I am looking for some recent thoughts on the following night vision scopes. I am trying to decide between the Sightmark Wraith 4k mini digital, Pard NV008S LRF and the ATN X-Sight. I have tried the Sightmark in 2-16x32 and not really impressed with the image through the scope at both day and night, I also don't like the Sightmark watermark that shows up on the recording. Can anyone give comparison of the other two and maybe your thoughts on which is better?
Need input for night vision scopes
- Thread starter jskd82
- Start date
I bought and promptly returned a sightmark 4k. It locked up on me and displayed two reticles at once. After that I lost all my faith in the scope. I know this wasn’t one of the options you mentioned, but the software development likely comes from the same team. That and I wasn’t overly impressed with the reticle or my ability to hold or do anything other than use the scope at the distance I zeroed at. Your mileage may of course vary.
Upvote 0
The reviews I've seen lately on the OneLeaf Commander NV400 day/night scope has me really interested. 1/3 the price of others but packed with features. Check it out. Reviews by kaylaindy here on forum & Mountain sports airguns on YT.
Upvote 0
I too am interested in the NV400 I don't know if I would like the digital reticle, looking through the scope for long periods, may cause eye strain. The NV 100 is a clip-on version and makes the scope somewhat long and can be a bugger to set up. The upside is the familiar scope reticle you are currently using, and the cost.
Upvote 0
Thanks, I'll check out the Oneleaf. I also don't like the eye strain that comes with these digital scopes. I feel blinded after looking thru it for just a few seconds. I'm sure it can't be good for your eyes.
Upvote 0
I never even considered the digital reticle & the strain it might cause. I've never even used the illuminated reticle on my two scopes that have it. Going hunting tomorrow & will experiment with the IR scopes to see if I experience negative effects. I just really liked all the features of the NV400 for its price.
Upvote 0
I'm by no means a professional, or expert that being said, with the research I've done the firmware and software for these digital scopes seems to be what makes or breaks them, and the warranty. It seems that Thay are all prone to freezing up and needing to be reset no matter the cost. The illumination brightness and resulting eye strain would be a factor for me, along with field of view, battery life, weight, Ease of use, and the cost. Some states don't allow the use of digital scopes for hunting, so if you plan on that, check your states regs. the price of oneleaf NV 400 and the features are appealing for sure. The pard and oneleaf nv100 clip-on units allow you to use your favorite scope reticle and can be used as a standalone unit for night spotting, but the recording and field of view magnification is lower quality, and the scope eye relief. Setting up and aliening can be a pita to get right. In my mind, there is no free lunch with any of these units.
Upvote 0
My ATN has been fantastic, day and night. I have it mounted on a Benjamin Marauder (.22) and use a DonnyFL moderator. It's a lot of fun and the added weight results in little or no recoil. So, follow-up shots, if needed, are remarkably accurate. Highly recommend.
Upvote 0
depends on what youre doing with it .. if you expect target/competition grade optics from a digital night scope youre kidding yourself .. that said i like the 4kpro quite a bit, it gives a nice full hd quality image .. as far as i strain check this out - if you have a fixed position you are watching you can live stream the scopes view to your cell in the livingroom and kick back and wait for old fluffy butt to show up .. its quite amazing .. the atn's also have a full 'programmable' mil reticle you can set up to ..it looks quite amazing havent used it yet though ... one thing to note though, is when recording video, none of your options information or reticles are recorded .. you get the scopes view and a generic generated reticle in. videos .. but theyre clear. the scopes are also quirky on boot, but once you get a stable boot they stay stable.
Upvote 0
I’ve done my fair share of night hunting with thermal and night vision units. I use Pard night vision units. They are decent and have held up well for me. I prefer the NV008s LRF, but there have been a couple more recently released models that look promising that I have no experience with. The laser rangefinder is a must have for me Night hunting when I’m hunting moving animals from unknown distances. Just know that the rangefinder’s laser is offset the left side of the camera. Your fingers can block it while working the manual focus knob. The recoded video quality is pretty good considering that it isn’t 4K. I like that the batteries are 18650 so you can carry spares with you (in some sort of battery case to keep them separated is best) although I’ve never gone through a battery in one night. I like to use an external gun-mounted IR torch to stretch the scope’s battery life. For an anecdotal field use case of the NV 008s LRF refer to post #90 in the linked thread https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...ve-that-you-find-indispensable.1214921/page-5
In my experience, eye strain is more so a result of transitioning my viewing eye from the lighted digital display to dark back to the digital display to the dark and so on throughout the night hunt. The pupil constriction and dilation process becomes tiring to the eye. I’ve noticed that it can take up to 10 minutes for my eye to adjust to the dark. Until it does, there is a noticeable difference in my vision if I wink and hold the opposite eye shut and view my surroundings with each naked eye independently. I’m usually periodically scanning and let the unit sleep while not in use in order to conserve battery life and to prevent the display light from giving up my position. I’ve hunted coyote and beaver at night and action wasn’t as constant as one may encounter while pesting rats in a poultry farm. So my experience is limited to my style of hunting.
In my experience, eye strain is more so a result of transitioning my viewing eye from the lighted digital display to dark back to the digital display to the dark and so on throughout the night hunt. The pupil constriction and dilation process becomes tiring to the eye. I’ve noticed that it can take up to 10 minutes for my eye to adjust to the dark. Until it does, there is a noticeable difference in my vision if I wink and hold the opposite eye shut and view my surroundings with each naked eye independently. I’m usually periodically scanning and let the unit sleep while not in use in order to conserve battery life and to prevent the display light from giving up my position. I’ve hunted coyote and beaver at night and action wasn’t as constant as one may encounter while pesting rats in a poultry farm. So my experience is limited to my style of hunting.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I am certainly not anyone to take advice from but I happen to have the ATN 4k and just picked up a Pard NV008SP2. Based on size alone I would pick the Pard, it is not much larger than the IR light on the ATN. So far I feel like the PARD is a little easier to set up but to be fair it went through that already with the ATN so I had an idea what I was looking for while playing with the Pard. I haven't shot with the Pard yet so I can't offer much more than it looks cool 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
@donut_man Using that IR torch will save you some battery life on your Pard as opposed to using the integrated IR. You can also use them together, although doing so may be bright enough to wash out part of your frame of view. This is of particular concern when using on targets close-up or in and around bodies of water.
Upvote 0
I've had the Wraith Mini since it first came out and love it. Never had a problem with it.
That said, since acquiring a thermal unit, I don't use the Wraith Mini much, but haven't been moved to sell it.
That said, since acquiring a thermal unit, I don't use the Wraith Mini much, but haven't been moved to sell it.
Upvote 0
My ATN x-sight 5, 5x25x experience delivered this Friday:
Had the scope out of the box for 6 hours before filling out an RMA and sending it back.
Charged the battery.....followed the instructions to update firmware ending 706....factory reset. All went well for about 20 minutes until the LCD began to flicker. Power off reset....power on.....screen froze....then green/blue blank screen. Power off reset...power on.....buttons don't work....frozen screen....then green/blue blank screen. Last chance.....Power off reset....power on....booting up.....green/blue blank screen.....that's enough.
Scope came with 426 firmware, don't know when that firmware was released but the scope was made in 2023. I've never owned an ATN product, but this experience sets the tone. Don't know what (if any QC they do ??) I'd hope this is a "one off", but reading the problems a lot of buyers have with these scopes, I don't think it's a one off. It's obviously not a firmware issue since the scope was running the most recent version. Hard to believe the company wouldn't hold shipments until they solved the issues with the scope. It is what it is. On to a different scope........
Had the scope out of the box for 6 hours before filling out an RMA and sending it back.
Charged the battery.....followed the instructions to update firmware ending 706....factory reset. All went well for about 20 minutes until the LCD began to flicker. Power off reset....power on.....screen froze....then green/blue blank screen. Power off reset...power on.....buttons don't work....frozen screen....then green/blue blank screen. Last chance.....Power off reset....power on....booting up.....green/blue blank screen.....that's enough.
Scope came with 426 firmware, don't know when that firmware was released but the scope was made in 2023. I've never owned an ATN product, but this experience sets the tone. Don't know what (if any QC they do ??) I'd hope this is a "one off", but reading the problems a lot of buyers have with these scopes, I don't think it's a one off. It's obviously not a firmware issue since the scope was running the most recent version. Hard to believe the company wouldn't hold shipments until they solved the issues with the scope. It is what it is. On to a different scope........
Upvote 0