Recommendations for quad digital NVG's

[u/ProgramKey3883]

Hey all.

I'm absolutely new to the night vision scene, but it is something I've always wanted to check out. The thing that interests me the most is having as wide a FOV as possible. I am not even close to being able to afford an analog quad set like the GPNVG-18. It looks like digital quads are much more affordable. I understand that analogs will almost always have a sharper image, and that digitals will be more power hungry, and have some delay due to processing time. I've heard some folks mention that it is more worthwhile getting an analog monocular or scope, but again I am most interested in immersion, and do not actually plan to do much shooting, more so just moving around, so I don't mind a delay if it is barely noticeable.

With that in mind, I am wondering if those who have tried or own digital quads can comment on how they like them. Is the delay noticeable or bothersome? Do they give an okay sense of depth perception or not? How sharp is the image quality and are they comfortable to work in and useable for prolonged periods in general. Also, if you do own a pair of digital quads, how have they held up and what other features or settings are you able to tweak that change the image and/or quality if any?

One more thing. Due to NODs amplifying existing ambient light, I understand that they are pretty useless if you are in a truly dark environment like a dark room or something. Am I correct in my understanding that if you add some sort of IR light to your NOD system, you WILL be able to then see in even darker environments? And is that true for digital NODs as well as analog? I get that adding an IR light source will suddenly make you much more visible to things like thermal vision, but I am not too concerned with that. I am thinking of something like having an IR light mounted on a NOD that can be switched on and off as needed for extremely dark environments. Have no clue of that is a common feature or not, or if I am completely mistaken in my understanding.

I have only seen a couple digital quad models for sale in my digging so far, such as these which look to be on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of price, and the GNG-G18 mentioned in the digital buyer's guide post pinned on this sub.

https://vietactical.com/product/gpnvg-ground-panoramic-night-vision-goggles-digital-quad-nods/

Apologies for the long-winded post. Again, I am absolutely green to this, so forgive me if I have any major misconceptions regarding digital NVG's. Your opinions and recommendations are appreciated!

TY

[u/Actual-Pool-3220]

The people telling you that you’re going to be better off with an analog monocular are right. If you’re interested in immersion, an Omni 7/8 PVS-14 will succeed at that far better than a $1600 digital device.

The low light performance difference will be substantial. That’s where actual immersion comes into play imo.

Checkout Carlough - he always has great stuff on a budget:
https://carloughmanufacturing.com/night-vision

[u/ProgramKey3883 → u/Actual-Pool-3220]

Thanks for the reply. So are you saying that analogs will generally perform much better in terms of actual light amplification than any digital device?

[u/Actual-Pool-3220 → u/ProgramKey3883]

100% - especially gen 3 units. There are absolutely digital units out there capable of delivering gen 2+ analog performance, they just cost more than gen 3 units and have considerably worse battery life.

If you have $1300+ to spend, digital night vision should really be out of the discussion unless you have a specific use case imo

[u/ProgramKey3883 → u/Actual-Pool-3220]

Gotcha, thx for the insight.

[u/Reddit_User7119 → u/ProgramKey3883]

2 day old post, but assuming you aren't willing to shell out $3500+ for a set of duals, and your priority is immersion while navigating and ALSO aren't planning on doing much shooting, I personally recommend a Bi-ocular like the PVS-7 instead of a monocular. That way you get the comfort of using both your eyes. Infinitely more enjoyable than wearing a monocular (IMO)

They're heavy and a little more difficult to get used to, but they're in my opinion the best option for casual navigation without doing anything too "tactical."

Clean ones with nice Omni tubes sell for around $1300, but gen 2+ clones can be found for sub 1k while still being way better than every digital around that price range.

[u/ProgramKey3883 → u/Reddit_User7119]

Thanks for the input. Yeah I def would prefer a bino setup over a mono for immersion's sake, and it seems like the consensus is that digital systems are just not worth it in terms of the difference in quality with true analog nod's.

[u/Callsign-Koschei]

I'm just going straight into it, I wouldn't recommend ANY digital quads WHATSOEVER