I thought I would share my first impressions with you regarding the Seek Thermal RevealPro thermal imager. I enjoy small game hunting, and have been looking for a solution to two problems. As anybody who hunts squirrels can attest, they are hard to pick out when they are in a tree and not moving. They are just as difficult to find when they are not moving because you have shot them and they have fallen to the ground. The other problem is work-related, and revolves around locating hot spots caused by poor electrical connections, as well as hot/cold spots caused by air leaks in heating and air conditioning systems.
My research quickly revealed that most of the low-end thermal imagers have very poor resolution. The best deal, in my opinion, ended up being the RevealPro, from Seek Thermal. With 240 x 320 pixels in the sensor, a fairly easy-to-navigate menu, and a reasonable price point, it filled my requirements the best. I found a great buy at Optics Planet, and picked up a factory demo unit for $469 after a discount coupon code was applied. Normal price is $699. As far as it being a factory demo unit, I could not tell it had even been opened or used. Looked brand new to me.
I have used it twice while hunting. First was a night hunt for raccoon. With the screen brightness dialed down to minimum, I was able to detect the presence of a raccoon at about 40 yards. I used my Streamline 25 with scope light to nail him. Because he fell into a shallow depression, I was unable to detect him until I was close enough to have line-of-sight. Once I had that, the RevealPro easily picked him up. First image is from 20 yards, second is from two yards.
Second hunt involved a rabbit bagged at 40 yards. I did not go looking for it for almost an hour, and temps were in the low 40s. Even then, the RevealPro was easily able to locate it. This color (filter) is called tyrian. There are nine filter options to suit your preferences. Image taken from 10 yards.
Pros: Easy to use, quick start-up time, great resolution for the money, multiple filter options for how it displays the image, and good battery life of about 4 hours. Battery is internal and rechargeable via USB cable.
Cons: Display is on top of unit with sensor facing forward. This makes it a little harder to use while walking and looking for the animal. I found a workaround by holding the unit off to one side, with the display facing me and the sensor facing forward. This actually gives more horizontal coverage in the field of view. Only other thing I don't like is that during start-up, the screen brightness is at max, even if you have it set to minimum. It only lasts a second, and I simply cover the screen with my hand if I'm hunting at night.
I will try to get out in the woods in the next week or so and use it on some tree rats. I will update you with the results. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope this was helpful to anybody else thinking about lower-cost thermal imaging as compared to expensive thermal weapon sights.
My research quickly revealed that most of the low-end thermal imagers have very poor resolution. The best deal, in my opinion, ended up being the RevealPro, from Seek Thermal. With 240 x 320 pixels in the sensor, a fairly easy-to-navigate menu, and a reasonable price point, it filled my requirements the best. I found a great buy at Optics Planet, and picked up a factory demo unit for $469 after a discount coupon code was applied. Normal price is $699. As far as it being a factory demo unit, I could not tell it had even been opened or used. Looked brand new to me.
I have used it twice while hunting. First was a night hunt for raccoon. With the screen brightness dialed down to minimum, I was able to detect the presence of a raccoon at about 40 yards. I used my Streamline 25 with scope light to nail him. Because he fell into a shallow depression, I was unable to detect him until I was close enough to have line-of-sight. Once I had that, the RevealPro easily picked him up. First image is from 20 yards, second is from two yards.
Second hunt involved a rabbit bagged at 40 yards. I did not go looking for it for almost an hour, and temps were in the low 40s. Even then, the RevealPro was easily able to locate it. This color (filter) is called tyrian. There are nine filter options to suit your preferences. Image taken from 10 yards.
Pros: Easy to use, quick start-up time, great resolution for the money, multiple filter options for how it displays the image, and good battery life of about 4 hours. Battery is internal and rechargeable via USB cable.
Cons: Display is on top of unit with sensor facing forward. This makes it a little harder to use while walking and looking for the animal. I found a workaround by holding the unit off to one side, with the display facing me and the sensor facing forward. This actually gives more horizontal coverage in the field of view. Only other thing I don't like is that during start-up, the screen brightness is at max, even if you have it set to minimum. It only lasts a second, and I simply cover the screen with my hand if I'm hunting at night.
I will try to get out in the woods in the next week or so and use it on some tree rats. I will update you with the results. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope this was helpful to anybody else thinking about lower-cost thermal imaging as compared to expensive thermal weapon sights.
