Night Vision can be complicated

But thankfully we're here to help, to provide you with the exclusive discounts and solid information you need to select the night vision devices that best meet your unique needs. We do that by producing a tightly curated selection of night vision scopes, binoculars, goggles and hunting scopes from a range of top ranked companies, including Pulsar, Sellmark and NightOps. Bottomline, if you find a product on our pages, you know it's earned its place. Here's a quick look at the two major night vision technologies.

Tubed Night Vision | Gen1+ | Gen2+ | Gen3

Gen1+ night vision optics (that's Gen for Generation) were developed during the sixties and were the first to require only "passive infrared" light to function, meaning that they didn't require an infrared light source to function (though it always helps). On cloudless nights under a full moon they do an adequate job of converting the invisible infrared light that always surrounds us into visible monochrome green images. In the timeline of technology, think of them as the "black and white TVs" of night vision.

Moving forward to the 80's, Gen2+ night vision devices came on board. Adding a micro-channel plate doubled their brightness by amplifying the visible image produced from the invisible infrared light. Even better, Gen2+ image intensifiers increased image sharpness by 50%. When you hear night vision wonks talk about "resolution" this is what they're talking about - how sharply defined the image is. Once again, using our TV comparison, Gen2+ tubes would be the "color TVs" of the night vision world.

Now to the most current tubed technology - Gen3. In addition to the micro channel plates, Gen3 upped the ante with the addition of a Gallinium Arsenide (GaAs) photo cathode. By using this exotic element engineers were truly able to turn night into day. You'll also find that Gen3 night vision equipment offers the greatest depth of features, including intuitive operating controls, autogated power supplies and numerous on-screen indicators. What kind of TV would we compare Gen3s to? Think "high definition 4K HDR" with all the bells and whistles. It really is that good.

Digital Night Vision

But let's not forget the new kid on the block: Digital Night Vision. Today's CCD-based digital night vision products are challenging the supremacy of traditionally tubed devices at a fraction of the cost. Driven by a dizzying array of features and options, not only has the digital category exploded in recent years, it's on track to become the dominant night vision technology. Many of the new digitals are now producing night vision specs that rival most Gen2+ devices, and even some Gen3s. And it bears repeating, at a fraction of the cost. For many applications, digital is definitely the way to go.