Sightmark Ghost Hunter

I have on occasion used some top of the line night vision equipment. These units are extremely advanced and blow this little monocular out of the water. They have much greater range and clarity than this little unit ever could. However, the sight mark does have a secret weapon. Top of the line night vision devices can run 5 figures. $200 for the ghost hunter is a lot of money, but compared to its brethren is peanuts. This little guy will perform an amazing job considering the comparatively primitive technology in it. With a halfway decent moon, you can see a few hundred yards and distinguish clearly what you're looking at. The IR illuminator is ok but the range is limited. I was able to clearly count cattle at a distance of about 150 yards. The focus is surprisingly sharp, given the price point and technology used in this unit. The ghost hunter is small and lightweight, and fits easily in a pocket, unlike more advanced units which are quite a bit larger. The device uses AA batteries, which is a huge plus for me. AA's are easily found, and rechargeable ones can be stocked in great quantities for little cost. I have not torture tested the sight mark yet, and I do not believe it can survive nearly as much abuse as military duty night vision devices. However, one must keep in mind that this unit is not designed for extremely strenuous use. Rather, it has been built to provide the maximum clarity for the price, and it excels at that. Just by examining the sight mark, I believe it could survive the occasional drop onto a soft surface like grass, and well as moderate weather. Bottom line, if your goal is to invade Azerbaijan, you will need a more advanced device. If, on the other hand, your goal is to simply check on the critters at night unobtrusively, it's hard to imagine a more cost competitive unit than this one.

This Gen 1 NVG is a 6 out of 10 in my eyes, The NVG part works well and I'm quite impressed for the price, It takes between 20 sec to 2 min to power down. The IR Light when Active creates a red light on the lens which if using in a senior could give your positions away with a naked eye. This does not mount to a rhino helmet mount (US Military NVG Mount) unless you buy a adapter. This DID not come with battery's and was shipped with it in a box inside a larger box with no bubbles or pads, creating a unsettling thought about the shipment. I have had the product for almost a day, so a update will concur down the road when I receive the Mount from amazon. But for the money its about what to be expected, not much better not much worse... I just wished it came with the attachments, as of now. ****UPDATE*** Bought the adaptor for the combat helmet and could find only 2 price points either super expensive or 30$... the$30 adaptor stinks wobbles and keeps the NVGs on a angle so they are not good for helmet mounted. For the 2x, this is my first working with 2x and it is impossible to adjust your eyes for moving with 2x on. SO if your looking for walking of moving NVG set, this is not one, on a 22 cal or something small where the recoil wont effect the NVGs, this is a great purchases

I purchased this night vision monocular to replace an older unit I purchased some years ago that I never really found satisfactory. The Ghost Hunter is a huge improvement over that old unit, with a flatter, clearer, field of view, less distortion around the edge of the visual field (although there is some) and better resolution. It's also significantly smaller and lighter than the old viewer, and i'm guessing more weatherproof. I bought the Ghost Hunter after having had good experience with Sightmark's Proton 4.5x digital scope which I have mounted on my Crosman Marauder air rifle. Sightmark has a good reputation, and they're said to stand behind their 3 year warranty. I was also attracted to the low price- I paid about $165 for my Ghost Hunter, which puts it at the low end of Gen 1 scopes, but it has very good reviews overall here on Amazon. One slight annoyance: The objective and eyepiece focusing barrels have almost no resistance to turning. That makes them very easy to focus, which I suppose is a plus, but it also makes it very easy to knock the eyepiece out of focus. Once you get the eyepiece adjusted to your eye, you really don't want to have to keep adjusting it. I solved this by wrapping a wide rubber band around the front end of the eyepiece focusing ring. If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive entry into night vision for nature viewing or hunting, this scope is a good choice. By itself it makes a fine viewer, and with the addition of a dot sight and Sightmark's Weaver mount it can serve as the basis of a night vision hunting scope, too. All in all a good value for what they're asking.

There is no tactical or practical application for this device. It does not enhance your ability to see in the dark by any means, in fact you're much better off without anything than you are using the device. Here's a few specific points: 1. Inherently, as a Gen 1 device, visibility is awful. Being 2x24 you can’t see wide enough to do anything, not even walk. 2.There's a useless 2x magnification to screw up your depth perception even further. 3.It does not mate well with a standard J arm. The point where the j arm screws in is a cheap plastic that rubs away after screwing the J arm in only a few times. So now the device sits at about cheek level, and you can't look through it without securing it with duct tape to the J arm. 4. It takes about 10 minutes to power off. 5. It has an incredibly bulky IR illuminator that barely functions. Save your money. I don't even know what I was thinking when I bought this. Buy a PVS 14

First off, if you think the critters can't see this thing when it's pointed at them, think again. Every animal I looked at (with the I/R light on) looked back at me with alarm. If you move while they are looking back, you're busted. Secondly, the focus is just short of "guesswork". You first must adjust the eyepiece to get the focus "close", then you have to adjust the front objective to sharpen the image enough to recognize anything. Needless to say; you are constantly adjusting. As for the image quality, there is a distinct sweet spot in the viewer and any deviation from that spot significantly reduces the viewing angle around the perimiter. It's better than nothing (hence the 2 stars) but in short, this product is just a notch above a "toy" and you would be better off spending a little more for something serious.

Ok for the money this is a great entry level night vision. The field of view is small but it works perfect. Glass is clear with not many defects. You can see clearly out to 30 yards but you can see aprox out to 100 yards with separate ir light. This is obviously not a military grade unit so dont expect that. If you just want something to play with i highly recommend it. Behind a ir ready optic on a fire arms it works perfect , also with a ir laser i have found no issue. The monocular/rifle scope are the same unit minus the mounting bracket.

If you just want some night vision to assist in camping or goofing around, then this is the product for you. It doesn't work in pitch black (without activating the IR light). Its range of view is limited. But it will work perfectly if you need to read a map or take a walk on a trail at night.

Great product for the money! I have set this up on my Colt AR-15 co-witnessing it behind my EOTECH Red Dot and the G33 Magnifier. Works very well with this set up and I am still able to obtain good eye relief. I am able to clearly see the Red Dot with the NV on and the distance gained in my field of view allows me to easily obtain a target past 100 yds. at night. The imaging is very clear and crisp as I was a doubter with the cost of this item being as low as it is. The IR light works well and helps illuminate your point of sight. I do wish that the lens adjustments were tighter on this unit as you will lose focus after a few shots. A good way to help with that is to use the Sightmark Ghost Hunter Daytime-Riflescope NV adapter. This allows you to add some pressure on the focusing rings so they do not move with each shot. All in all great value for the money!