I stepped out my door with the dog on a leash, ready to go for a walk. A glance toward the woods on the other side of the driveway did not reveal any signs of life. I was carrying an Armasight Thermal Monocular in my right hand. I turned it on, put it to my right eye, and glanced at the same patch of woods across the driveway just to make sure that the monocular was on. Much to my surprise, I saw a herd of a half dozen or so deer looking back at me. What was easy to miss with a casual glance from the unassisted eye was glaringly obvious with a casual glance through the monocular. Armasight’s motto “Stop Looking. Start Seeing.” suddenly became more than just words.
The Bottom Line, Up Front
I tested two Armasight thermal optics: a Sidekick 640 1×19 Thermal Monocular, and a Contractor 640 3-12x50mm Thermal Weapon Sight. I found both optics to be rugged, reliable, versatile, and eye-openingly clear.
Technology this sophisticated doesn’t come for free. At the time of this writing, the monocular cost $2,999 and the sight cost $4,999 at Armasight.com.
If I was fighting an infestation of feral hogs, then I would buy the sight in a heartbeat. If I was in charge of security at a nuclear power plant, then I would get a monocular as part of the standard equipment of each of my night shift perimeter watch team members. But I am not sure that I can justify such a significant cash outlay in my current threat environment.
But I can easily imagine situations in which I would wish that I had made such an investment. So, although I can’t say that you absolutely have to buy one of these optics, I can say that this is a technology that you may want to start thinking about if you haven’t already.
Background
On the average, half of every 24-hour day is cloaked in darkness. Many pests and predators are active at night. Some of those pests and predators are two-legged. The ability to see in the dark is an advantage to both the hunter and the hunted.
Armasight is an American company that designs and builds high-quality night-vision and thermal equipment for outdoorsmen, the military, and law enforcement.
I recently contacted Armasight to see if they could loan me one of their thermal optics for testing and evaluation. They did me one better by offering to loan me two: a monocular and a weapon sight. There was, of course, a little paperwork involved in borrowing almost $8,000 worth of equipment. And UPS wisely wanted me to actually be at home when the package was delivered so that I could sign for it. But about two weeks after Armasight had agreed to loan me the equipment, I was walking through the door of my home with a 14 x 10.25 x 8.75 inch shipping box in my hands.
First Impressions
The shipping box contained a packing slip and a package box for each of the two optics. The monocular box measured 10 X 5.5 X 4.5 inches, and the sight box measured 13.25 x 5.13 x 4.63 inches.
The monocular comes in a bubble wrap bag inside of a 9.75 x 5 x 3 inch MOLLE pouch. The box notes that the optic is subject to US Export Regulations. The pouch also contains a card with an invitation to register in order to receive an extended warranty, a Quick Start Guide, a microfiber lens cloth in a nylon pouch with a clip, a battery compartment extender, and a high-quality USB-C cable. It was also supposed to contain a CR123A battery, but that item was missing.
The sight box contained a manual, a thermal zeroing target, the sight in a 12 x 4 x 3 inch nylon pouch, a high quality USB-C cable, two CR123A batteries, and the sight in a bubble wrap bag.
Monocular Testing
I borrowed one of the batteries that came with the sight, installed it in the monocular, and turned the monocular on. The eyepiece did not really play nicely with my glasses, so I took my glasses off.
At first I couldn’t really see much except a grey screen. I eventually discovered that I could see a whole lot better if I took the lens cover off first. I guess I am in no danger of winning a Nobel Prize anytime in the near future.
I was astounded by how much I could see once I took the lens cover off. I expected to be able to see warm-blooded creatures. But I also expected pretty much everything else to be in a kind of grey fog. What I discovered was that almost every object absorbs and radiates heat at a different rate. As a result, most objects could be easily distinguished from each other in the dark while using the monocular. Inside, I could avoid tripping over pieces of furniture. Outside, I could distinguish trees, rocks, dirt, pavement, moss, and other objects and materials from each other.
I also learned that I could not see outside from the inside or inside from the outside. Glass is not highly transparent to infrared radiation. That is what makes a greenhouse so effective. White light comes through the glass of the greenhouse. Some of the white light is transformed into infrared radiation when it strikes objects in the greenhouse. Most of that infrared radiation then remains trapped in the greenhouse, unable to pass through the glass. This is what makes the greenhouse warmer than the surrounding environment. In practical terms, that meant that I actually had to go outside if I wanted to see what was outside. I could not just look out the window.
I enjoyed observing deer feeding in the yard. Small white dots indicated the presence of songbirds. A gentle glow emanated from certain holes in certain trees bearing witness to the fact that those holes sheltered warm-blooded creatures. I watched chipmunks and squirrels and cats and some other creatures that I had trouble identifying from their thermal signature. I was also amazed to see the prints of my bare feet where they had warmed the porch deck boards. I could see where I had walked. I could also see how long I had stood in a particular place and how long ago I had stood there based upon the warmth of each footprint.
I tried to use the monocular instead of a headlamp while walking the dog in the dark. I discovered that looking through the monocular while walking gave me vertigo. I should not have been surprised. It usually takes me a little while to adjust to a new pair of bifocals. Adjusting to the monocular — with no depth perception — could be expected to take a while as well.
I used the monocular when it was 74 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I used it when it was 25 and snowing. I used it during the day and I used it in the dark. I used it when it was foggy, when it was raining, and when it was clear. I was impressed with what I could see under all of those conditions.
One concern that I had about the optics was battery life. The monocular is only expected to run for 1.5 hours per CR123a battery at 68 degrees Fahrenheit. The sight is expected to run for 4 hours on two CR123a batteries. I imagined a hostile force tracking me through the forest along a trail of spent batteries.
Fortunately, using a USB-C cable, the monocular or the sight can be powered with any USB compatible battery pack. I plugged the monocular into a fully charged 25,000 mAh solar battery pack that I own. I then powered the monocular on before I went to bed. Ten hours later, the monocular was still going strong and the battery pack still retained between 50 and 75 percent of its charge.
I used a QR code in the Quick Start Guide to download and print the full manual for the monocular. I found it to be incredibly feature-rich, with the ability to zoom from 1X to 4X and display in white hot, black hot, rainbow, sepia, or target settings. It includes a compass, inclinometer, and angle cosine indicator. It has onboard video recording, picture capture, and a host of other features.
Weapon Sight Testing
I installed batteries in the battery compartment of the sight, turned it on, and adjusted its focus.
Per the manual, I tried to go to armasight.com/faq for details on mounting. I received a “Page Not Found” error. I noted that the mount is made by Kinetic Development Group, so I went to the kineticdg.com website. There, I found mounting instructions. Once I knew the secret, the sight was remarkably quick and easy to mount and dismount.
I mounted the sight on my Ruger 10/22 .22 LR semi-auto carbine and made my way to the improvised range behind the pole barn. It was a sunny and breezy day in early Spring. The temperature was 35 degrees Fahrenheit. I put the thermal zeroing target on a stand in front of the backstop and set up a table 25 yards away. I then placed a lead sled on the table and placed the rifle on the sled.
Next, I loaded a single round of Federal 38-grain copper-plated hollow point and fired at the target. The round struck 6.5 inches low and 1 inch to the right of the center of the target.
It took me a little while to get used to how to scroll through the various menus necessary in order to zero the sight. I fired a dozen rounds or so before I finally figured everything out and got the sight dialed in. The problem was not that the process was difficult. The problem was that the operator was obtuse.
After a while, I felt that I was no longer getting good contrast with the thermal zeroing target. I took it down and replaced it with disposable hand warmer. The hand warmer worked extremely well as a thermal target.
The results of my sight testing were quite satisfactory. I found the accuracy of the weapon sight to be comparable to that produced by any good standard daylight optical scope.
Like the monocular, the sight is incredibly rich in features. In addition to the ones that I listed for the monocular, the sight also provides many other features including eight different reticule types, six different reticule colors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a mobile app.
I did wonder whether the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth might inadvertently provide tracking information or signals intelligence to an adversary. I am also uncertain about how hardened the equipment is against EMP. If any SurvivalBlog readers have insights on either of these questions, I would welcome their input in the weekly Snippets column.
Conclusions
The Armasight Sidekick 640 1×19 Thermal Monocular and Contractor 640 3-12x50mm Thermal Weapon Sight are outstanding pieces of equipment. Those optics make items that are warmer or cooler than the ambient temperature glaringly obvious by both night and day. This is especially true of warm-blooded creatures.
If you want to observe or hunt warm-blooded creatures and have the resources to purchase first-rate equipment, I highly recommend these optics.
Disclaimer
Armasight loaned me samples of their Sidekick 640 1×19 Thermal Monocular and Contractor 640 3-12x5mm Thermal Weapon Sight for testing and evaluation. I tried not to allow their kindness to interfere with the objectivity of my review, and I believe that I succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.
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