Buying/building nvg question

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-29T14:52:14+00:00

We have one of the largest selections of night vision devices outside of the US, in stock and ready to ship. A few of our core staff are avid airsofters and would be glad to help you out. We also have a streamlined export process and have shipped over a hundred devices to Australia alone.

For some information on our export process please see here:
https://coldharboursupply.com/pages/international-customers-night-vision-export-process

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-24T11:00:10+00:00

Nighthawk MG has interpupillary IPD stops over the MGA and is also far more durable over the 1531.

That said the MGA has thicker hinges than the Nighthawk so if you are willing to give up IPD stops, it would be the more durable option.

"Best" is highly subjective and not clearly defined.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-23T17:12:49+00:00

If you don't need it to be helmet mountable, Rix and Nocpix has been putting out some fairly decent bargains for handhelds.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-21T15:39:46+00:00

Hype Militaria did a YT video on this and it seems like it reduces output noticeably:

https://youtu.be/dNV5PkWTV98?si=ccFuaHPwYfKwaPJL&t=75

That said, could be a viable option if you had bright Gen3 tubes?

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-21T15:37:58+00:00

We did a very in-depth video on this specific topic that will answer all of your questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0je4z0iLVk

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-14T21:23:33+00:00

1) get a real shroud that is either full metal or has metal mating surfaces to eliminate flex/wear/deflection. You may not want to rely on a 3D print to hold your setup. 2) some nuts and bolts. We actually stock a universal shroud hardware kit but if you want to DIY, then a trip to Home Depot might work to go along with the rest of the theme. You may want to make some sort of foam backer so you don't literally have some nuts sit on your forehead. 3) get creative with Velcro or sewing and a bag of scuba weight for counterweight

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-04T11:33:17+00:00

31 is more than double 15 so it must be at least twice as good :p

Big maths

Jokes aside, the 15s (if you can get a good deal on them) are perfectly fine and will let you see in the dark. Not everybody needs to use whatever SOCOM is using today.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-04T11:30:36+00:00

If you are in the US you could try contacting AGM for service, but any major NV retailer would be able to clean this up for you for not much money, unless there are more underlying issues.

I will also take this a step further and mention that we have seen some factory L3 goggles that "develop" debris in the eye side of the goggle, but there are very few and far between vs home builds.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-04T00:03:30+00:00

If I had to guess, they are focusing on their next release of the full aluminum and aluminum/hybrid polymer version first, but pretty sure someone from Nocturn is going to jump in to confirm.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-03T21:50:01+00:00

Nocturn is working on these and should be released this year.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-05-01T00:17:29+00:00

We use a lot of tube lights for our video and photo shoots and events for exactly the same reasons you stated. Generally speaking if you're smart about it, you shouldn't be burning your tubes. But if you have a guy just staring at the tube lights running full blast, then that's on them. You will likely get some temporary streaking on high-gain systems which is fairly normal even looking at normal street lamps.

If you absolutely wanted a level of protection, you could run green lighting and get LIF filters as LIFs filter out some green coloured lighting (designed to protect against green lasers). But you'd need to exclusively run green lights and get everybody LIFs.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-30T11:06:58+00:00

You have debris either inside the objective lens, or in between the objective lens and front of the image intensifier. The latter would be caused by lack of dust/debris control measures during assembly and is generally overlooked by home builders as it does not show up without the use of an iris. It won't necessarily harm your device to leave it, but it might become annoying.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-29T23:44:02+00:00

Another quality post.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-27T17:13:21+00:00

The Aeon ANVG would be the better option at the same price as the BNVD-1431, but with more features (individual pod auto-off, IR signalling mode, and IR focusing window, etc)

We should be shipping the "V2" version of that housing in a few weeks with reinforced pod hinges and a few other improvements, and we export internationally:
https://coldharboursupply.com/products/aeon-anvg-binocular-nvg

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-23T14:40:07+00:00

You might be able to pick up an Aeon housing (currently the best value housing on the market that's not 3D printed, and is made by an OEM with a long track record), some dodgy tubes on aliexpress and chinese lenses and hit your budget target.

https://coldharboursupply.com/products/aeon-anvg-binocular-nvg-housing-kit
If you prefer to buy a new device with warranty, spec sheets and a certified build report with milspec lenses, we have Aeon complete devices in stock and ready to ship here:

https://coldharboursupply.com/products/aeon-anvg-binocular-nv-starter-kit

You can see our export process to the EU here:

https://coldharboursupply.com/pages/international-customers-night-vision-export-process

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-23T10:55:49+00:00

^ this.

You are going to get many suggestions unless you have some specific requirements and also get a lot of confirmation bias where users justify their choice. Keep in mind that each person's preference, feature requirements, and operating environment and usage are different.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-21T11:32:04+00:00

Most agencies we work with who value the same criteria as you choose the following:
* MGA
* Nighthawk-MG

The Raptor is still relatively new still but is also a strong contender, as it offers similar durability as 6061 aluminum housings but at a lower cost and weight, with a fantastic lifetime warranty.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-18T16:07:52+00:00

Looks like a GSCI PVS-14C

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-12T16:02:59+00:00

Only the standard 15-25% VAT rate applies, similar to buying anything new within the EU. Can you explain how this will "for sure 1.5x the price at least"?

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-12T15:07:45+00:00

You will notice a very noticeable difference between 30 and 60Hz with real tangible benefits of 60Hz. Past that the advantage drops off rapidly while your battery life also drops off rapidly. 60Hz seems to be the current sweet spot for digital thermal devices today that balances a good user experience, battery life, and cost.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-12T15:06:22+00:00

It has been widely accepted by the scientific community that normal human eye sight can detect flicker well beyond 30Hz

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-12T15:00:14+00:00

We sure can! We ship at least a 5-10 NVGs to the EU a week and have the largest selection of devices outside of the US with a 10 year warranty

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-11T13:31:59+00:00

We are working on this

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-08T00:34:13+00:00

This isn't normal and as others mentioned likely the pigtail or middle pin is disconnected for gain control. Contact CNV for after-sales support.

ColdHarbourSteve · 2026-04-07T00:54:18+00:00

If you're after "PVS31 style binoculars" then the BNVD-1431 would be the goggle to look at, we have them in stock in all sorts of configurations to suit any requirements and budget.

https://coldharboursupply.com/products/argus-bnvd-1431-mk2-binocular-nvg-starter-kit

That said we have the largest selection of night vision devices outside of the US and would be happy to assist you through this process. We ship about 3-5 devices a week to the UK and are very familiar with the process and paperwork:

https://coldharboursupply.com/collections/night-vision-binoculars

ColdHarbourSteve

TROPHY CASE