Night Vision First Thermal buy

[mrjoed2]

Hi All,

New to thermals, looking for my first buy. Looking for a excellent overall unit to handle some hunting, & tactical/defense.
Lots of research has brought me down to the Trijicon reap version 2 or the Pulsar XP50. Leaning toward the reap due to the smaller footprint , aluminum housing & superior image quality - and the better standard mount as I will want to swap between different rifles. Of course the Pulsar is 3 grand less, and has nice features like wifi & pic in pic.

Anybody have the reap 2 & heard of any solution for a battery extender? And can firmware be user updated on the Trijocons?

Thanks

 

[lte82]

If form factor and ultimate image quality is the only consideration, ReapIR makes sense. Otherwise I'd go XP50.

 

[Gharms]

Hi All,

New to thermals, looking for my first buy. Looking for a excellent overall unit to handle some hunting, & tactical/defense.
Lots of research has brought me down to the Trijicon reap version 2 or the Pulsar XP50. Leaning toward the reap due to the smaller footprint , aluminum housing & superior image quality - and the better standard mount as I will want to swap between different rifles. Of course the Pulsar is 3 grand less, and has nice features like wifi & pic in pic.

Anybody have the reap 2 & heard of any solution for a battery extender? And can firmware be user updated on the Trijocons?

Thanks

I’ve had both. First off- I had 35mm reap and 42mm pulsar. Which are you looking for?

The Trijicon has a better core throughout its line- the BAE 12 micron. It’s clearer, quicker and is the Rolls Royce. Nothing against Pulsar. It’s good too!

On board recording is nice. It’s heavy. It dilutes core performance. It sucks battery. Outboard is heavier, dilutes, but doesn’t take battery life from scope.

The answer for me? What I use now?
N-Vision optics LR thermal. It’s the same BAE core as Trij, it has a 50mm objective and better gathering abilities in my opinion.

Cheers,

 

[Aescobar17]

I’ve got a Trail XP38 and Trail XP50LRF. I run with a guy that has the 35mm REAP and 60mm MK3. I like the REAP a lot, but I’d rather spend the money on the XP50LRF. The recording ability is nice, but not a deal maker or breaker either way for me. The 50LRFs ability to range is a game changer IMO though.

 

[wigwamitus]

Using range finder with the mk3 60mm (or reap) not a problem. Here is radius mounted with and zeroed to a mk3 60mm. With the reap2, you can even mount the radius directly to the top of the reap2. The radius prices bottomed out around $400 (plus or minus $100) a few months ago and now seem to have risen up to around $700 (plus or minus $100).

 

[Aescobar17]

Using range finder with the mk3 60mm (or reap) not a problem. Here is radius mounted with and zeroed to a mk3 60mm. With the reap2, you can even mount the radius directly to the top of the reap2. The radius prices bottomed out around $400 (plus or minus $100) a few months ago and now seem to have risen up to around $700 (plus or minus $100).

I’ve ran the Radius paired with a MK3 quite a bit. While it does work, it’s not nearly as ideal IMO as the LRF integrated into the Pulsar. With the Pulsar all my controls are right at my finger tips from zoom to RF controls. Plus I don’t have to pull my head off the rifle to see the range. The one benefit of the Radius is not having to wait for the reticle to reappear in the screen. Even though it’s only very brief it’s still a PITA.

 

[wigwamitus]

With 18x net usable magnification on the mk3 60mm ... I find it easier to aim the LRF precisely at longer distance ranging targets and/or easier to aim thru all the vegetation around me. I live along a creek bank.

 

[mrjoed2]

I am actually going to get to look at a REAP version 2 & a Pulsar XP50 this week. Need to travel, as no dealer in my area stocks them &
I feel more conformable dropping the bucks for one of these once I get to try them out. Still leaning toward the Trijicon.

 

[MarshalC_SportOptics]

I love the pulsar, fantastic units but you really can't beat the Trij by any means. You are literally, as stated early, paying for the Rolls Royce of Thermal optics. I didn't believe it when I first started in the industry until I got behind one and it just completely blew my mind. Very simple to use and sits so well on a rifle. Let us know what you think when you compare them to one another!

 

[mrjoed2]

Well a Reap IR gen 2 is what it will be. Incredible image quality, & I love the form factor/aluminum build quality. Just wish it came with the cable for Image transfer like the Hunter.