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Night Vision Pulsar Thermion XP 50 review

Zback

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
May 8, 2019
308
253
First off I am in no way sponsored by anybody. I purchased this unit with my own money. I plan on making this a running review of the unit. Here is a video I shot this weekend. Clear night with temps in mid 30’s. This hog was about 70 yards.

 
Conditions less than ideal this night and I did not use the fine focus. Picture through the scope was much more clear as well. As noted it was out at 175 yards and I maxed the zoom.
 
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Yeah those are the batteries that came with the gun.
 
I know some guys are running hand warmers on the batteries to extend the battery life of them.
 
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I know some guys are running hand warmers on the batteries to extend the battery life of them.
Good to know, I'll give it a try. My Reap IR eats battery's fast even on 30hz.
 
Was not prepared for these yotes and they saw us first and it was all over then.
 
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That Thermion throws out a really nice image. And you did some pretty good shooting in them woods. (y)
 
It is still going strong, no real problems to speak of.
 
Do you have the cable with the external battery?
No, just the standard 123 batteries. I may try the extended rechargeable battery pack next year, though I am getting pretty quick with the battery changes in the field. Plenty of practice lol.
 
No, just the standard 123 batteries. I may try the extended rechargeable battery pack next year, though I am getting pretty quick with the battery changes in the field. Plenty of practice lol.
I run the cable to a to an external battery on the stock, works great. I highly recommend it. The 123 battery’s don’t last that long, and get expensive after awhile
 
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DDA3C56A-B82B-4E40-954C-38CB6604CA3F.jpeg
 
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Appreciate the continual updates. I am looking pretty hard at one of these units for my next thermal.
 
Yeah I am. I have not had any problems thus far.
How many batteries are you using per night usually? I've got a thermion on the way and usually hunt 4-6 hours or so. I guess I'll need two based off that if I had it on continuously but I'm usually turning my current thermal off and on to conserve battery life.
 
How many batteries are you using per night usually? I've got a thermion on the way and usually hunt 4-6 hours or so. I guess I'll need two based off that if I had it on continuously but I'm usually turning my current thermal off and on to conserve battery life.
Well I only have what came with the scope at this time. I am going to purchase a couple when they come back in stock. I can get about 4hrs or so on my factory setup right now with temps ranging from 25-50 degrees.
 
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Can you utilize an Auxilliary 5 or 10k Milliamp battery pack on these units?
 
You can you a external battery pack.

I notice these scopes use “APS” rechargeable batteries which cost @ $100 each for extras. I assume these are Pulsars proprietary batteries.

Can you use common disposable batteries (e.g. AA or CR123) to power or charge Thermion scopes?
 
The APS2 battery is $90 and the APS3 $115 shipped, if you can find them in stock.
I bought 2 spare APS2 batteries, as the scope came with an APS2 battery and I didn't want to carry two caps in the field and risk losing one when swapping batteries/caps.
 
The APS2 battery is $90 and the APS3 $115 shipped, if you can find them in stock.
I bought 2 spare APS2 batteries, as the scope came with an APS2 battery and I didn't want to carry two caps in the field and risk losing one when swapping batteries/caps.

My concern is the possibility of not getting proprietary batteries from Lithuania in the future for whatever reason - embargoes, pandemics, etc. - say if the original batteries go kaput. Is there a way to power this scope with regular disposable batteries (cr123, etc.)?
 
Yeah I am. I have not had any problems thus far.

Is your Thermion holding zero?

I’ve been reading all these horror stories about the Pulsar Trail series losing zero because of temperature fluctuations. Of course the Trail is a different animal with a plastic body, but from the same manufacturer. Glad I did my research before pulling the trigger on one of those!
 
Is your Thermion holding zero?

I’ve been reading all these horror stories about the Pulsar Trail series losing zero because of temperature fluctuations. Of course the Trail is a different animal with a plastic body, but from the same manufacturer. Glad I did my research before pulling the trigger on one of those!
I have had no problems thus far.
 
I talked my buddy into a Thermion XP50 recently. He came out to the ranch to sight it in and go hog hunting. What I noticed:

Much better resolution with his 640 unit than my 384 Trail...but that is to be expected with four times the pixels.

Battery life in the Thermion lines suck compared to the Trail models. 2.5 hours into hunting and he was well into the internal battery at 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This happened both times we went out. I have since watched a video from the Ed guy on YouTube where he had the same issues.

I really wanted to get a Thermion XP50 to upgrade my XQ38 Trail, but I am now definitely waiting on the Trail 2 models to come out soon...and then give it another few months as I don't want to be a beta tester.
 
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