IR/Nightvision xxxoculars

[chumtini]

There are some relatively inexpensive nightvision mon/binoculars by folks like Bushnell and Night Owl.

I run out of Chatham Harbor MA. Pitch black and thick fog are not uncommon at 3-4AM. Assuming you make it thru the harbor and haven't run aground, the run thru the breakers can be a nail biter. You can't see the seas until your committed. And the radar signature almost always echo waves. And it's difficult/impossible to distinguish swells from breakers with my Raydome 24. And there are no markers in the cut. Plus, the route changes as the Chatham Bars and sand moves. There's a highflyer in the cut. Often, I can't pick it out with radar due to all the returns from the surrounding waves and the fact that the reflector is bobbling around like a drunken sailor. You line up on the last pin, listen and cross your fingers. It's really exciting! Especially when you commit and don't see that 6-8' black wall of water until the crest turns white and it's breaking over the bow of your open CC, Thats assuming you can see your bow with all the fog!

That said, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the small IR/nightvision handheld units. There are a number of them that aren't terribly expensive (a few hundred clams).

[3ccc's]

i bought a cheep mono view night vision with ir a few years ago and it wasn't worth a nickle. i believe it was a first generation unit. i took it in my tree stand while hunting and i had a hard time seeing a tree 15feet away. very grainy. i wouldn't think about bringing it on the boat for night navigation. the newer units might be better ,4th generation stuff, but very pricey. good luck.

[tom s]

I have a set of ITT gen 3s and they are great.Expensive though.The best thing I did for a lot of night running is a FLIER,really expensive but IMO worth it.Tom

[tomfrmnh]

I have a set of ITT gen 3s and they are great.Expensive though.The best thing I did for a lot of night running is a FLIER,really expensive but IMO worth it.Tom

How does the FLIR work in the fog? The only reason I ask is because we use a similar system on one of our airplanes called Enhanced Vision. A great tool and it works great at night and in different obscuring phenomena such as snow and rain. Its Achilles Heel is fog. It still works but, we are relying on the heat of the runway lights for temperature difference. On a boat in fog, close to the surface of the water where there is not a big temperature difference, I wonder how it would work.

Something to think about Chum. I am sure it would help on those pitch black nights. I would be careful on the pea-soup fog, pitch black nights IMO. Then again, it may be better than nothing.

[tom s]

I used it in the fog one day and was impressed on how good it did work.Dont think it would be great for logs and floating objects but the breakwater and the building on the beach showed very well.Tom

[JD5652]

I talked to a FLIR rep at one of the Defender spring sale a couple weeks ago and his statement was that fog is also the FLIR's achilles heel. I should say that I don't have ANY first hand experience with any of FLIRs products.

Back to Chum's original night vision mono/bi-noc question...my understanding is that it's also difficult to "really navigate" while using these devices in less than flat seas.....predisposes you to the "mal de mer" syndrome.....that's one reason I have not invested in them so far.....