Night Vision Athlon Cronus CL35 640 - first impressions, first hunt

Its a loaner, it would be great if they just let writers keep test units, but alas they expect it back in ~ 60 days

dgheriani said:

If you had to choose between Athlon and the Steiner (mount issues notwithstanding) which would you go with?

Click to expand...

It isn't even a contest. The laser puts it in another league and you can't disregard the mount. That is like saying - disregarding cats being from the devil, which do you prefer - cats or dogs?

They are not the same species between the mount and laser. The Steiner clip Burris adaption isn't a real solution. If I could hit the Steiner and turn it into the Athlon, I'd roll the dice based on first impressions and the clip situation specifically. With the Steiner, the mount is 75% of my gripe, 20% is the 2 year warranty, 5% is that the power button is not super well positioned if you slide your gun in and out of carriers - sometimes it will activate the camera, sometimes power up or down, but when you're aware of the possibility it is easy enough to be aware and check it.

The Athlon mounts exactly as you'd expect. I adjusted the tension to the rail and it seems to be solid and sufficient.

I believe it is a 5 year warranty vs 2 years.

I can put the Athlon in front of 32, 40, and 50mm objectives with zero drama.

The laser is super, super easy. One touch to activate, one touch to range. This is such a game changer in the dark.

I don't have any complaints about the resolution based on the limited use thus far - I plan to run side by sides with it once I'm more familiar. I suspect it is either as good as the Steiner or close enough that it still wins hands down based on the other factors.
I was using next to my NOX the first night before I'd even tried to zero and it seems like it is some adjustment away from being excellent.

Well, much appreciation for the fact you just made me fall in love with the NOX35 all over again.

I will say it is apples and oranges -

NOX = 2X more expensive, dedicated unit, and while "American" may not be a metric that makes it "better"... but, also lacks a single bell, and does not have whistle. B&W, manual everything.

Athlon = Half the cost, laser range finder built in, and absolutely clear enough for my purposes which is primarily hogs and coyotes. It also has a lot more of the bells and whistles - full color, records video and audio, and I'll repeat - laser range finder.

I pulled these out at the same time immediately prior to this post. I have to say, I usually use the NOX35 on brightness 2, with the black background and white outline. I find it works very, very well in practice. A pig, a deer, a coyote, and a cow are all distinct enough that I'm not going to shoot the wrong thing. I'll occasionally over to another palate to get a different view, but in practice I roll with the black background and white outline as there is almost no eye fatigue.

Switching to white and black hot and going to brightness 5, it is a different optic. It is light, eye fatigue isn't a problem, resolution is fantastic.

As much as I love the NOX - it is my #1 go to - my old Zeus, our Steiner C35G2, our Burris BTS50 and the Athlon all have the ability to go red hot, and we universally agree that is the go to setting if it is available.

The Athlon is not quite as high resolution. I had it in front of a 4x32 ACOG when I first picked it up tonight and then threw it on in front of a VX6 HD 1-6 to make sure I'm giving it a fair shake. Its hard to say what the resolution difference is exactly - clip on, different host optics etc - but... 87.2%*?

It is for sure more than adequate. The apples/oranges is - you can throw the Athlon in your kit and turn day gun into night gun, and I'm gonna keep saying - laser range finder. That is such a game changer. I would love to upgrayyedd to a Halo XRF, but I am blessed with two capable sons that I assist with kit and I'd rather have a NOX35 + second shooter with the Athlon and range finder than one XRF.

I think it is this simple -

If your budget is $3500 or less, you want the ability to clip on, and you want a laser range finder, you get all that and enough resolution to do God's work. It isn't a great spotter, but it can serve as one.

If your budget is more than $3500 but less than an XRF, I'd hunt for a NOX35.

If you can afford a XRF, I don't have specific experience with that unit but if it is what I think - a deluxe NOX35 + a LRF - that is extremely potent piece of equipment.

Sidebar comment on clip vs dedicated - I've come to feel there is a real benefit to using a handheld or helmet scanner if you have are using a dedicated scope on a rifle. if you're moving without white light, swinging a rifle around to navigate et al gets old quick.