Cheap Night Vision Goggles

When to Wear Them

The military is one of the organizations that utilize night vision goggles the most. Aside from that, hunters and campers love them too. Believe it or not, they can also contribute to a romantic evening.

• The military: This one is pretty self-explanatory. In combat situations, the men and women need to be able to see in the dark without bringing attention to themselves by shining lights. When stealth is the word of the night, these goggles are part of the solution.

• Hunters: When you're out late at night or in the early hours of the morning before the sun comes up, you need to be able to see what you're shooting at. So while you're perched up on that deer stand, you won't just be wasting your time in the dark, hoping to see the flash of a white tail. The goggles will allow you to see so much more than the naked eye.

• Campers: Camping? You'll need to maneuver in the dark among the gnarly roots, the animals, the rocks, etc. When the sun goes down, it can get pretty dark out there! Flashlights don't cover everything; night vision goggles do a better job of letting you take in your surroundings when you don't have the help of streetlights or the sun.

• Romantic evenings: This one probably had you do a double take. Clunky night vision goggles as a prop on a romantic date? Yep! They make stargazing much more intense than just using the naked eye.

Buying Cheap Night Vision Goggles

Night vision goggles aren't something you can just pick up at any old store in town. Here are a few places to look:

Night Vision 4 Less has quite a selection, but not many cheap night vision goggles. There is one type, the Generation 1's, that is relatively affordable. Some are binocular and some are just monocular. Either way, the price range is $269.00 to $649.00.

• The ATN-VIPER -1 is on the low end of the price spectrum for this particular site ($269.00). What it offers is a combination of high resolution, small size, ability to hook up to a camera (great photography options!), 1x magnification (with the option for more), and a heavy coated glass lens.
• The NOU-D-2MV is at the high end; it's price is $649.00. What you get for the extra money is: binocular vision, built-in photocell, a lightweight set-up, stereoscopic vision, and more. You can also pick up a 3x magnification kit for these.
• The RIG-3250 is another pair of cheap goggles at $649.00. It doesn’t even weigh a full pound even though it's dual-ocular. This design promises to provide crisp images even when it's completely dark out. What else do you get for the price? An infrared illuminator, the ability to focus each lens individually, and cups that block light from the sides so your vision is always accurate. They can also be transformed into regular binoculars with a conversion pack.

Other designs on the site contrast strongly when it comes to the price. Some models are up to $9299.00.

Night Vision Binoculars has a surprisingly large selection of night vision goggles at relatively low prices.

• The Yukon NVMT is on sale as of 12/11/07 for $299.00 (regular price is $359.99). What you get for that price is a waterproof, rubberized set-up with built-in an infrared illuminator. It has 1x magnification.
• You may or may not consider $999.99 "cheap" but it's the most expensive pair of night vision goggles on the website. What you get for opening your wallet so wide here is gear appropriate for emergency response professionals. It's actually called the Rigel Optics LED, Day & Night Vision Goggles Emergency Set; this one's probably a bit more than the average shopper will need. You get the Rigel 3200 Pro goggles along with a conversion kit, two sets of spare batteries, flashlight, and laser pointer. The case the set comes in seems nearly indestructible, so it's perfect for disaster situations.

Bottom Line

If you need cheap night vision goggles, you may be disappointed to find that "cheap" is at least a couple hundred dollars. However, when you compare to the thousands you could spend, you may end up breathing a sigh of relief. For general purposes, the cheaper versions should be fine.