Does anyone have any hands on experience with these. Specifically the 12V model and are they worth a dang? Thx

This probably isn't the "hands on" experience that you are looking for but I saw them 2 years ago at the SHOT Show in Vegas. I walked up, looked through it and immediately thought "What is this little toy?" The size of the display seemed tiny and the resolution was poor. I walked away within 30 seconds. Maybe I didn't give it a fair chance but I just couldn't see the usefulness of it. And to clarify, I'm not a thermal snob. I think the little Leupold LTO Trackers are great for what they are intended for. I'm just not exactly sure what you'd use the little Torrey Pines unit to do?

Just my 2 cents and please take it with a grain of salt.

- Jason

At least you physically looked through one. I have similar thoughts about it as you with the size and the resolution specs don't appear to be that great. However I'm just curious if it could actually be useful for 100-120 yard shots for pigs. I'll probably never be able to afford or justify the purchase of a legitimate thermal unit so I was curious about this one after seeing a FB post about it. Thank you for your insight. I'm willing to hear any input good or bad.

I havent read anything positive about them.

Watch the classifieds for a photon XT. You should be able to get one under $500 somewhere

My gut feeling is....no it will not be good enough for 100 yard shots on anything. The thermal core resolution is only 80x60 and it has a terribly slow 9Hz refresh rate. Compare that to the Leupold LTO Tracker. It has a 240x204 thermal core resolution and although it's just a viewer with no adjustable crosshairs, I can tell you that you wouldn't be able to reliably hit a hog or anything else with any accuracy at 100 yards. The LTO is also 30Hz, which is much better.

Sadly, I really don't think it will do what you want. If it would, I'd become a dealer tomorrow and I'd be pushing them.



I agree. Thermal is awesome but unless you are willing to upgrade to something like the new Pulsar Core RXQ30V for $1,899, there just isn't anything out there that will do what you want and be a good investment. Something like the Photon XT is without a doubt, unarguably be the best bang for your buck.

I can sell you a brand new Photon XT in the box for a little under $500 and it would come with a full 3 year image sensor warranty and lifetime hardware warranty. You don't get that with a used one, so you just need to buy used at a price knowing that.