Looking to mount a Aramsite Sidekick 320 on a helment with a green phosporous gen III PVS-14 to try the platform out.  Will this be a mess with the white/green color?  I know white phosporous and thermal is suppose to be pretty decent, but I don’t have that yet.

I recently hunted with a PVS14 and sidekick 640. Walking around, driving a quad, shooting. I found the side kick too bright to merge the images in my brain. The sidekick would take over unless I squinted with the eye on the thermal allowing the 14 to take over.

You'll be fine with GP. Side note, I found the resolution on the 640 wasn't enough for my liking helmet mounted. I couldn't reliably ID thermal signatures. If you are fine with just knowing something is there it should work for you. With the significant price drop of the iRay RH25 I went that route and couldn't be happier. I know that's still almost double the price though.

Thanks, I will look into that filter, sounds interesting.  I don’t mind the GP but then again have never had a WP.  


I will check out the iRay.  I didn’t think the resolution on the Sidekick would be all that great for identification, mainly just trying to see things without having to look thru the mounted thermal scope.

The filter does really help out when running  GP PVS 14. Much easier on the eyes. This is the filtered view.

I have a MH25 and a PVS14 with an Omni7 tube.

The resolution on that RH25 is the same as the 640 sidekick

The objective lens is much larger. The picture you get out of the RH25 is much clearer and has way more detail than the sidekick 640. The sidekick also takes a nose dive in high humidity environments while the RH25 was still very usable. I'd guess imagine processing has a lot to do with it as well but I am not sure.

A buddy looked through my RH25 at a night event recently, got out his Sidekick, put it way 15 minutes later and sold it within a week. He just ordered an RH25.

This right here.

I do use a 1x thermal scanner on my helmet and a PVS 14, but it is for two purposes. The first is when walking to a coyote scan. Having a 1x scanner helmet mounted helps me see living objects so I don't bump coyotes on my way there. Many people can't look through both at one time. The images don't truly merge, but they kind of do. I am so right eye dominate that my PVS 14 on my right eye is the main view. I tell my brain when I want to look through the left eye and it actually works as then I am mainly using my left. I don't have to flip one up and down, but again everyone is unique. I had to do some funky things to make them line up and work for me. I use a Ravyn bridge. My thermal is actually mounted at a slight angle to get my brain to make it all work. The PVS14 is used for navigation and stand set up. Once I am on stand, I take my helmet off and I switch over and use a thermal scanner around 2x and of course thermal on my gun as well. Yes, I realize this is all a lot of money, but I take this seriously. I shot over 500 coyotes last winter, so every year I am trying to optimize how I do this.

It really depends on where you hunt. If you are in tight spaces, the 1x may work for you as a scanner also. I hunt wide open plains, so I want to be able to scan at much further distances. My current scanner is the Pulsar Telos XL50. It is a 1024 HD scanner. You will see coyotes at well over 1 mile. I actually put my scanner on a selfie stick because being on a coyote stand for 30-45 raising your arm the whole time is also really rough on your shoulder especially if you hunt all night.

After my stand is done, I put my helmet back on, with my PVS-14 and 1x thermal scanner and they help me find any down coyotes, retrieve my call, and head back to the truck. This is how I do this, and it works for me. When I started, I used a $15 headlamp for the same purposes and that got me to and from stands. I am sure I spooked lots of game in the process, but I still killed coyotes. The PVS 14 on the helmet can also be used if you have IR lights mounted on your vehicle if your state allows for driving under Night Vision. Approaching areas with IR lighting only on the truck will also help not spook game.

@KoreyKirsch

How did you get the thermal to mount at an angle with the Ravyn bridge? I’m super close to a merged image and this might help me.

I used the Screw that attaches to the MUM Rail and simply locked it down at a canted position. It know it looks super goofy but it works for me. I am not trying to get the images to overlap. If I do this, my brain starts to hurt. By doing this, my brain allows me to see them as 2 different images. Like I said, this may not work for anyone else, but it does work for me. No headaches and I don't have to flip one up and one down. I would recommend placing the PVS14 over whatever is your dominant eye.

Thanks! I just did this and tested it in a dark room, I do get fusion. @TNVC_Will let Ravyn know the need to get on a pano capable bracket!

I use a AGM StingIR640 on my non dom eye and a Elbit Gen3 WP on my dom eye.  I use a Rayvn Bridge and a Goblin tactical mount on the StingIR.  I am able to merge the images without strain or headaches.

I also have a Armasight Sidekick640 that I use as a hand held to take pics and video.  The image quality of the StingIR640 is WAY better than the sidekick640.  The video and pic capture ability of the sidekick are why I have not sold it off.

I had been looking at doing a low budget GP and thermal dual bridge system for my kids to use.  The RIX ST6 looks interesting in the fact the videos out there show god image quality and there is a "Green Hot" color pallet.  I imagine that if paired with a GP PVS14 it might work well.

BTW, to echo what has been said, the Sidekick640 does suffer quite a bit in high humidity.  I am looking forward to going out and using it this fall.  Central Texas is always humid.  This night it wasn't as bad, but very hot during the day.  "Forest" option.  Dillo footage: