Best Thermal Scopes [All Budgets] - Pew Pew Tactical

Nov 13, 2024

It doesn’t matter if you’re a competition shooter, a self-defense guy/gal, or a hardcore hunter…thermals rock! Who doesn’t like the ability to see in the dark with a gun?

Of course, picking thermal can be daunting, thanks to the variety on the market. But luckily, you have your friends at Pew Pew Tactical to help you out.

We rounded up a handful of thermals – both optic and handheld – that we think you should consider when shopping. We’ll cover their specs and features and also share our nighttime experiences with them.

While this is not a comprehensive list of ALL the thermals, we think this will serve as a good launching point.

So, keep reading if you’re interested in nighttime fun…

ATN ThOR 5

Armasight Sidekick 640 Thermal Monocular

Armasight Contractor 640 3-12x50mm

Trijicon IR-HUNTER

Pulsar Thermion 2 XQ35 Pro

Table of Contents

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For this article, we gathered a bunch of thermal scopes and optics we’ve personally used, reviewed, or owned here at Pew Pew Tactical. All thermals that made this list had to have a few things in common to earn a spot in our recommendations:

We specifically chose thermal scopes that our staff has had personal, hands-on experience with at night and even did a night shoot recently to test three additional models (the ATN ThOR 5 LRF, Armasight Contractor, and Armasight Sidekick). Some of these models are personally owned scopes that have seen hunting/training in various conditions and thousands of rounds.

The entire Pew Pew Tactical team, as well as freelance writers, contributed to this guide to offer different opinions based on experience level.

ATN ThOR 5

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Pros

Cons

Specs

In 2023, ATN unveiled their fifth-generation ThOR 5, which sports improved specs across the board. We recently updated this information after we tested the ThOR 5 LFR model with onboard laser range-finding.

Depending on whether you want LRF or standard, you have 14 models to choose from: seven with LRF and seven without. Both categories have varying magnification powers, ranging from 2-16x to 5-40x.

All models have new 12µm sensors as standard, and ATN offers various resolutions, including 320×240, 640×480, and a whopping 1280×1024. Additionally, all models run at 60hz to ensure a smooth picture and no obvious lag when glassing.

The ThOR 5 delivers a clear picture, and the detection range spans from 820 yards on the entry-level model up to an eye-watering 4300 yards on the top-end model.

Another cool feature is the onboard video and the exciting thing is—it’s recoil-activated. As soon as you press the trigger, it starts recording and saving the experience to 4 to 64 GB of MicroSD cards.

This turns your hunts into media events you can review and learn from or share with others. The onboard microphone also picks up audio, so you can enjoy your cries of victory or lament your miss with some choice words.

There are a ton of reticle options available, from simple and clean to more complex with holdover and windage stadia. ATN even has a reticle editor if you want to create your own and plug it in.

Thankfully, the optic features a one-shot zeroing process. Once the scope is mounted in the included 30mm rings, shooters engage a target affixed with foil tape or a heated marker.

After firing a shot and seeing it on the target, shooters simply move the zeroing reticle to the point of impact and hit okay. The scope is now zeroed, though follow-up shots should be used to confirm.

One of the features we appreciated most was the link between the range finder and the ballistics calculator. With all the proper data entered, laser-ranged targets will adjust the reticle automatically for a direct hold.

Looking through the ThOR 5, shooters can enjoy an entire heads-up display that features inclinometers (up, down, & side to side), a compass, magnification, and even wind indicators.

Another interesting feature is NUC or non-uniformity correction. Every 20 seconds, the HUD will give you a brief countdown, and your screen will freeze for a couple of seconds.

This is because the internal computer is enhancing the image for you in an attempt to fight ambient conditions. Shooters can turn the feature off if they don’t want the pause in their view.

Controls are handled with a series of water-resistant buttons on top of the unit. They handle everything from magnification to brightness, zeroing, and selecting between the various color palettes (green hot, black hot, while hot, and more).

While magnification is handled by buttons on top of the scope, parallax/clarity is adjusted by a ring on the objective lens. This is very different from the traditional left-side placement of most modern optics.

Shooters can even pair the ThOR5 because it’s Bluetooth capable and can stream to iOS and Android. The app also allows you to adjust and control features on the fly and can also pair with other tools like rangefinders.

All these features require power, of course, and the unit is charged via a USB-C cable. ATN claims to have a 10-hour battery life, but remember, extreme temperatures may drain it faster.

What do you think of the ATN ThOR 5? Give it a rating below.

Armasight Sidekick 640 Thermal Monocular

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Pros

Cons

Specs

Another great thermal option is the Sidekick 640 from Armasight. While similar to the Incendis in that it can be used as a handheld, this unit is not meant to be mounted on a firearm.

Rather, you operate the Sidekick by mounting it to a headset or to your helmet. Using standard hardware and a dovetail mini-rail, the unit can be installed on your setup and fitted to your preferences.

Many monocles on the market have the ability to mount to a helmet or headset, but their internals still display the screen upside down. The Sidekick features a setting that allows you to properly orient your heads-up display based on use.

Looking through the unit, you’re treated to a 1024×768 OLED display that offers pretty crisp imaging in an array of color palettes. The traditional white hot, black hot, and color modes are available, but Target Mode is a contrast-boosted black hot, with a red overlay.

This gives you an excellent image while also highlighting things you want to see. The Sidekick does a great job of discriminating subjects from the background with little to no false positives.

For the price, the image quality is good. There are certainly better options out there that have no lag and crisper images, but they often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Within the display itself, you’re treated to a number of important icons in the HUD. Items like a compass, inclination, battery life, and color pallet are among the indicators seen.

Field of view is an impressive 24.16 degrees, giving it a wider picture than some competitors. This is important when you’re limiting yourself to one eye to navigate the night.

But you don’t have to limit yourself! Using a Rayvn Group Modular Bridge Mount, you can use your Sidekick 640 on one eye and another optic (another Sidekick or even a PVS-14) on the other.

Having tried this, I can say it’s pretty amazing, but it would take some getting used to. My dominant eye kept feeding my brain thermal and washing out the night vision unless I closed an eye to focus. There are settings onboard to ease this pairing.

You can also record your experiences in the dark with onboard video and image capturing. Plus, the Sidekick can stream video too.

Besides a physical parallax control knob, the Sidekick also has digital zoom. With the controls, users can choose from 1x to 4x magnification.

The buttons on the Sidekick are intuitive, consisting of an up, down, and middle button. Directional moves you through the options while pressing the middle button selects. Holding it down backs you out.

Finally, power is handled by a single CR123A battery and gives you 1-1.5 hours of operation. However, plug in a battery pack with a USB-C cable, and your run time can increase significantly.

Armasight Contractor 640 3-12x50mm

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Pros

Cons

Specs

Armasight’s flagship series, the Contractor, comes in two varieties. The 640 resolution sensor has 4.8-19.2×75, 3-12×50, and 2.3-9×35, while the 320 sensor has 6-24-50 and 3-12×25.

This gives shooters an array of options based on features and magnification. Prices range from $3,000 to just under $7,000, depending on the model.

We tested the 640, 3-12×50, and noted many differences compared to other night vision/thermal options on the market. First off, the mounting system is very easy to use.

The included cantilever mount pushes the optic far back because of the roughly 1.8-inch eye relief. Pushing the mount on the rail causes it to lock in place securely and easily while a button in front releases it.

Continuing in the tactile theme, there is only one button on the Contractor and that’s intentional. A whole host of features can be accessed by three knobs on the aluminum housing.

When you’re working in the dark, buttons can be difficult to find and navigate menus. The Contractor makes this much simpler without having to turn on a small light and spoil your vision or light yourself up.

Armasight saw fit to include a strip of Picatinny rail along the right side of the housing. This allows shooters to mount a red dot for those just-in-case moments.

Trijicon RMR Type 2

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Another night-time friendly feature is all removeable caps include lanyards that secure them to the housing. If you change batteries, access the USB C, or pull your lens cover, you won’t lose them.

Looking through the Contractor, you’re treated to a full HUD, including data points like a compass, inclinometer, level, battery indicator, color palette, and more. Shooters can also choose from a few different reticles.

In addition, there’s a range of color palettes to choose from. Based upon shooter preference or conditions, shooters can select black hot, white hot, sepia, rainbow, or target.

Utilizing the various magnifications is a breeze. By simply turning the right knob, the Contractor cycles through four digital magnifications.

Targets at varying distances may not be in focus but this is easily corrected with the parallax ring on the front of the optic. The Contractor also has a customizable diopter ring on the eyepiece.

Getting on target is greatly aided by the boresight mode. This allows shooters to get close to a zero and dial it in from there.

Another handy feature in this optic is the stadiametric range finder. By using your reticle and approximate known sizes of targets, your range will display on the screen.

The Contractor’s digital features extend to recording video. You can start or stop video collection by pressing the only button on top of the unit.

Video is stored in the Contractor’s onboard memory, which can be accessed via USB-C cables. The optic can also stream to devices via Wi-Fi.

All in all, the Contractor offers clearly defined imaging, with a suite of handy digital features, with excellent and intuitive controls at a wide range of prices.

Trijicon IR-HUNTER

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Pros

Cons

Specs

Yes, we’re diving in with an upper-end thermal right off. The Trijicon IR-HUNTER is awesome, as is its tactical counterpart, the REAP-IR.

It’s relatively easy to zero, features a 4.5X optical and 8X digital zoom, and opts for a 7-degree field of view.

One of my favorite parts is the dual-lever mount. But it also has azimuth and elevation readouts, a stadiametric rangefinder, and a battery extender.

This is a front-of-the-pack thermal scope. The IR-HUNTER’s battery extender comes in handy on hunts and runs on CR123 batteries.

Something I find cool and helpful is the Enhanced Target Recognition (ETR) image enhancement. ETR can be used to bring out fine detail and works exceptionally well. It also offers video capability for those who want to record the hunt.

I’ve dropped several hogs with the IR-HUNTER and REAP-IR. These are stellar thermal optics, but they have a price tag to match with an MSRP of $8,999.

Pulsar Thermion 2 XQ35 Pro

Prices accurate at time of writing

Prices accurate at time of writing

Pros

Cons

Specs

What makes the Pulsar Thermion 2 XQ35 Pro interesting is its unique housing.

This isn’t your standard bulky, chunky thermal. The Thermion was designed to look like a regular optic with a lighter weight to go with it.

Features include 384×288 thermal resolution, a 17µm thermal sensor, and a stated range of 1,350 yards. This scope weighs in at 31.7 ounces, which beats out the 37-ounce Trijicon IR-HUNTER MK3 60mm.

It takes 30mm rings and offers a digital zoom of 2.5-10. Oh, and it’s recoil-rated up to 6,000 Joules, meaning you can mount it to your large-caliber rifles with no worries.

The video system records in .jpeg and can even be streamed to a smartphone for use as a second display or control. If you’d prefer a classic riflescope-appearing thermal over the usual big models, this is the optic for you.

Pulsar designed the Thermion line of thermal optics well and priced it fairly, with an MSRP starting at $2,999 for the XQ35. Additional models with higher resolution and zoom range are also available.

There’s a difference between night vision and thermal. But the difference is pretty simple…

Night vision gathers ambient light, ramping it up for you. On the other hand, thermal works off heat signatures.

That means if you’re using night vision, your goggles or optic depend on things like starlight, while thermal tracks any and every bit of heat in your path.

So, what are the pros/cons of each?

Night vision is fantastic for hunting after dark because it removes the need to use lights to scan. It also delivers nice, clear images. You can scan and spot feral hogs hundreds of yards out and get a great spot-and-stalk going.

That said, night vision is impeded by tall grass and fog, among other things. If you’re hunting or in a no-light class and it’s foggy, or there’s a lot of brush in your way…well, you’re not likely to see well.

Then there are other headaches — literally. If you wear night vision for too long, you’re basically guaranteed a headache. So, it’s best to take breaks to rest your eyes.

Thermal works well for hunting because of body heat. Good thermal will give you a clean image of everything within your sight picture in whatever color you prefer – white-hot, black, etc. It differentiates between levels of heat within that color scale.

If you use the white-hot setting, a hog will appear bright white, while cooler objects around it will be darker. Since thermal works off heat and not light, it can function in settings where night vision fails.

Thermal can even pick up hoofprints and pawprints off residual heat for varying lengths of time. These optics also have greater range than night vision — as in, high-end thermals can see 1,000+ yards out.

It’s not all sunshine though…literally. Rain messes with thermal. Also, detail can be harder to get depending on the model.

You know the “objects in mirror may appear closer than they are” note on the side mirror of your truck? Thermals are kind of like that. The point of aim and point of impact will vary more than you might expect. You need to learn shot placement when using them.

Plus, they’re bulkier than night vision.

Now that you’ve seen some of our favorites let’s help you narrow down your choice further. As you probably know, there are many options out there, none of which are truly low-priced.

That’s because good thermal takes a lot of quality parts and solid design. But it doesn’t mean affordably priced gear can’t be good — it can. Cost comes first and foremost for most of us.

The cooler the add-ons, the greater the cost. Decide what you just can’t live without and go from there.

Features that bump up the cost include:

Also, take use-case into consideration when selecting thermal. If you’ll always be hunting in close quarters, there’s no need to worry about getting one that can reach out to hundreds or thousands of yards.

The same goes for if you prefer to spot-and-stalk. Those things also depend on the animals you’re hunting. You’ll take longer shots for coyotes, but with feral hogs, you may be up closer.

As with any gear purchase, make sure it specifically fits your needs, but also consider future needs. Something else to look at is the reticle and calculator system on the thermal optic.

Some models are wildly complex, and you not only need the manual but may end up requiring assistance to figure them out. So make sure it is a system you can live with.

Also, determine battery life, whether it can handle the gun’s recoil and temperatures it can handle. Take it from me; having a thermal that eats batteries in under an hour in freezing conditions is far from ideal.

This article builds off original work from former Pew Pew Tactical contributor Kat Ainsworth Stevens. Kat is an outdoor writer, author, and Field Editor for Range365. She is a outdoor writer for an array of major industry publications including USCCA Concealed Carry Magazine, Outdoor Life, and SHOT Business. Kat has been an avid hunter for decades and has previously used night vision and thermal optics to hunt at night.

Pew Pew Tactical Content Producer Sean Curtis also added to the original article with updated recommendations based on new testing. Sean has been shooting since childhood but began to delve into guns more during his law enforcement career. He spent over two decades in law enforcement, where he became a POST-certified handgun instructor and NLEFIA Red Dot Instructor and received CLEFIA Advanced Firearms Instructor Training and AR-15 armorer training. He has since attended a variety of training, including Tactical Performance Center Handgun Mastery & Carbine Mastery, and earned USCCA rifle instructor certification. Aside from training and prior to joining the Pew Pew Tactical team full-time, Sean wrote for several gun publications evaluating and testing guns and gear and has written hundreds of articles. For this article, Sean tested two Armasight thermal optics and an ATN thermal scope at the range after dark to evaluate their performance.

This review was edited by Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings, who runs Pew Pew Tactical’s experienced team of reviewers. Jacki is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association and has her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications. She has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years, and has worked as an editor for five years. She uses her extensive professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards.

Jr. Editor Wyatt Sloan also contributed to this article with additional recommendations based on his hog hunting experience with thermal optics.

Thermals are a fun and useful tool to have if you intend to do any nighttime shooting – be it at the range for a class or in the woods tracking game.

While we could go on about the various models on the market, we think you’ll be happy with any of the thermals above.

What thermal do you prefer? Let us know in the comments below. Need more nighttime optics? Check out our Best Night Vision Scopes & Capable Optics and Best Night Vision Goggles.

November 2024: Removed Accufire Incendis and added Armasight Sidekick, Armasight Contractor, and ATN ThOR 5 LRF.