Am I going to get kilt in the streetz if I don't have NODs?

[Grey]

I'm fortunate to have a friend with lots of cool toys, NODS being one of them. I've looked through his more expensive setups, but the only one that I've actually done any LARPing with is his old single PVS14 setup. It's a whole lot of fun.

There is a learning curve, you have to get used to the loss of depth perception. My first time oWnInG tHe nIgHt, I ate shit exiting the vehicle. About 10 minutes later, I ate more shit when I face planted going up a little incline that looked like it was still several feet away. I also learned that shooting with a laser isn't as easy as Garand Thumb and Aaron Cowan make it look. I got a headache after being under them for a couple hours straight. At first I thought it was maybe the weight of the helmet and NODS and my neck just wasn't used to it, but it turns out it's common with the older green phosphor tubes. It was quite the humbling first experience, but I can't say that took away from the fun of it.

As fun as it is, I have a hard time pulling the trigger on NODS. I can afford them, but I just can't bring myself to fork out the cash for the NODS, the helmet, mount, IR device knowing how much that will add up to, despite having property and woods close by I could LARP around in anytime I felt like it.

If you start a youtube and instagram account then you can justify it...

[Wise_A]

The Sionyx can be attached to a helmet mount, why not these as an entry/toy-around NODs setup?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XJ86Q8G

But it's white. I'd have to buy all-new snow camo.

[Grey]

But it's white. I'd have to buy all-new snow camo.

Thats just the Sport model, they have one or two other models that come in black...

[Wise_A]

But all the girls at my school wear Kryptek.

[Tamara]

The Sionyx can be attached to a helmet mount, why not these as an entry/toy-around NODs setup?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XJ86Q8G

I like how the picture on the Amazon page has a Mossberg AR and some sort of Wish-tier fACOG looking thing. Sometimes a photograph really is a thousand words.

[Poconnor]

I most definitely want NODs and thermals but they are pretty far down the list. If I had some I wouldn’t worry about running out of batteries. I could stockpile batteries with the goal of living beyond my battery supply. I think if it got that bad I’ve got more worries than batteries. Don’t forget old school night fighting. Flares have worked for decades but attract zombies according to movies. I remember reading a Jeff Cooper article about farmers in Rhodesia using a zone of white sand and fences around their house to see and slow down attackers. White paint could work. Spotlights.

[Duke]

[Sanch]

I can’t afford NODS or thermal right now, I’m another poor. But my circumstances might change later this year with a job change and it’s been something on my short list. I honestly have more than enough guns for the rest of my life.

My main concerns with them are follows. Anyone with responses is much appreciated.

The technology seems to get cheaper and depreciate over time. I don’t live in a place that supports the use because it’s too urban and want to move eventually. So I’m torn between buying now (assuming I get the new job) and sitting on a depreciating asset I only play with a few times a year, or waiting until I move to a place that supports it but risk the bugaloo kicks off before then or the government bans civilian ownership and either way they become unobtainable.

Being mostly urban, it seems like wearing one would make you stand out quite a bit. I guess the point is it’s so dark that other people without nods can’t see you. But if anyone does see you, that’s a sight they’ll never forget. So much for greyman. I’m thinking of my time on a nice long trail that runs adjacent to a major roadway with sporadic sections of residential housing along the trail and street lights. People walk it at night with flashlights and headlamps sometimes. I wouldn’t want to scare the crap out of them when they see the nods in my head from their flashlight.

I feel like I’d get better value out of a handheld binocular/monocular than head mounted. Although I guess with an a 14, it could be used either as a monocular or a head mount. Being in a city, there’s pockets of dark where the monocular held up to my eye might help for a quick scan before I put it back in my pocket and continue walking. Like a park or hiking trail that has areas not well lit.

I’ve always thought thermal was more interesting than nods. Like maybe it can help diagnose car or hvac problems too. Or find a missing pet in your home that might be unconscious hiding behind or under something or in the yard at night. Or see someone hiding behind bushes in ambush. And I always assumed thermal was more expensive than nods but people in this thread are saying otherswise? Every few years I look into a thermal monocular and see the resolution is like 640x320 and think it must be crap technology since my tv is 4K.

Can we talk about thermal versus nods a bit? And assuming I get this job, I might have an extra $5k To $10k floating around for something fun. I’d like to get trained properly to of course. I think I’d prefer thermal more, they seem more “fun” and I grew up with the Arnold movies Eraser and predator.

[Nightvisionary]

I can’t afford NODS or thermal right now, I’m another poor. But my circumstances might change later this year with a job change and it’s been something on my short list. I honestly have more than enough guns for the rest of my life.

My main concerns with them are follows. Anyone with responses is much appreciated.

The technology seems to get cheaper and depreciate over time. I don’t live in a place that supports the use because it’s too urban and want to move eventually. So I’m torn between buying now (assuming I get the new job) and sitting on a depreciating asset I only play with a few times a year, or waiting until I move to a place that supports it but risk the bugaloo kicks off before then or the government bans civilian ownership and either way they become unobtainable.

Being mostly urban, it seems like wearing one would make you stand out quite a bit. I guess the point is it’s so dark that other people without nods can’t see you. But if anyone does see you, that’s a sight they’ll never forget. So much for greyman. I’m thinking of my time on a nice long trail that runs adjacent to a major roadway with sporadic sections of residential housing along the trail and street lights. People walk it at night with flashlights and headlamps sometimes. I wouldn’t want to scare the crap out of them when they see the nods in my head from their flashlight.

I feel like I’d get better value out of a handheld binocular/monocular than head mounted. Although I guess with an a 14, it could be used either as a monocular or a head mount. Being in a city, there’s pockets of dark where the monocular held up to my eye might help for a quick scan before I put it back in my pocket and continue walking. Like a park or hiking trail that has areas not well lit.

I’ve always thought thermal was more interesting than nods. Like maybe it can help diagnose car or hvac problems too. Or find a missing pet in your home that might be unconscious hiding behind or under something or in the yard at night. Or see someone hiding behind bushes in ambush. And I always assumed thermal was more expensive than nods but people in this thread are saying otherswise? Every few years I look into a thermal monocular and see the resolution is like 640x320 and think it must be crap technology since my tv is 4K.

Can we talk about thermal versus nods a bit? And assuming I get this job, I might have an extra $5k To $10k floating around for something fun. I’d like to get trained properly to of course. I think I’d prefer thermal more, they seem more “fun” and I grew up with the Arnold movies Eraser and predator.

Depreciation- It's a tool not real estate or a 401K but 20 years ago Gen 2 AN/PVS-4 weapon sights for sold for $850 $1200 used. AN/PVS-5's sold for $500-$800 used. Today both of those units cost slightly more even though the 1970's-80's technology is 20 years older and the 2500-5000 hour service life for the Gen 2 image tubes has undoubtedly seen some additional use. 18 years ago I was buying used AN/PVS-7b's for $1200-$1500 each and PVS-7C's for $1000. Today you can't touch a used PVS-7B for under $1500 unless it has some serious blems or a reconditioned tube. PVS-7C's have now become somewhat collectors items and are hard to find.


In the Northwest thermal works fairly well most of the time. In the Southwest it works less well due to the higher ambient temperature. During the summer everything gives off a signature all night long, rocks, cactus, trees. This forces you to look for small moving signatures among the stationary natural features that radiate heat. Thermal detects really well when it's cold out, not so well when it's hot out. Glass is opaque for thermal. If you want to see if a vehicle is occupied you won't be able to do it with thermal. You will see your own signature reflected off glass however.

[Corse]

In the Northwest thermal works fairly well most of the time. In the Southwest it works less well due to the higher ambient temperature. During the summer everything gives off a signature all night long, rocks, cactus, trees. This forces you to look for small moving signatures among the stationary natural features that radiate heat. Thermal detects really well when it's cold out, not so well when it's hot out. Glass is opaque for thermal. If you want to see if a vehicle is occupied you won't be able to do it with thermal. You will see your own signature reflected off glass however.

All true but thermal still works in the southwest, I’m sure it would be better in cooler climates, but I’ve had no issues with detection of things as small as rodents in the desert, or people walking through the brush.