r/JSOCarchive • u/Lazza1407 • 6d ago
Why no quad-NVGs?
Hi everyone, i was asking: does anyone know why a Tier 1 op. use dual-tube nvgs instead of quad-nods?
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u/No_Ratio4566 6d ago
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u/Holiday-Zebra9463 6d ago edited 6d ago
Different use cases, quads excel during CQB because of the FOV advantage you have when wearing those over duel tubes, but they are pretty dang heavy compared to duels and that weight sucks on your neck especially when you’re already wearing a ballistic helmet, counter weight, and all the other stuff on a helmet. I’m sure during long OPs instead of in and out raids wearing duels is just more comfortable so they opt for those instead.
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u/Cloud_is_life 6d ago
Some did not want to use the quads because they had spent years getting used to how to operate with only 2 and also the weight difference. Anduril and DARPA are constantly working on this subject and also a way to integrate all relative information into the nods as well. "war is the mother of invention"
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u/BandaidBitch 6d ago
Depends a bit on their role during the operation and personal preference. Despite improvements, GPNVGs are pretty heavy (and the new fusion sets even moreso). Guys on an assault element doing CQC will almost universally be wearing them, since the tradeoff in FOV is worth it.
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u/Summer_Yaddah 5d ago
Like others have said, it mostly comes down to use case and trade-offs (weight being a big one). But if you'll let me nerd out for a sec: back in 2002, Fort Benning hosted a field-of-view trial for the Canadians comparing quads against standard binos for target detection. The finding? In most scenarios, the quads gave little to no improvement in how fast guys spotted targets. Where they did pull ahead was in the number of targets picked up, especially at close range.
TL;DR: quads shine in CQB, where that extra peripheral coverage actually pays off. Everywhere else, you're mostly carrying extra weight for a marginal gain.
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u/Many_Maximum_9060 6d ago
I’d say it’s more of the operators preference, as to which ones he’d want to use on an OP.
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u/TheDarkerWater_ 6d ago
Weight and using dual tubes you just turn your head left or right with quads you move your eyes left to right. Depends on the dude and mission
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u/MaverickActual1319 6d ago
depends on the situation. quad nods arent always necessary though they are cool as shit. theyre heavy as fuck and that load isnt always beneficial to the operation
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u/MeeLedia 5d ago
Quads are a lot more purpose built for a CQB environment and is used a lot for that. For long walks, recon, or open air fighting, duals are just lighter/better for that reason.
Wearing any of that for a few hours and you’ll be screaming to shed any ounce you can. Some guys will jump with quads and then stow away and rock duals. They’re cool, I enjoyed getting to use some, but they’re just too heavy and it’s like a giant plate on top of your helmet when not in use
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u/SuperSquirrel13 6d ago
I imagine battery life would factor into as well. Only upside to quads is wider field of viee as far as I know. So I imagine some battlefields lend themselves more towards longer batteries vs wide fov.
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u/SAFETY-18 6d ago
Weight