Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Thermal Binoculars

I played around with a Pulsar Thermion scope last week and it really got me interested. My use would be primarily for tracking wounded game and locating trespassers. Because I bow hunt more than rifle hunt these days, packing a rifle during bow season or looking for trespassers calls out for binoculars (or perhaps, a monocular). During off season, I’d use these at night to watch a couple different 6 acre food plots and watering holes. Any thoughts on the monocular vs. binocular route? Any experience with Pulsar’s latest offerings? Has anyone compared the Accolade vs. the Accolade 2? I’m assuming technology is evolving rapidly. Is there another brand or model you’d recommend?

Search FLIR

I’ve used the original Pulsar Helion, Helion 2, and the Axions quite a bit. The Helion is a great monocular but may be a bit overkill for what you are wanting to do, lots of unnecessary bells/whistles and high base magnification. Axion is the size of a handheld rangefinder and offers lower base magnifications which I would prefer in trying to scan for downed game...form factor would be more convenient IMO too. It would do anything you wanted glassing over 6 acre food plots.

AGM has some good, affordable options too. Used a ASP TM35 384 for a few hours a month or so ago and liked it pretty well. Has a similar (2.5x) base magnification as the Axions. AGM was formed by a group of guys that left FLIR after they decided to abandon the civilian market.

Although I like FLIR’s stuff, I’d stay as FAR away from any of their offerings now.

I have a dumb question since my knowledge of thermal monoculars is just about zero.

Can these be used during daylight to scan through a brushy hillside looking for hidden game like deer, by giving enough definition to tell the difference between a large bodied buck with some does?

Yeah, somewhat. A lot of that is going to depend on the time of day and how big your temperature offset is.

Thanks

Josh, if there is a real temperature difference, it’s amazing how far away it will pick up heat signatures.

I reached out to my Pulsar rep to get his reply to your inquiry. He replied:

"Both our Pulsar thermal monoculars or Accolade 2 binos are perfect for scouting and scanning at night. It’s really going to come down to the budget at hand to get you the best unit. Our two best thermal “scanners” would be the Helion 2 XP50 which is a monocular and also our Accolade 2 XP50 which is our thermal binos. Both are 640X480 resolution with Pulsar’s newest sub 40mK sensor that really enhances heat signatures. The Accolade 2’s are the only thermal binos in production as the other Accolades are discontinued. We also have 5 different Pulsar thermal Axion models (thermal monoculars) that have different sensors, features and price points as well that are very good units. Again, it will come down to the customers budget in the long run of what he is looking for to get him the best unit."

It's our pleasure to discuss this with you

elkaddict, what is your budget? This can get really expensive!

In general, you will pick up more detail with both eyes involved in the image just due to more information sent to your brain. You will also experience less eye strain over long viewing sessions with two oculars vs a monocular.

Pulsar's stuff is pretty good, and I have no doubt their Accolade series is good. I haven't tried their binos and handheld monoculars but I have used a couple Pulsar scopes and I own the Thermion scope (XP50 model 640 res) you referred to, and it has served me very well with outstanding image quality and a very nice feature set.

I would avoid anything FLIR now that they have stopped producing products for the non-military consumer market.

Another great bino option is the N-Vision Atlas. I have the 50mm version, and it's outstanding! It has 640 resolution with the superb BAE OASYS 12-micron core, 3.5X base optical mag, very simple, user friendly controls, very tough robust and waterproof construction, takes still pics and video, and has long battery life.

In the interest of accuracy, keep in mind that most thermal "binoculars" are in fact "bi-oculars," in that they have 2 ocular display screens but 1 objective lens system. This is an important distinction, because they are expensive enough already, and a true thermal binocular with 2 objectives is uber expensive.

Besides price, there is one other main disadvantage to a thermal bi-ocular/binocular vs a monocular. With both eyes looking at bright screens in the dark, both your eye pupils become dilated so you experience momentary night blindness after any extended viewing. You will then have to stay still and allow your eyes to readjust to darkness before moving again after use.

Thanks Ted. I was aware of the binocular vs. bi-nocular thing. Budget has some flexibility. I’m most interested in quality/reliability. The Thermion scope was an eye opener as far as capability. A top of the line monocular is expensive enough that I worry about regretting not picking up the Accolade2....