group working on the illegal alien situation. Last month we got info while they were using that kit that lead to a sizable bust so we may even collect a few hundred dollar bounty from our local LE department (payout is usually slow though, as they don't pay until a conviction so it can sometimes be as late as 3 years after the fact).
@@DaveSmith-cp5kj superior tac was the place I almost bought from i remember cause I searched for them on Google and all to confirm they were real . I'm out on a ranch in ca not a whole lot of extra $ . But thanks , and stay safe out there
@@Hoplopfheil same reason why we wore them on our non dom eye. Keep both eyes open and the NV transposed over the other eye. Weird. To each their own. Also; doesn't the thing over your dom eye get in the way of your optics/irons? Or do you just rock a laser with NV? We weren't really using lasers in my day. The enemy had NV too and a laser would give us away
I do the same as you. In the end it doesn't matter since one should learn to shoot from both shoulders. You will run into the same advantages and disadvantages no matter which eye it is over, unless you actually take the time to swing it over to the other eye.
Sorry if you went over this in another video, but what’s the advantage to a monocular over a binocular? I figured the binoculars would give better depth perception, and for the price it seems they’re not that much more compared to a mono.
Binoculars actually don't really give you depth perception. This is one of those big myths in the night vision community, because the fact is beyond your arm length, you actually only need one eye to perceive depth. Even the cues from two eye depth perception involve the angle of the eyes FOV interception. Since bino systems are collimated and not tracked to the eye, this clue actually doesn't exist when using night vision. It is all placebo. (Here is an easy test. Close one eye and look at two non-overlapping objects. Can you tell which object is closer? If yes then you have depth perception with one eye) What binoculars do give you is less noise (Static on the screen) because your brain blends both images to ignore the noise. This produces a clearer image which can lead to less eyestrain. The benefits of a binocular system are fairly minor as you suspect. However for people who are depending on their lives, several thousands of dollars here or there isn't a big issue. For sure, you absolutely can get by with a monocular. It is going to be really hard (not impossible) for someone without night vision to fight someone with it, but between one guy with a monocular and one guy with quad tubes, the difference in equipment isn't a major factor in the outcome, at that point the tactics matter far more. Milsim airsoft events are brutal in hammering home this point, as you will often have guys with only a gen 2 monocular (or even just a PVS-7) he bought a decade ago, but used constantly during that decade ripping apart people running binoculars, who are "new money" and haven't used them often enough to realize their limitations.
@z r well depending on the ambient light, if I enter my windowless bathroom at home, a complete darkness, I'd have to use the built in ir illuminator. With urban environment with tons of street lights I think it work. But then there's always your weapon mounted ir light, which helps quite a bit.
@@Nontacticalboy I appreciate the response. Bouncing around on different models right now. Budget is tight for something that works, but hopefully can be applied in the right environments.
@@Hoplopfheil I understand. Im considiring buying one (i live in Norway), the PVS 14 is silly expensvie up here, because of 30% VAT. Do you know anothing about the PN21K? I cant find much info about it, but i undertand that the Russian military uses it. Do you know? BTW, your channel is excellent! Hope it grows!
@@marinesniperzzz I don't see what is so funny. 🤷♂️ Did you think for a minute that maybe momentary I can't afford both, a good night vision and a good monoocular or binoculars ? And I want to use the night vision's zoom during the day as a compromise, for a while until I can buy some classic good optics for daytime.
I personally would say try to find two milspec pvs-14 gen 3 for $2-2.5k with green and bridge them. The ability to split tubes is a big advantage over being stuck with bino or nothing. The big example is sharing night vision with a friend (a competent one). Regardless if you are buying for hunting, airsoft, or milita stuff, two guys with monoculars bring much greater awareness than one guy even with quad tubes. That's just how it is. The weight savings of a dedicated bino is a luxury, not a need. However if you are stuck between the two, I absolutely would go with the NVG-50. Dual tubes even if low quality will have a better image than a good quality single tube, as the noise is eliminated when your eyes blend the two images together. White phosphor is extremely overrated. It is not worth paying the price unless you are buying for looks not pragmatics. Even if you just like the white phosphor look, you can simulate it awfully well just by using a blue filter on your ocular lens.
@@DaveSmith-cp5kj this was great info. I’m looking to make the dive into buying night vision. The only question I had from what you said is the price for milspec Pvs-14. Agm pvs-14 3al3 are the cheapest gen 3’s I can find at $2500 and Is having auto gate a big deal?
@@jpk9171jpk The AGM 3AL3 is autogated. For the most part all gen 3 tubes you will come across are autogated as that is the standard tech these days. Autogating protects the tube and improves visibility in high contrast situations. The protection of the tube isn't a huge deal unless you care about crystal clear image (such as what pilots want) or you are using NVD every week or more frequently. Many people have old PVS7 with a Gen 2 non-autogated and they only have minor blemishes even after exposure to white light. Most people don't use night vision enough to see the benefits of tube lifespan protection, and if you do use night vision that frequently, enough time has passed that you can often afford to replace old tubes when they start to develop significant defects. What autogating really benefits in is the ability to see past the glare of a flashlight. If someone shines a 1000 lumen light at you at close range, you will just see a bright spot either way, but at a slight distance or against less powerful lights, the light becomes reduced in size which allows you to see more around the light. This is important only if you are using night vision against humans such as in airsoft, or serious functions, where being blinded even for a moment eliminates your advantage. My personal opinion is that unless you are buying a complete NVD for less than $1,000-1,500 (most PVS7 can be obtained for less than $1000) you should only buy a gen 3 tube if it is autogated. If you buy gen 3, you care about performance, and autogating is an aid to that performance under all lighting conditions. Autogating should not cost anymore than other gen 3 tubes because AFAIK, all current production gen 3 tubes are autogated by default. Aside from autogating, also ensure the device you buy has manual gain control, which that one does. Auto gain is not autogating, and auto gain is not desirable as you can't lower brightness to help preserve natural night vision or reduce eye splash, and you can't increase brightness to counter the light loss reduction when using ocular filters.
@@jpk9171jpk Oh since you also are a new buyer, I suggest buying a surplus ballistic helmet from ebay for ~$50 (typically the NVD shroud is included), buying a padding upgrade kit, and buying a Rhino II (~$75 used) and J arm for monocular ($15-25), or a bridge (~100 for chinese, 500 for real) mount. If you upgrade to dovetail (not needed in most cases as most bridges have a horn or dovetail adapter) Mod Armory sells a PYRM which converts the rhino horn interface into accepting a dovetail.
As far as the PVS 7, the skull crusher that comes with it seems decent and it can be worn beneath a helmet. I think a skull crusher is the only thing that gets in completely up to the eye of the user.
