"Low end thermal" is much akin to "slightly undependable parachute", "occasionally exploding SUV": meaning it should maybe be avoided, unless you just feel like testing God's mercies.
If looking in that price range, I'd go digital NV (which, I know, isn't true NV) before I went thermal. Pulsar makes some stuff that works well for the price range. Granted, they all need an IR illuminator to be worth anything, but they do a thoroughly okay job when the max budget is $1200-1500.