So I’m looking to buy a pvs-14 and maybe later add a wearable thermal. I’ve looked at several places but after you get past some of the bigger names I don’t know who to buy from.  I’ve looked at JRH ind and steel ind. so far I like what I see from them but want to do my due diligence. So do you guys recommend anymore companies to look at ?

More specific gen 3 white phospher with good low light ability cause I live on a farm with little light sources.

I bought a Elbit wp from Steele and they are a legit sweet place to deal with. Shipped out my 14 when I had it directly in the aftermath of a hurricane last year.

I've purchased a PVS-14, white phos BNVD's, and thermal from JRH. I cannot recommend him strongly enough.

TNVC.

I live very rural. It's a Bortle 3 or 4 zone, but a large hill blocks the moon on most nights, during most of the night, so starlight is all I get with minimal cloud bounce as the population center is also blocked by the hill. In effect, it's more like a Bortle 2/3 zone.

I have used regular l3 unfilmed,  and L3 Supergain tubes. I strongly prefer the SG tubes,  as in my opinion they do give that extra 10% or so performance. It's tangible. I even use them in my ARNVGs that don't have manual gain and never once wished to manual gain. For a 14 obviously you'll have mg.

As to who to buy from, I have talked to a lot of the guys who have been around 10+ years when I was new to night vision. I am an inquisitive person and ask a lot of stuff on a very technical level. TNVC was the only company who would actually continue dialogue with me after telling them I'd already bought, and it wasn't their unit (My first unit came from a new vendor, and had a Vyper body, and was assembled all sorts of odd with an uncalibrated diopter reading and infinity stops that were super wonky). They legitimately seemed passionate about helping someone like me learn, and didn't seem bothered the unit wasn't theirs in the least. Others who I won't mention were snarky about it, or just cut off comms.

The prices are all about the same, more or less, over the long haul, so when it came time to buy another unit, I bought through TNVC. By then I'd owned legitimate L3 Warrior Systems kit, as well as other nonOEM. TNVCs pvs14 was set up identical to the L3. The diopter was the same calibration. The infinity stops were set correctly. It was just as thoroughly assembled as the L3 OEM kit I had. I cannot say the same for the other pvs14 I had, but sample of 1 and all...

Further, TNVC let me submit all the specs I wanted, and they met them and advised on them.

Another thing, whether you go TNVC or not, this economy sucks, L3 is a big company, and you want someone with leverage if you DO have an issue. TNVC is likely to weather the economy, and has enough sales to grant leverage with L3. I suggest you go with a company that has this level of leverage, as it will make your life a lot easier if you do have an issue, and anything can.

So, TL/DR: TNVC makes correctly assembled units, allows you to call out your specs and then meets them, has leverage and staying power, will treat you like a customer even before you are...and after you are, even if you buy from someone else (and that is the rare part), and the pricing is all more or less the same. I became and remain a tnvc customer for these reasons. So because they didn't snub me on a pvs14 I bought from a new company, they have now sold me a Raid Xe, PVS14, RNVG, ARNVG, TAD, support kit, etc. I'm probably not done buying things either.

I appreciate all the help. I’m just a few days away from jumping in. Learned a lot about specs. What matters and what matters but not as much. Learned using fom alone isn’t good enough. Also learned that the pvs-14 isn’t all you have to get. To be effective you need a proper way to mount it on your head and all the things that go with that. Also learned if I want to shoot at night I may have another big expense. LOL. Still though I think it’s practical for me where I live dealing with predators. So thermal is on the list too.

Literally 3 days ago one of the guys I shoot with was in the same boat as you. He almost pushed the on a digital 14 from Amazon and a SightMark from OP. Luckily I talk to him and educated him on both of those units and their downsides. I sent him to Robert JRHEnterprises since he has some really great priced WP 14s that's hasn't been that low for years and he ended buying one within 10 minutes of calling Robert. I have dealt with Robert for over 10 years, bought several things from him as well as referred friend to him for all their NV needs. Buying from a industry partner helps keep the lights on at ARF. Pair that with great prices, top notch customer service and knowledge you can't go wrong with JRH. As for another vendor, the other 2 I've bought from has one went out of business and the other had tried to scam me.

MFALs are nice, but passive aiming works just fine. Far better than many people would admit, I think. Thermal > MFAL if killing song dogs and vermin is your jam. Just my .02.

Also, yes. You will need more than just the '14.

- https://tnvc.com/shop/ops-core-helmet-fast-bump-sf-super-high-cut-helmet-non-ballistic/

I also recommend pairing that with a G24/Max 14 metal arm, or Norotos INVG Hyper and DDA. Add a tether/make a tether. Slap a NV capable optic on your weapon and an M300V, and you're all set at the lowest cost for high quality kit. Get an MFAL later. Get thermal later. Not necessarily in that order. I personally like COTI's, but many people prefer weapon, handheld, or HMT dedicated thermal.

I've bought from JRH as well as TNVC. Both are top notch and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either.