The 8 Best Night-Vision Goggles 2024 - Night-Vision Goggle Reviews

Oct 26, 2024

Take your nighttime adventures to the next level with our recommendations.

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In the daytime, the human eye holds a distinct advantage over those of other animals in terms of its ability to spot small movements, pick up subtle shades of color, and identify shapes at great distance. That advantage disappears at night when nature’s designs favor an eye with more rod cells (light receptors) than the cone cells (color receptors) that give us such great sight in the daytime. That’s when the rod-heavy designs in the eyes of nocturnal predators like owls and wolves hold the advantage.

Enter night vision technology, which gives you the remarkable ability to see with tremendous clarity and at great distances in the pitch black. Night vision goggles, binoculars, and monoculars unlock the beauty of the starry sky and improve your ability to spy on backyard critters and track prey while hunting. Search and rescue professionals also use them to find lost people at night. After countless hours of testing and research, we’ve evaluated the best options to create this definitive list of the best night vision goggles.

There are three main types of night vision devices: goggles, binoculars, and monoculars.

Goggles are generally head-mounted, either with a harness or actually attached to a helmet. These devices usually don’t come with much, if any, magnification, which means they excel in situations like checking out the critters in your backyard, doing surveillance, or doing anything that requires you to move a lot. They’re much less optimal for seeing things at great distances in the dark, unless you rely on a scope for magnification.

Binoculars are handheld and offer magnification, making them ideal for spotting wildlife from afar for hunting or photography, but their magnification in turn significantly limits your field of vision, which reduces situational awareness.

Some monoculars offer magnification, while others don’t. While most are handheld, some models also attach to a head mount, hemet, or even a rifle for night hunting. They’re more reliable than binoculars when it comes to maintaining situational awareness because it’s easy to switch quickly between your eye that’s on the monocular to the one that’s not.

As soon as you put something in front of your eye, you likely reduce your field of vision (FOV). Humans have a field of vision of about 150 degrees. Binoculars usually reduce FOV to 10 degrees or less. Consumer night vision goggles and monoculars also reduce your FOV significantly, but usually not as dramatically as binoculars do, and FOV varies pretty greatly between different models of night vision goggles and monoculars. Night vision devices that maintain wider fields of vision tend to do so in exchange for some visual clarity, as well as your own situational awareness, so knowing your intended use will help you decide which key spec to prioritize.

Goggles generally come with very little magnification, usually displaying images up to four times (4x) larger than they are in real life. This makes them great for seeing hundreds of feet rather than thousands of feet, including activities like observing wildlife in your backyard at night, for example.

Binoculars tend to offer more magnification, usually in the range of 8x or more, for you to see thousands of feet in the distance. With night vision, this can help a hunter or photographer quickly zoom in on a distant target.

The most common feature in the latest night-vision devices is the ability to record video and take pictures. Some night-vision devices cater to more specific interests and needs. These devices may include a rangefinder or laser site, which help hunters and photographers who want to use night vision to help them shoot their targets. Other devices come with thermal imaging and even color night-vision capabilities.

We made these selections after trying out various models and conducting extensive research, which included considering reviews of the products from verified customers. Additionally, Popular Mechanics has extensively covered hunting, photography, and military gear for decades, and we used our past reporting to better understand what you need from night-vision goggles. Once we boiled down our shortlist of product options, we compared specs including magnification, viewing range, and field of view, and noted whether each model had photo and video capabilities, along with extras like rangefinders or thermal imaging.

With just three buttons and a focus knob at the front, these binoculars are as easy to use as any other night vision binoculars out there. They also cost less than some night-vision devices with far fewer features and less impressive capabilities.

Access seven different levels of infrared illumination via one button, while up to 6x magnification is controlled by another. The binoculars offer 12 degrees of visual range, which is more than the 10-degree baseline of many night-vision devices, and about 110 yards of viewing distance.

However, the 100Vs don’t record images or videos, unlike most other devices on this list. And while we like that they use AA batteries, eight are required to operate these binoculars, and the more you use higher levels of infrared illumination, the sooner you’ll need to change these batteries out. We recommend using rechargeable AAs to prevent costs from adding up over time.

These great, low-cost goggles from Visiocrest offer seven levels of night-vision intensification. They also record in 960p at 30 frames per second. With digital zoom capabilities up to 4x, the goggles deliver about 1,000 feet of range, and their lenses prevent visual impediments in the form of reflections and scratches.

However, these are more suitable for easy night surveillance than hunting and serious nighttime photography because other options offer better resolution and record video at higher resolutions and frame rates. Also, while other goggles come with rechargeable batteries, this pair requires six AA batteries and isn’t capable of being powered by USB.

The NV8000 from Dsoon comes with a wearable headset and also is compatible with helmets, so if you’re surveilling or hunting, this is a great option for hands-free nighttime use. They also feature seven levels of light amplification and the ability to switch between night-vision color palettes, including black and white, green phosphorescence, and film negative, depending on your preferences.

With 4x digital magnification, the goggles cover a range of about 1,000 feet. The rechargeable goggles are IP54 water resistant compatible with a power bank to extend the time they’re capable of being used. The NV8000 goggles capture and record full HD videos, as well.

This night-vision model from Bushnell connects via app to smartphones to view landscapes remotely when it’s mounted on a tripod or stream via WiFi. With a viewing range of about 900 feet, it takes great nighttime photos and maximizes situational awareness for hunters and those conducting surveillance.

The device also records HD video and takes high-quality pictures and sends them to a MicroSD card (though you’re limited to cards with 32GB of memory or less). It’s very compact relative to other night-vision goggles we recommend, and one of its most enticing features is the lifetime warranty, which should boost confidence for anyone hesitant about the cost.

This updated version of Corsac’s entry-level night-vision binoculars adds some wonderful features that held the original back, including a rechargeable and replaceable battery, better magnification, and a higher resolution viewing screen. These binoculars are also lighter than the original Corsacs and recharge via USB.

The Corsac 2 binoculars have a viewing range of about 220 yards, making them ideal for backyard and wildlife viewing, as well as improved stargazing. The Corsac 2 binoculars do not mount to helmets, which limits their utility in some cases, but they do offer full HD video recording and still picture capabilities, as well as color capabilities for use during the daytime.

This compact digital monocular from Luna Optics brings the night to life in a way few other devices do. With optical-grade glass and some of the best magnification of any device on the market, the LN-G3-M44 is perfect for any hunter or serious night photographer.

It features multiple viewing modes, including full color, black and white, green and white, and amber. It records full HD video and takes 16 megapixel photos at up to 60 frames per second. Add to it the ability to connect to smartphones via an app and on-board WiFi, and it’s very easy to set this up on a tripod and monitor it remotely.

While it’s powered by two CR123A batteries that you can’t recharge, it does at least offer a micro-USB port to extend its charge via a power bank.

The Aurora from SiOnyx offers you a chance to see color at night, in addition to the standard monochromatic options. This makes it stand out among most other commercially available night-vision devices.

We were surprised the first time we tested it out back in 2018 at the Outdoor Retailer show by just how good it actually worked in night-vision mode, showing blues, reds, and greens in very low-light conditions and recording good color video in only star-lit conditions, which is something most actual cameras don’t do.

Add to that a rechargeable battery, its compact and lightweight build, and its water resistant and dustproof encasement, and this unique device is a fantastic night-vision tool.

These high-end, digital night-vision binoculars from Luna pack a lot of features into something with a relatively low price tag. With exceptional zoom capabilities, the binoculars cover a range of 654 yards (over a half mile), and they shoot image-stabilized video in full HD up to 60 frames per second—the perfect combination of features for those who wish to capture wildlife at night.

Additionally, features like a laser range finder and multiple viewing options (including full-color for day use, black and white, night vision green, and amber) are great for hunters.

The four CR123A batteries that come with these binoculars aren’t rechargeable and only last for about four and half hours. However, you can use a USB-C cable and battery bank to keep operating the device with or without the batteries.

There are two primary means of achieving night vision by amplifying ambient and infrared light to create a clear image: optoelectronic and digital. Optoelectronic devices are generally much more expensive than digital night-vision devices, but both are available to consumers. Also, both usually only produce two-tone images—either green and black or black and white.

The first wave of night-vision devices functioned thanks to optoelectronic image enhancement. These devices used a lens to collect available light reflecting off a subject and passed that light through a series of mechanisms, including an image intensifying vacuum tube, to produce a brighter and clearer image for the user.

There are three generations of this technology and some new advancements. Most consumer devices are Gen 1 or Gen 2, but some are Gen 3. Each successive generation produces higher clarity images. The Gen 3 technology is still used by special forces, soldiers, and law enforcement. These devices can cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars. Some of the technologies in these models are so advanced you may need special licenses to take them out of the United States.

Digital night vision quickly evolved to make night-vision devices less expensive and more consumer friendly. These devices are more power-hungry, but they’re also lighter and feature consumer-friendly tools like the ability to record night-vision video and sound or take pictures.

These devices capture an image on a sensor and use digital processing to enhance it and deliver it to one or two screens for the user—very similar to how a digital camera works. Most digital night-vision devices still produce a two-tone image, but some high-end ones produce color night-vision images.

Older versions of digital night vision didn’t offer the clarity of optoelectronic night-vision devices because the image sensors and screens couldn’t offer enough pixel density. But newer models and high-end models bring much better clarity

When you see a portrayal of night vision in a TV show or movie, it’s often in green and black. Traditional night-vision devices passed an image through a green phosphorescent screen because people distinguish more shades of green than other colors. This makes it ideal for use in military and surveillance operations, as well as for hunting. However, green and black imagery causes more eye fatigue than other options, making long-term use more difficult.

Black and white, and even amber and black, have gained traction in the night-vision product space because they don’t cause as much eye fatigue. This makes it easier for hunters and night photographers to use the devices for longer periods of time without needing to look away. Also, it’s much easier for a digital night-vision device to offer these multiple options for viewing than an optoelectronic device.

Chris Meehan is an internationally published writer, author, and editor with more than two decades of professional experience. He has authored multiple adventure guidebooks with Falcon Guides and his work focusses primarily on the nexus between sustainability and outdoor adventure. He is an experienced gear reviewer, tester, and travel writer who has explored multiple continents.

Tom Price is an Associate Editor of Reviews for Popular Mechanics, and also contributes to Runner's World, and Bicycling. He has previously covered product reviews, startup news, and even professional wrestling. In his free time, he enjoys watching pretentious TV, low-brow movies, and exercising for beauty, not health. If you are interested in exploring more of his work, check out his website.

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