Considering a Pulsar Thermion? A limited number of Pulsar Thermion XM models have hit the dealers and the questions have been flooding in. Is the Thermion a good optic to get into thermal hunting for the first time? Should I upgrade and get rid of my Trail to get a Thermion? How does the Trail compare to the Thermion?... First of all, each person will have their own opinion and perspective. Each hunter should consider their hunting conditions, hunting style, and budget when deciding to move forward with an optic. I’ve spent a lot of time with the Thermion XM38 and there are things that I love, and things that have I’ve had to get used to. We all knew that the XM’s were coming to market with higher magnifications than the Trail units. For me, hog hunting in ETX and shooting the majority of my shots at 50-75 yards, the increased magnification isn’t a positive but for someone coyote hunting in the Midwest it is probably seen as a great enhancement. Also, the Pulsar Thermion XM resolution is now at 320 x 240 and 12 Microns, versus the 384 and 17 Mircons with the Trails. The most obvious change is the look and design of the scope, with the Thermion looking more like a traditional rifle scope. Comparing the Thermion picture image to the Trail models is difficult, both have vastly different magnifications which could skew ones perception of which one has a better image. I wouldn’t say that the picture image of the Thermion is better… or worse, just different. However, I do love the new design of the scope. It looks great on a rifle and feels even better. I personally think that the Thermion is a good buy, especially since the pricing is comparable to the Trail models. You are also getting a couple extras with more color palettes and an increase of memory storage for videoing. Here is a compilation video of my time with the Pulsar Thermion XM38 (I’ll also post my full review video in the optics forum)…

Yeah, in working with the XM50, I would agree that the image quality has not improved. They dropped the resolution (a negative), but dropped the micron distance (a positive) in comparison with the Trails and the net impact on image quality seems to be a wash.

It will be nice when they actually provide the firmware update so that the audio is activated and that we don't have to keep dubbing the audio track from another source.

The audio is a pain... hoping that the firmware update comes sooner than later.

LOL, yes! You had a lot of syncing to do in that video.

Been a while. Great shooting!

ALOT! I get pissed when I have to shoot a bunch haha

Thank you! Been so busy with The Late Night Vision Show Podcast.. hardly have time to hunt lol