Originally Posted By Borscht:
Just lost the wall of text I wrote. basically I'm on a stimulus budget but could stretch it to $2300. I'm a bit lost comparing the Hogster R to the vibe, which I think are in the same ballpark. my only thermal experience is with a cheap seek thermal 128 core and 9hz refresh, so I would probably be happy with a stimulus, but the buy once cry once is pushing me to up the budget a bit. it's mostly going to be a toy to watch over the property, show my kids thermal etc. I hunt but don't hunt coyotes presently but still do want something I can mount to a rifle. I have a sionyx helmet setup that has gotten me to wander around in the dark. thoughts?
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Thanks for your question, and I will send you a PM as well with my cell phone number to call and chat if you wish to dig into these units a little more.
Hogster 25 vs Hogster Vibe 25: The vibe has the same sensor, image, magnification, and field of view as the standard Hogster. However, Bering added internal recording, WiFi, and 4 additional reticles and for many dealers actually dropped the price. It is an amazing deal. Even if you don't plan to record video, it makes it much more desirable if you ever want to sell it. Capturing some memories with the Vibe really is nice.
I included a graph comparing the models. The few positives of the Stimulus are the price and the battery life. The stimulus would be a step up from what you are using. However, one of the reasons I would go with the Vibe 25 is the image quality is so much better. You will not just be seeing a hot object but will be able to ID it. For scanning, the Stimulus has a very small FOV so isn't as nice. Besides image quality and bigger FOV, the recording and WiFi abilities are nice. If you have multiple kids for instance while one looks through the scope another could be seeing what the scope is seeing on a phone or tablet. We sell way more Vibe than Stimulus models. They are all a lot of money, but the price difference is so worth it when comparing the two.