So, what are night vision binoculars?
Night vision binoculars are exactly what they sound like: binoculars that allow vision in conditions with very little light.
These are our top recommendations for night vision binoculars in 2021.
Here’s The Best Night Vision Binocular, Backed By 24+ Hours Of Research
Bestguarder NV-900
- LARGE 4 INCH VIEW SCREEN WITH EXCELLETNT IMAGE PERFORMANCE: Built In 2...
- OUTSTANDING OPTICAL CLARITY WITH TIME LAPSE FUNCTION: High performance...
- LONG VIEWING DISTANCE RANGE WITH LONG CONTINUOUS RUNTIME: Built in...
Why is it better?
- Additional function for imaging time lapse
- Night vision works up to about 1,300 feet
- Includes comprehensive, easy-to-use settings and 32GB memory capacity
4 Best Night Vision Binoculars
With that in mind, let’s now take a closer look at our top picks.
Let’s dive into the specifics and review each night vision binocular individually. You can use the list below to jump and review specific models, or you can read along and go through all the information.
- Bestguarder NV-900
- SOLOMARK Night Vision Binoculars
- Nightfox Night Vision Infrared Binocular
- Occer Compact Night Vision Binoculars
Best Overall: Bestguarder NV-900
- LARGE 4 INCH VIEW SCREEN WITH EXCELLETNT IMAGE PERFORMANCE: Built In 2...
- OUTSTANDING OPTICAL CLARITY WITH TIME LAPSE FUNCTION: High performance...
- LONG VIEWING DISTANCE RANGE WITH LONG CONTINUOUS RUNTIME: Built in...
Starting out with a clear 4.5x optical magnification rating, you’re going to see things extremely far in the distance. The night vision alone allows you to get up to 1,300 feet of clear illuminated imagery, which is something truly fantastic. That’s more than you need on most hunting trips.
Aim these and watch the TFT screen, and you’ll get a crystal clear vision of your prey. Using the LED illuminator or infrared technology, nothing is going to escape your view.
I’m not a fan of the fact that it uses AA batteries, but it means that I won’t run out of charge from a lithium-ion, so there’s ups and downs to that.
There’s almost too much to cover. The IPX4 waterproof rating is good enough to withstand light rain, but is not submersible.
When it comes to actually recording imagery, you can use the time lapse mode and playback from the 32 GB SD card (which is not included) to see the patterns that your prey are moving in.
In short, it’s quite an impressive piece of technology, and covers roughly everything you need optics for on a hunting trip.
Ultimate tactical use? Being your secret weapon in a bug-out bag.
EXTRA FEATURES
- Additional function for imaging time lapse
- Night vision works up to about 1,300 feet
- Includes comprehensive, easy-to-use settings and 32GB memory capacity
SOLOMARK Night Vision Binoculars
- Built in 3W Infrared LED, 850nm Infrared Illuminator allows viewing up...
- Outstanding optical clarity, high performance digital night vision...
- You can even take pictures and video using the device which can be...
Night vision is a necessity for tactical use, but it also comes in handy when you’re hunting. The best time to hunt is early morning, when whitetail deer are still scouring for food and water before retreating to their den. Visibility isn’t all too easy, unless you have a pair of these.
The SOLOMARK night vision binoculars use infrared technology to give you 1,300 feet of night vision viewing distance, similar to the Bestguarder that we previously viewed.
It’s a good piece of machinery that covers a wide range.
The only thing that I don’t like is the fact that is uses eight AA batteries. That’s quite a tall order to fill, and it’s not convenient to bring batteries with you during hunting trips.
The battery life is decent enough, but I would have liked to see more than 4GB of space on the inclusive SD card.
It runs a bit weak in the memory department, but makes up for it in price and actual on-the-spot night vision needs.
EXTRA FEATURES
- 3W infrared lighting system for 1,300 feet of night vision
- 2x31mm digital zoom function for a wide range of view
- Includes AV cable to transfer images later on
Nightfox Night Vision Infrared Binocular
- The Nightfox Advantage: Join over 75,000 Nightfox customers around the...
- Easy to use: These Nightfox night vision binoculars have are just...
- Spot animals at night: With 3x optical magnification and 2x digital...
The backbone of any product’s success is being able to introduce you to something that you otherwise weren’t aware of, or that other competitors are not currently doing. Nightfox made an extra wide eye cup area so that you can even use your glasses while looking through these. Not a problem.
However, the night vision range falls short. It’s not for the all-weekend camp-it-out kind of hunter. 330 feet is good enough for most hunters, and in the price range it’s justifiable, just know that it’s not going much farther than a football field.
That’s another thing that can’t be ignored: the price. It’s cheap, effective, and offers 32 GB of memory so you can actually bring back footage.
It uses a lot of power though: eight AA batteries with an average of six hours of runtime (though mine made it about 5hr 43m).
Good pair, inexpensive price tag, and an 18-month warranty included that covers just about everything.
Definitely the best bet for any budget hunter or tactical enthusiast out there.
EXTRA FEATURES
- 330 feet of night vision viewing range
- Wildly inexpensive price point makes it affordable for everyone
- Widescreen eye shield allows you to use these with glasses
Occer Compact Night Vision Binoculars
- 【HIGH-POWERED LARGE EYEPIECE BINOCULARS】 This binoculars for...
- 【ADJUSTABLE EYE CUPS FIT EYEGLASS WEARERS OR NOT】The binocs can be...
- 【FMC BROADBAND COATING TECHNOLOGY】The lightweight cruise...
I’m really excited about these ones. There’s absolutely no power supply required; it uses natural lens coloring and filtering to separate the light through the prism. It’s less powerful than an electric version, but it also comes at a fraction of the price.
For less than 25% of the price of the lowest electric unit on this list, you can pack these ultralight binoculars up and make use of the 12×25 magnification. You will get a further range during daylight hours, where they’ll act as standard binoculars.
The lenses are coated to prevent fog from getting in. Everything about these binoculars, right on down to the ABS frames are completely waterproof. I wouldn’t recommend it for submersion, so if you drop them in the creek you might be down a pair of binoculars, but it’ll hold its own against rain.
While these aren’t specifically designed for hunting, they’re versatile enough to use for tactical situations, such as being in your bug-out bag, but they’re good for short-range hunting.
I would rate these up to about 270 feet of night vision viewing, though that’s not an official number from Occer. If you’re not keen on bringing extra batteries, this will do the trick just fine.
EXTRA FEATURES
- Additional function for imaging time lapse
- Night vision works up to about 1,300 feet
- Stunning image and video quality
- Ergonomic design for perfect grip and comfy viewing
- Includes comprehensive, easy-to-use settings and 32GB memory capacity
All About Night Vision Binoculars
So, what are night vision binoculars?
Night vision binoculars are exactly what they sound like binoculars that allow vision in conditions with very little light. To accomplish this, these special binoculars use a number of interesting pieces of technology.
In night vision hardware, the photo-cathode is the operative hardware that allows the detection of very small amounts of light.
When the world looks pitch black to a person, there are actually still small numbers of photons traveling through the air.
Our eyes are just not sensitive enough to pick them up and interpret them as visible light. When photons enter night vision binoculars, they strike the photo-cathode, which produces an electron for each photon it detects.
These electrons are channeled into a photo-multiplier, which multiplies the number of electrons it receives. This takes a weak signal and amplifies it, allowing just a small number of photons to produce a large burst of electrons.
Once the electrons have been multiplied, they are used by a phosphor screen, which creates an image based on the electrons it receives. This is the same technology used in the first television screens.
When the viewer looks at the phosphor screen, they see an image produced by amplifying the signal of the original photons, allowing there to be enough light to make out images in otherwise pitch-black conditions.
This image comes out green because when the photons are converted to electrons, the data of their wavelength is lost.
Color is determined by wavelength, so when the electrons are converted back into light, the light is all the same green color that is produced by the phosphor screen.
All night vision technology works this way, but night vision binoculars are special in that they can see distant objects.
The lenses in the binoculars focus the photons as they would normally, and it is this focused image that is amplified. Thus, with night vision binoculars, even far away dark objects can be seen clearly.
This amazing technology can be used any time anyone needs to see it at night, so the uses are really only limited by the imagination. Night vision binoculars use incredible technology to amplify available light, allowing stealthy and reliable vision at night.
Night Vision Binoculars FAQ
CAN YOU USE NIGHT VISION BINOCULARS DURING THE DAY?
Back in the day when they were first invented, they would cause intense and sometimes permanent retina damage. You could lose your vision.
Those type of night vision binoculars (and scopes) still exist, but now they have FLIR night vision, which allows you to actually use them during the day.
It’s possible to use them during the day, but there’s not much of a reason.
The only good thing is that now you won’t hurt your eyes if you do end up using it during the day.
It is still not recommended. We know there’s no immediate damage or sensitivity to using a FLIR night vision device during the day, but we don’t really know about the long-term effects. Stick to using them as they were intended: as night.
DO NIGHT VISION GOGGLES WORK IN TOTAL DARKNESS?
In night vision hardware, the photo-cathode is the operative hardware that allows the detection of very small amounts of light.
When the world looks pitch black to a person, there are actually still small numbers of photons traveling through the air.
Our eyes are just not sensitive enough to pick them up and interpret them as visible light.
When photons enter night vision binoculars, they strike the photo-cathode, which produces an electron for each photon it detects.
These electrons are channeled into a photo-multiplier, which multiplies the number of electrons it recieves.
This takes a weak signal and amplifies it, allowing just a small number of photons to produce a large burst of electrons.
Once the electrons have been multiplied, they are used by a phosphor screen, which creates an image based on the electrons it receives.
This is the same technology used in the first television screens.
WHAT CAN YOU SEE WITH NIGHT VISION GOGGLES?
Almost anything. Night vision uses thermal imaging technology, not to be confused with strictly thermal or infrared goggles.
This allows you to see anything with a signature that changes the way packets of light are visible.
They use light found in photons, which exist basically everywhere, and use a filter known as a phosphor to basically highlight all of the light around you, or in your field of vision.
Basically, if there’s any small remnants of light around you, they will be visible through your night vision gear.
CAN NIGHT VISION GOGGLES SEE THROUGH FOG?
In most instances, they can see through very thin layers of fog, but so can the human eye. Fog is a change in the air, and that affects how light is filtered.
So no, a pair of night vision goggles cannot see through fog any better than your naked eye can.
That’s where you need true thermal imaging goggles or a scope, which solely locks onto heat signatures, not photon-enhanced light.
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