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The Nyx-7 Pro night vision goggles are not for everyone. Without a doubt, they are expensive, but they still might be what you are looking for.
Armasight (now a division of FLIR) makes several models of the Nyx-7 goggles. This night vision goggles review will examine them in some detail so you can zero in on the one that would be best for you.
If you are already pretty sure that you want one of them, you can click one of the links below to verify the pricing and availability at Amazon.
If you’re not really certain whether one of these Armasight / FLIR night vision goggles is for you, keep reading the review below. You can click a link in the box just below to go directly to a specified section. Otherwise, just scroll and read as usual.
Contents
Who Are the Nyx-7 Night Vision Goggles Made For?
In 2016, FLIR acquired Armasight. I don’t know if the company plans to keep the Armasight brand attached to the Nyx-7 or not. For our purposes here, we’ll call these Armasight goggles.
Armasight’s target client for the Nyx-7 is really military and law enforcement professionals, but that doesn’t mean you have to be someone in one of those roles to need or want a set of these night vision goggles.
Armasight includes you when they say this about their goggles.
“Waterproof, rugged, lightweight and compact, the Armasight Nyx-7 PRO 3 Bravo [or Alpha or 3P] is the perfect hands-free unit for users ranging from the casual civilian to even the most demanding military and law enforcement professional.”
If you have a situation (probably as a hunter) where you believe that you would benefit from one of these devices, you should certainly check them out. Hopefully the rest of this review will give you a good idea as to whether you want to make an investment in a set or not.
What Are the Significant Features of the Nyx-7 Pro Goggles?
Armasight expects that the Nyx-7 goggles will be used in some pretty harsh conditions, so they encased them in a tough, waterproof housing that should last a long time, despite rough treatment.
Yet they have an ergonomic design that is especially welcome if you use the headset directly on your head, as opposed to over a helmet.
You can use them either way – as head-mountable or helmet-mountable goggles – so you have your hands free, probably to hold a rifle.
To wear them on a helmet, you would need to get the optional helmet mount. The head mount comes with a flip-up feature so you can quickly get them out of the way when not sighting a target. The MICH (Modular Integrated Communications Helmet) Helmet Mount Assembly comes with an adapter / swing arm that gives you this capability.
When flipped up, the goggles will automatically turn off to preserve battery life.
The Nyx-7 night vision (NV) goggles work just as well, perhaps even better, as a hand-held device because you can attach one of several optional afocal lenses to them. This attachment will give you more than the built-in 1x magnification.
You can get lenses that offer 3x, 5x, 6x, and 8x magnification giving you middle to long range viewing power.
The illuminator included with the unit has a high-light cut-off mechanism that activates to protect the image intensifier tube (IIT) so it won’t be damaged by too much light suddenly entering the device. You wouldn’t want your expensive instrument to be rendered useless just because someone shined a bright light in your direction accidentally or on purpose.
There is an LED indicator you can see within the goggle’s field of view that show whether or not you have IR turned on. A similar indicator shows you when your battery power is getting low.
If the built-in capabilities of the Nyx-7 Pro aren’t enough, you can also get an additional infrared (IR) illuminator. Armasight advertises two such devices.
The XLR-IR A-Focal Doubler doubles the distance of XLR-IR850 IR beam. The XLR-IR850 Detachable X-Long Range Infrared Illuminator has a dovetail to a Weaver rail so you can attach it to a rifle or use it as a hand-held light.
If all that weren’t enough, you can also add range finding to the mix. The ARFS3 and ARFS5 are Armasight’s optional advanced range finding stadia attachments for the 3x and 5x lenses respectively.
If you need to record your sightings, you can attach an appropriate camera to these NV goggles. They are already setup to accept such a device.
To operate the night vision features, you need either one 3V CR123 battery or one AA battery. There is an adapter built into the battery compartment. A single battery can last up to 60 hours.
To see the Nyx-7 NV goggles in action, watch this video.
What Are the Specifications of Each Nyx-7 Pro Model?
The three Nyx-7 models are designated as the Bravo, the Alpha, and the Gen 3P (Pinnacle IIT).
The main differences among the three are that the Bravo (the least expensive) gives you a resolution of 57 to 64 line pairs per millimeter, whereas the others give you 64 to 72 line pairs and that the Gen 3P (the most expensive) is auto-gated. Auto-gating is an advanced mechanism that turns the unit on and off rapidly to give you a better view by preventing “blooming”.
Other common specifications include the following.
- GaAs (gallium arsenide) photocathode
- Diopter adjustment from -6 to +2
- F/1.2 27 millimeter lenses
- Field of view 40 degrees
- Water and fog resistance (waterproofing optional)
- Operating temperature range -40 to +122 degrees F. (-40 to +50 degrees Celsius)
- Storage temperature range -58 to +158 degrees F. (-50 to +70 degrees Celsius)
- Weight 1 pound (0.49 kg)
- Warranty of 2 years
- May not be exported
The Bravo and Alpha have the same dimensions (based on information from Amazon). They measure 6.5 by 4.5 by 2.9 inches. The Gen 3P is a little smaller and a slightly different overall shape at 6.4 by 4.7 by 2.4 inches.
All models include a lithium battery, soft carrying case (military standard hard case optional), lens tissue, and packing box.
You can find a review of NYX-14 gear here.
