Wow, I'm glad I started this thread, good to hear different opinions. In particular, thanks to Hazeywolf! Looks like you've just confirmed what I've been suspecting all along.

I can't quite understand the following, though:

Quote:
Gen 1 is really scrappy and the Viper provides very restricted field-of view. You're probably better off getting a Gen2/3 hand-held monocular at the same price.


From what I've seen, the cheapest gen 2 monoculars run well over $1000. Which is about twice as much as the best gen 1 devices in a similar configuration. Am I missing something? Are there actually better deals on gen 2/3 out there?

The more I look around the more options I can find. Some of the gen 1+ goggles apparently run a long time on a single battery, I've seen battery life up to 20 or 36 hrs, which is good enough in my book... I've even found some guys from Finland that are selling mint condition Dragunov night scopes, basically cascade mounted gen 1 (three tubes one after another) and it seems the performance is really good for the price ($200-400). Unfortunately, it's not quite what I'm looking for and getting Eastern Bloc surplus electronics sounds a bit risky to me.

Anyway, it's also interesting to compare different people's experience. Some of the online reviews on gen 1 goggles are really enthusiastic whereas reading your posts I ask myself if night vision equipment is worth the trouble at all... That's why I really appreciate your thoughts, especially from folks who've been there, done that and have first-hand experience with different night vision gear in the field.