Thanks Tom_L -

You're right - good 2nd Gen LI does cost over 1k. There are some gen2 LI devices that can be had (refurbished) for $3200US +: http://www.scopecity.com/detail.cfm?ProductID=6224

While I own the Viper monocular/headgear and my report does reflect my personal experience, I'm not an expert on the topic of LI tech - just a geek.

Thanks for introducing the cascade mounted gen1 LI tubes - those might be great!

The limited field of view and frequent manual refocusing of the Viper Gen1 optics (depending on distance of objects viewed) coupled with the unyeildy headgear mount were a disappointment. One can move the monocular right or left by manually unscrewing its bar mount and re-adjusting, but not flip it up and down easily over one's eye like contemporary helmet-mounted military LI devices, and so the Viper product can become a visual obstruction when using the headgear.

A more powerful, secondary hand-held IR Light does improve the performance of the device a lot.

Supposedly, it can be mounted to other optics (standardized camera lenses, and even some rifle scopes), but I've not used it in that capacity.

You might find some more reviews of the Viper on the web interesting: Cabelas: http://www.cabelas.com/p-0040344712641a.shtml

Again; ATN customer service was very good at servicing my refurbished model (2 year warrenty).