Night Vision MK2 to MK3 upgrade worth the cash?

[dang472]

Looking at a few various MK2 thermals for sale and was wondering if you guys thought it was worth the $1000. As I understand it doesn’t start the warranty over or anything like that so it’s basically the firmware update unless you’re going to a larger lens.

 

[wigwamitus]

No.

I started with a mk35mm ... and wanted to try the additional reticles in the mk3 ... so I paid the $1k to upgrade. It was the same unit with the annoying habit of telling me to nuc. When I don't need to be told
And the new reticles were not as good as the old ones.
A year later I upgraded to the 60mm Mk3 and that was worth it ... BUT I was worried about the loss of FOV, so I got the Patrol to cover the close in situations around the coop.
Doing it in 2 steps did mean my outlay in any given year was lower, but the total cost was higher. So if I had it to do over again and I was willing to give up the FOV to get the extra magnification, then I'd do the 60mm upgrade in one step.

The ONLY benefit of going with the mk3 upgrade might be to improve resale in the long run. But I doubt you'll get the $1k back. And I think (and hope) there are enough people out there that understand the mk2 is really the same scope as the mk3 (speaking 35mm here) that it still has value.

Anyway, in summary, having gone that route, I would not do it again and don't recommend it.

 

[Shifty6BR]

I bypassed the mk2/35 to mk3/35 and went ahead and upped to the mk3/60 and I feel it was worth it.

Having the mk2/35, the offerings of the upgrade to 3/35 just didn't seem like any real big jump.

Op I think we kick around the same kind of dirt and I rather prefer the extra native mag in those wide open fields.
That's just me, but having/had both I can see where the extra fov of the 35mm reaps it's rewards in dffering terrain.

ETA- I picked up my mk2 on post exchange then went ahead with the upgrade further down. This route saved me quite a bit vs a new unit altogether

 

[dang472]

Yeah my initial want was the 60mm. The more I’m going out in the field though it seems I’m getting more realistic about probable hits at distance on a moving target off of a tripod. I’d say most of my shots are 125-300 yards. I hunted with a Pulsar XP38 for a season and I usually zoomed once or twice from the native 1.2x for shot placement with the PIP. I feel like zooming 2x/4x on the Trijicon 35 should be more than enough.

I like that the MK3 upgrade is a great option if I run the MK2 for a season (ends in March) and find the mag lacking. Only real issue is if the MK2 35mm is selling around $4500 used, add the $2500 for the upgrade and you’re getting close to a brand new one with a warranty. I know Europtic was selling them at $7400 cash and carry at the NRA convention last year.

 

[GBMaryland]

That’s another no...