FLIR Breach PTQ136 Monocular Review

Here is my review of the new FLIR Breach PTQ136 handheld/helmet mountable thermal monocular. If there is one selling point of this unit it has to be the size and weight. I still can't get over that. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

Jason

good job bud. I've been running one in a bridge mount with a pvs-14. Love it.

Thanks Myron. I'm admittedly not a helmet guy. Part of me wants to be and the other part of me says it's more gear to wear/carry. I know it would be helpful but most of my hunting is spot and stalk and I usually have my rifle, a handheld monocular, shooting sticks, a bag/pack with a flashlight, camera, spare mags and gloves, a camera tripod and a pistol on my waistband. By the time I walk up on the hogs and get setup for the shot I'm out of breath and sweating, adding a helmet into the mix might put me over the edge.

Seriously though, this breach would definitely be awesome on a helmet setup. Glad to hear you are liking it.

Jason

Exactly why you should put your monoc on a helmet, light too.

Very true. I’m sort of the mindset “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” I guess in all honesty I’m just stubborn in my ways.ha!

Some people really like helmets. Some don't. I have noticed that helmets seem to cause some people a variety of problems with neck strain due to weight and balance issues. Properly counterbalancing accessories such a NODs can effectively double or more than double the weight of the accessory depending on where and how it is mounted.

If the helmet works for you, GREAT. If not, don't force the issue.

I spent 11 years wearing a hamlet with NODs against my will I ain’t doing it while hunting lol.

Some of us were under-privileged as youngsters and didn't get enough GI Joe time.

Some of us were under-privileged as youngsters and didn't get enough GI Joe time. Besides, where else could I display my "I love bacon" in Arabic patch?

1-1.5 hours lol, I'll have to go through 10 batteries in one night. Although it is comparable when I use my REAP-IR with 2 batteries, seems I swap a couple times a night and I don't leave it on the whole time.

Understandable, but most people don’t hunt 10 to 15 hours a night, which is what you should expect to get even if that 1 to 1.5 hours of battery life is correct and you run through 10 batteries. And I think I mentioned it in the video but I believe that battery life estimate is low. I’ll do some testing and find out what the actual battery life is. I had a user tell me they’re getting 2 1/2 to 3 hours out of their’s but I want to test that for myself.

I haven’t heard anyone complaining about the battery life but you’ve also got to consider what the Breach is......the first helmet mountable (or micro handheld) high quality thermal monocular. The thing has some serious benefits over a PVS-14, but no question thermal will never have the battery life of NV, that’s a trade off.

What about the skeet IR it helmet mountable and I was using it as far back as 2013 in Afghanistan. Its been on the market for a while.

Absolutely 100% correct. I should have said “affordable” or “less expensive”. The Skeet’s are around $10k if I’m not mistaken. Totally different level of optic but you are right. Thanks for the correction.

10K that’s affordable just not for me

True and it's totally understandable that $2,495 isn't "affordable" for everyone either. I guess we should say it's affordable, relatively speaking.lol