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Thread: PVS-14 Advice

  1. #1
    Member Gray Ghost's Avatar
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    PVS-14 Advice

    I am ready to buy a night vision device. For entry level, I think a PVS-14 makes sense. I'd like to have a binocular device, but two tubes is more than I am going to spend right now. There are a myriad of PVS-14 options out there. I'd think I'd prefer a factory built unit, but most of what is out there seems to be assembled by secondary vendors.

    I am looking for a unit primarily for emergencies / grid down scenarios and maybe for hog hunting or similar. I have no experience using NVD's, so I'll probably do some training with it.

    What should I get? Advice welcome.

  2. #2
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    TNVC has a good reputation and they will take the time to answer your questions over the phone. I am not sure what you mean by factory vs secondary vendors.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter Odin Bravo One's Avatar
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    Get the best quality you can afford. That’s not an area where I want to skimp and settle, given the prices. The difference in quality between a Gen 2.5 tube and a Gen 3 is pretty significant. If it’s not in the cards due to cost, do yourself a favor and save for the better quality product.
    You can get much more of what you want with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.

  4. #4
    I'm going to second the recommendation of TNVC. They were super helpful with any questions that I had and will be able to point you in the right direction with optics selection as well as mounts and accessories.

  5. #5
    Member Gray Ghost's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andy T View Post
    TNVC has a good reputation and they will take the time to answer your questions over the phone. I am not sure what you mean by factory vs secondary vendors.
    You can buy a factory PVS-14 unit that was made in a factory by the tube manufacturer. For example, TNVC sells a unit made by L3 Harris, but it is currently out of stock:

    https://tnvc.com/shop/l3h-m914a-pvs14-2376fom/

    Presumably this is what the military does.

    In the alternative, there are a number of vendors who buy tubes from Photonis, L3 Harris, etc. and then build and sell completed PVS-14 units. TNVC is one. Night Vision Devices is another big one that is carried by many online vendors including Eurooptic.

    The factory units are more expensive and have a shorter warranty, but it just seems sketchy t me to buy one that is built after market. I tend to stick with factory built AR's for my go to rifles, and this seems similar. If I am wrong, it will save me some money.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Gray Ghost View Post
    The factory units are more expensive and have a shorter warranty, but it just seems sketchy t me to buy one that is built after market. I tend to stick with factory built AR's for my go to rifles, and this seems similar. If I am wrong, it will save me some money.
    Factory is absolutely not worth it, IMO. Beyond the pricing and warranty differences, you also lack the ability to select for tube specs; instead, you have a crapshoot of whatever the manufacturer sends you. Obviously, there are minimum specs that the tubes will meet, but to me, the ability to hand select allows you to pick out the exact level of performance you're willing to accept balanced with whatever wait time and cost there is for such tubes. The actual building of NODs isn't difficult either, at least not with the common platforms, such as the PVS-14; there's a reason why there's a bazillion garage dealers out there, and it's because with the proper equipment, it's pretty much just plug-and-play. Attention to detail and all that is really all that differentiates between the different popular vendors, AFAIK.

    What I do dislike about the NODs vendors is that so many of them seem to have fleas in terms of business practices. From a product standpoint, TNVC is probably the way to go, but I do dislike how some of their employees comport themselves online, and they've played games with availability before (e.g., I've been told about guys that order stuff that was sold from under the buyer to fulfill a contract, without any kind of contact to the buyer, both allegedly in stock items, or NODs that had to be built, with the latter meaning that they might have waited a few months before being told that their entire wait time was moot because their ordered was subsequently cancelled). High End Armament Technology and Kosher Surplus are two builders that I can think of off the top of my head that I haven't heard anything negative about that seem to get consistently good reviews.

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