Nocturn Tanto & Daisho Bridge vs PVS 14 - What I wish I knew before buying

[@mikehawkswollen5819]

Thank you for part 1 in this 6 part series of NVG!

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

hahah what are the other 5 parts?? I mean...I'm probably in for it. I say we do the PBJRPG next! -Walsh

[@AQ.Gimpalong]

One thing not mentioned about the Tanto housing is the lack of a tie in point to secure the device to a helmet. I noticed in your video that you have it attached to a J-Arm and then the J-arm has a lanyard attached to it. That's probably just as good, but I did manage to snap a J-Arm in a fall and the only thing that stopped my PVS-14 hitting the ground was the $.02 of paracord running from the -14 to my MICH. In any case, it would be nice if future versions of the Tanto housing had a tie in point added. Luckily, Nocturn did add attachments points on the Daisho.

[@PreppedScots]

This is the route I’m going down I currently have a tanto housing on back order, because I’m U.K. based I’ve found this is the more economical route to go as any ITAR kit comes with a major premium outside of the US, plus trying to do things on a ‘budget’ it can quickly become a nightmare

[@MrKingArthurhk]

We would check Green hand held NVG’s out of the armory for night ops in the USBP which was 2/3’s the shifts we worked. Walking with them killed natural night vision and made everything look 2 dimensional when walking. A year before I moved on they issued monoculars that could be worn on your head. So, one eye went two dimensional green, the other was in the dark. So, my knowledge ends about 2003. So, I am an old retired dog eager to learn new tricks.

[@Tattlebot]

Stereo NV increases SNR by at least 1.3x because the stereo visual system is ideal for seeing through the noise of a channel. According to a military study, when it becomes extremely dark, binocular users tripped less, and walked faster. If you are thinking about buying, green phosphor is more efficient and sharper as it does not introduce chromatic aberration. People might find WP nicer, but P43 green is best fit for the task.

[@zacharyfett2491]

IF I already had a PVS-14 and extra bits, I’d be tempted to go with the makeshift 14 duals. Otherwise it makes much more sense to go with the Tanto setup.

[@billalumni9142]

At about 8:00 talking about the Boomslang wider field of view. Cold Harbor Media did a phenomenal review and showed that how far in front of your eye the unit was determined how fast you lose the extra wide vision. Let's put it this way, if you wear glasses you probably aren't getting anything extra and more than likely losing field of view over regular Carson glass.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

Good note! The boomslangs dont' work well with FPV type recording devices like the brown bear I use so those lenses aren't ideal for me either. It's certainly a trade off

[@JARG]

Walsh the Wizard is back!

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

pew pew! I mean....lightning bolt!

[@jimmybranks8359]

As far as manual gain, if you don't have it you can use a Chad 30 or mattbok tasier Iris as a gain control. U get more noise than with actual gain control but it definitely works.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

good point, I noticed that too. Most people are using the manual gain and then also using an iris anyway. Very good point that manual gain is ideal but there are work arounds! -Walsh

[@Deadbolt412]

There are some cool setups I have seen with PVS-14 paired with Thermal. I don’t have any experience with that setup but it looks like it has some pretty cool capabilities.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

yea but 100% try that first. Most thermal monoculars are 1.2-1.5 magnification and NV is 1x. So they images won't overlay and it's pretty much a headache machine. Some people are okay but most people swap one up and one down when they switch from NV to thermal and vice versa. A far better setup is to just do a thermal clip on that you can use with your red dot or scope. Then NV for navigation....thermal for spotting. -Walsh

[@roberttetro464]

You said you didn't really see a need for the on-board illuminator. I think this comes from the current focus of using IR for shooting on the flat range. Especially for civilians. I served in the 80's and 90's. We never once shot anything with IR. However, we did use it for dismounted movement... and a LOT of driving. For driving, we had IR headlights on the vehicles. For dismounted movement you needed the IR illuminator when there was no moonlight. I guess it depends on what you're doing. If you're mostly attending shooting classes, go ahead and use your rifle mounted illuminator. If you're serious about using it in the real world, for real world stuff, you need an on-board illuminator. You really don't want to be flashing around a weapon mounted light (white or IR) when moving on foot. It's a bad habit because you forget about muzzle control.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

No, more so saying most of the helmet setups use IR lights that are tons better than the crap one included with the pvs-14. It would be just be really weird to use the pvs-14 illuminator unless you had no idea what you were doing

[@Tattlebot]

@@ThinLineDefenseCo Sometimes you need to do surgery in the dark or read a map. Think.

[@AJuniorOutdoorsman]

​@@ThinLineDefenseCo the pvs14 illuminator is dim for a good reason. Provides just enough illumination to navigate and complete small tasks

[@stephensonsimikiss6809]

Emanuel Gain is a must have!

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

For some situations yes but you won't be useless without it You can also control gain with a front iris that is preferable anyway so *shrug* I can take it or leave it since I know more now about how it all works -Walsh

[@mikehawkswollen5819]

Why? Who even is Emanuel Gain?

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

twitter.com/iamegain

[@mikehawkswollen5819]

@@ThinLineDefenseCo he has auto gain tubes.

[@pdxmarine1430]

Actual locking IPD stops, and maybe a pano version would make me want to grab this immediately Either way, still better than the PVS-7s I had back in the day But for the time being I'm sticking with a monocular, cause duals are too rich for my blood

[@natetheocles5671]

They just dropped the pano version

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

yea, I think right before I recorded this one lol so....lets do that one next! -Walsh

[@natetheocles5671]

@ThinLineDefenseCo I forsee a trend in the market. Pano bridges with boomslang objectives and choice of the big 3 (Carson, RPO 2.0, RPO 3.0) ocular lense. Content on this will drive demand through the roof. My $0.02.

[@SugiharaTRA]

Great video. I think the only benefit of the PVS-14 nowadays is the ability to use both MX-10160 and MX-11769 tubes, where a Tanto will only fit the 10160 aviation type, which are getting increasingly hard to find with the wars right now. Yes, you can technically convert them, but running a soldering iron on a $1500 tube makes me squeamish. The Israel-Hamas war pretty much killed the supply of civilian Elbit tubes overnight. All of the manufacturers are trying to push Gen 2+ and Chinese tubes onto the market now. Such a bad time to even get into NV right now. Sad.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

Oh that's interesting. I didn't realize that.

[@lettuce_actual694]

Coming from a guy that loves having manual gain on his pvs-14. I hate having to wait for my eye to adjust. If nocturn managed to come out with a tanto that had a manual gain I'd buy it today. I never ever use the on board illuminator for the pvs-14.

[@bedsheets_stink2915]

They do have the manticore duals that has manual gain. It’s an awesome setup.

[@airborneivan]

I run my Tanto with a Butler Creek cap on the objective with a 3/16" center hole drilled. Essentially, it does the same thing for me. Then again, I have a Photonis tube, so the gain issue isn't as big of a problem for me.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

yea I run the front aperture iris to control gain and focus so it's certainly doable without manual gain control. The aperture thingy is pretty awesome.

[@airborneivan]

@@ThinLineDefenseCo I have to look into it.

[@DanDannyDanielleBob]

If I have the money to skip straight to duals, would it make sense to pick up duals in this format or a dedicated device instead? I kinda think of this in reverse. Instead of having monocular that you can upgrade to duals, have moderately priced duals that you can piece them out to a battle buddy if you team up in the short term or to 2x battle buddies when you upgrade your duals in the long term.

[@bedsheets_stink2915]

So I’m in this issue currently. Me and a buddy are the only ones with nods. He has 2 pvs14s and we shared them for a while. Now I have duals and he still has to share with our other buddy. But we can include more people because we don’t have enough nvgs so now im In the predicament of looking at getting a pvs14 so we can run a 4 man range day with nods.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

Do what we're doing. Walsh bought PVS14...then I'll buy that from him and he gets duals...now two people are good. Then I save up, buy duals and sell my PVS14 to another teammate...etc. - Jason

[@Tattlebot]

Binoculars ought to be in "collimation" (not the correct use of the term) in order to prevent eye strain. Aligning monoculars and keeping them that way is often troublesome, and it won't be possible to boresight them. Even binocular housings can be out of spec or badly designed and cause problems. Not to mention, every time you add a movement axis like articulation, you increase risk. That's why ANVIS binoculars are fixed in the horizontal plane and do not articulate.

[@saltyreviews1848]

having independent power controls like on a pvs14 gives your flexibility especially running it on a panobridge. you make it seem like its crazy or annoying but its quite functional once you're in the 3d world in the dark...

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

I'm not following... you'd rather mess with either eye instead of having independent pod shutoff? I don't get why you'd want that.

[@saltyreviews1848]

@@ThinLineDefenseCo if you have 2 PVS14s that is independent power controls. Many times if easy to just flip a pod to the side and shut the power, especially when you enter higher lit areas.

[@dimemmo]

What do you mean dual tubes give you an extra field of view? Doesn’t it still stay at 40 degrees regardless whether it’s 1 or 2 tubes you have on

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

That is correct! Think I meant to say depth perception 40 for both mono and duals unless there is a panning feature... which needs to lock so it doesn't bump and make your brain go sideways Appreciate the correction! Always learning -Walsh

[@tyty-jd4vl]

PBJRPG

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

haha when I said it I was like "I'm going to have to make this now aren't I..."

[@commanderosis435]

Funny. I just got 2 omni 7 pvs 14s. Night vision might be one of the coolest things I've ever experienced

[@l.s.451]

The NODS/Thermal journey is FRAKING expensive!Still not more than Fishing!!!🐟

[@mvangils410]

My night vision journey is beginning and I'm hoping that your content HELPS. So much to learn and so many options. Thank you Walsh! With any luck we'll see each other at NRA or GUNCON. Be safe! 🤙🪖👮🙏🇺🇲

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

Martin! You're doing this haha we can waste large swaths of cash together hahah I'll be at GunCon but I missed NRA :/ catch you there! Tell Agency I want to fiddle with that rifle again. -Walsh

[@Croak1]

Nice helmet stand. :)

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

it's very fancy lol Thanks for the help on that! -Walsh

[@jameskalevra1387]

"Tldco" doesn't work as a code on the Daisho.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

hmmm I'll find out what's up

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

Try it now, Fixed thanks for heads up btw!

[@isaacwolfbauer9888]

The panned daisho makes no sense to me. You cant easily share a tanto. Would need the daisho and 2 j arms to split it because you don't want to run a single angled tube. I feel like thats the while point of the daisho is so you can share a tube, if you wanted a fixed pan just make a fixed dual setup that doesn't split up. Dear nocturn make them panable and not fixed pan.

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

I think the non-fixed became an issue with folks bumping one side and then it's downtown crazy town with their vision. I hear you though, like lockable positions. Lock pan or lock forward -Walsh

[@JARG]

I got mine at Custom Night Vision. BNVD-31 L3 WP. They are great but in hindsight. Should have gone with the Panobridge with a 14 and a thermal

[@ThinLineDefenseCo]

ehhh I'd highly recommend trying that setup out first. You just kinda hope and pray your mind makes sense of it. Plus the thermal is usually like 1.2x so it's a half zoom headache. It's definitely NOT a magical solution Nods for navigation...thermal on your rifle. No brain owwies -Walsh

[@JARG]

@@ThinLineDefenseCo that’s why your a Wizard. It was for independent use or maybe dual. Thermal to scan and IR for navigation. I really like the Thermal because of no emissions. I a world that is near peer… emissions are a death sentence

[@TheBigjake240]

named after japanese swords im sold.

[@baileylouque6579]

i like playing pb&j rpg's