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Posted: 4/19/2013 11:04:49 PM EDT
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Just bought a pvs14. What else do i need to look at?
Any help appreciated! Thinking helmet mounted... |
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Just bought a pvs14. What else do i need to look at? Any help appreciated! Thinking helmet mounted... Helmet mounted all the way. Do you have helmet or mount? How much experience do you have with PVS-14s? Zero and none :) Bought the "Milspec" kit from TNVC... guess a helmet and laser will be next. Any recomendations? |
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Just bought a pvs14. What else do i need to look at? Any help appreciated! Thinking helmet mounted... Helmet mounted all the way. Do you have helmet or mount? How much experience do you have with PVS-14s? Zero and none :) Bought the "Milspec" kit from TNVC... guess a helmet and laser will be next. Any recomendations? Depends on what you want to spend. For non-balistic helmets: $70-80 PT Bravo (Plus $ for NVG shroud) $230 - Ops Core FAST Basejump $450 - Team Wendy EXFIL $640 - Ops Core FAST Bump The current favorite helmet is the Ops Core BASE Jump as it seems to be the best compromise between values and price. As for IR lasers: $1485 (red laser) - $1,733 (green laser) DBAL-D2 if you want slaved IR and visible lasers and a built in IR illuminator $780 (red laser) - $1023 (green laser) - DBAL-I2 if you want IR and visible lasers and plan to use it on the top of your rifle. $783 - CQBL if you want red and IR lasers slaved and won't be putting it on the top rail of your rifle $550 - OTAL or ITAL if you jut want an IR laser Some guys are also using lower-powered IR pistol Lasers like the LDI LAS/TAC 2 ($312) or the Laser Max UNI-IR ($280?). If you look around the EE you'll also see used Vital-2s (Class 1 IR lasers with low level IR LED illuinators) going for $4-600. Never commercially available but there seems to be significantly more legitimate Vital-2s than PEQs or PAC-4Cs. There are also some new options coming out that are supposed to run the range from relatively inexpensive ($5-600 for the Insight CIVL) to very expensive ($1600 for the feature heavy Wilcox RAPTR-Lite). |
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To get started with your kit, my suggestion is:
PT Bravo 1/2 shell with Ops Core VAS Shroud - $133 EOG Low Profile Counterweight - $35 Used Rhino Arm from AR15.com EE - $40 (your kit may have come with this so you may not need it) LDI OTAL C1 IR if your rifle has a front sight post and ITAL C1 IR if it doesn't.- $550 Inforce WML White/IR Light - $155 (can be mounted to your helmet or rifle.) - you can substitute more expensive surefire lights like the vampire This will get you in the game for $900 or so with the kit you have. |
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When are you going to be wearing a helmet? Is this for LE or military application? If not, I suggest using the money for a weapon mount. Helmet mounts can be expensive. 
You can buy non-ballistic helmets all day long, in fact I listed them. The whole purpose of a helmet is to mount a NOD when it's not on your weapon. Helmet mount is good for any application where you might want to look at something without pointing a gun at it... IE: almost all of the time. Weapon mounts don't have nearly the versatility that head mounted NODs do. Unless you plan on walking around with your weapon at the high ready any time you want to use it, you need a head mount system. Helmet mounts aren't all that expensive. You can buy a used USGI setup (plate, swing-arm, and j-arm) for ~$100. You don't need to spend $500-700 on a Wilcox or Norotos setup, although it's money well spent. |
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When are you going to be wearing a helmet? Is this for LE or military application? If not, I suggest using the money for a weapon mount. Helmet mounts can be expensive. Helmets + IR lasers are great for hunting applications anytime you are not static in a blind, as well as being superior for defensive use (such as after a disaster or civil unrest). It is much better to not have to point your rifle at everything you want to see in the dark. It is also much easier to navigate indoors or out with the goggle on the helmet. I don't care for others pointing their rifles at me when hunting or navigating at night. There are lots of non LE/mil applications for a good helmet. In my experience, weapons mounts are good for zeroing IR lasers at night to red dot sights sighted in the daytime, for hunting in a static blind, or for fixed overwatch positions. For everything else, they leave alot to be desired. Yes, real night vision is expensive - but a good current gen PVS-14 is going to cost you $3K. The mount, helmet, and IR laser will be another $900. Used mil surplus mounts can be had for $100 if you prioritize $$$. |
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Get a good IR laser/illuminator and a helmet. I second this opinion. Heck, I got a rhino mount off the EE for like $30. Added an ops base helmet and I was GTG. Still saving for a IR laser (could be between $350-1.5k+) depending on what you want. A CQBL runs around $800. |
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When are you going to be wearing a helmet? Is this for LE or military application? If not, I suggest using the money for a weapon mount. Helmet mounts can be expensive. You ever tried to use a PVS-14 weapon mounted? The utility of such a setup is about nil short of pretty specialized situations. For general use a helmet mount is the way to go. OP, go with a decent helmet and mount setup with an IR laser. It will increase the effectiveness of your new PVS-14 tenfold. |
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When are you going to be wearing a helmet? Is this for LE or military application? If not, I suggest using the money for a weapon mount. Helmet mounts can be expensive. You ever tried to use a PVS-14 weapon mounted? The utility of such a setup is about nil short of pretty specialized situations. For general use a helmet mount is the way to go. OP, go with a decent helmet and mount setup with an IR laser. It will increase the effectiveness of your new PVS-14 tenfold. Yeah, I've used them both ways. Weapons mounted is perfect for hunting as you'll be aiming anyway. The reason I asked was you don't normally see guys outside LE or military wearing a helmet with a NOD mounted. I guess it all depends on what you're into and preparing for. |
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When are you going to be wearing a helmet? Is this for LE or military application? If not, I suggest using the money for a weapon mount. Helmet mounts can be expensive. You ever tried to use a PVS-14 weapon mounted? The utility of such a setup is about nil short of pretty specialized situations. For general use a helmet mount is the way to go. OP, go with a decent helmet and mount setup with an IR laser. It will increase the effectiveness of your new PVS-14 tenfold. Yeah, I've used them both ways. Weapons mounted is perfect for hunting as you'll be aiming anyway. The reason I asked was you don't normally see guys outside LE or military wearing a helmet with a NOD mounted. I guess it all depends on what you're into and preparing for. There's a whole thread of people with helmet mounted NODs who aren't mil or LE. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_18/226892_NIGHT_VISION_HELMET_RIGS___let_s_see_your_pics_.html Personally, the local PD would be pretty pissed (and rightly so) if I was walking around my neighbor hood at the high ready just to take a quiet walk at night. |
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Let me say, this is an excellent thread and responses. I've been using a weapons mounted PVS14 with NV red dot sight for a while now. Even hunting from a blind was tiring trying to constantly look through the rifle mounted setup. I found myself setting the rifle down and only looking every couple of minutes (and probably missed seeing animals passing in the night).
I had a long talk with a Marine infantry officer back from overseas about my setup. While he is not a hunter of animals, what he said made a lot of sense. Basically it boiled down to this: Wear the PVS14 helmet mounted, install an IR laser on the rifle and co-witness the laser with your red dot sight. Wear the PVS14 over your non-shooting eye, and when walking, keep both eyes open to give you some depth perception. If need be, you can still use your shooting eye to look through the weapon's sight by slightly tilting your head. He showed me how to install the 14 on my skull crusher mount and had me practice moving inside his darkened garage. The more I wore and practiced with the head mount, the easier it became. He highly recommended a helmet over the skull crusher, as one can flip up the 14 and mount when not needed to auto-turn off the 14, plus it will be more comfortable. He one other tip that might help (remember, he's not been hunting "animals" but the enemy): If you suspect the animal will appear at or near a feeder, use one of the IR chem sticks (the military ones last 10 hours) hung/set at the feeder. He said it will light up an area about the size of a 2 car garage and give enough illumination for using the PVS14 with laser. I will now be ordering a helmet and probably the LDI LAS/TAC 2 IR pistol laser. |
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