Night vision/flir/thermal imaging

[Night goat]

First things first, not looking to use this for hunting.


Anyway, I’m curious about getting some sort of night vision/thermal imaging scope/monocular/spotting scope/camera thing with some zoom on it. I tend to anchor my Alaska boat up in some “interesting” places ie foggy spooky remote inlets, and it’s not uncommon to see eyes shining back when you look around with a spotlight, and being on the water I tend to hear my fair share of weird noises. My curiosity is getting the better of me, and I’d like to know more about this imaging technology and possibly buy something. I’m gonna be taking my boat from AK to WA and think it’s the perfect opportunity to do some wildlife viewing in the remote corners of that world. Who knows, might even see “the big guy” 

[ducks4days]

Mermaid hunting counts as hunting

[Feathernfurr]

Looking for something handheld or something mounted to the boat?

[Night goat]

Looking for something handheld or something mounted to the boat?

not sure about mast mounted but I have a ton of rigging and commercial fishing gear in the way and can’t actually get to the top of the mast…

I was kinda thinking tripod mount…? Although price point comes into play, I just don’t know anything about this stuff.

My first thought was a good drone but no way to land on my boat without getting tangled in rigging

[birdshooter1189]

A pulsar Telos XP50 handheld thermal monocular ($3k), or pulsar Merger XP50 thermal binoculars ($6k) would probably be the best options for what you are looking for.  They aren't cheap, but you will be thankful that you bought the good stuff.  You will feel like you OWN THE DARK.  If something is out there, you will see it.

Digital night vision, like the spotlights you are using, will "blind you out" in high humidity and foggy conditions.  Thermal will see through the fog better.  Thermal still struggles in fog, but it's way better than lights or nightvision.  Good thermal has better thermal sensitivity (for example NETD <18mK thermal sensitivity of the pulsar telos is about as good as what's available right now.) and will penetrate the fog better.  NETD of <40mK can produce great images in dry conditions.  But when it gets foggy or misty out, the lower mK will really stand out.

Pulsar axion thermal monoculars are a cheaper option that still give good results. I have an older Axion XQ38LRF, with <40mK sensitivity. On a foggy night i think I can identify an animal about twice as far out with the thermal as I can with my naked eye.  Whereas if i turn on a spotlight, I get blinded by the bright fog and can see only about 1/3 as far as I can with my naked eye in the dark with ambient light.