I posted a query to a NV/Thermal group on FB, in hopes of learning more about why Armasight isn't doing better with customers in Texas. I have only spoken to 2 folks here that have used them, both were dealers and neither is carrying the line. All I learned is that the product line "wasn't a good fit" (to quote one of the dealers) and from the other that the scopes tested did not do well in humidity over 60%. I can't vouch for the validity of such a statement and it seems fairly outlandish, but if even remotely true, would explain why we don't see a lot of Armasights in Texas. So, I was looking for confirmation if this was remotely true or what.

Anybody here own a post 2020 Armasight thermal and care to comment on how well it functions?

So I asked why people in the FB thermal group thought Armasight wasn't doing better in Texas and thusfar, nobody provided any first hand information. A lot of it was either people surprised they still existed or people thinking they were owned by FLIR or Optics Planet. Armasight was acquired by FLIR in 2016 and FLIR, a 'leader' in the thermal industry, was already having credibility issues after their RS line fiasco and couldn't get a decent 640 core to work in their new Thermosight line after acquiring Armasight that was supposed to be the flagship of their scopes. Eventually FLIR just quit the civilian weapon sight side of things in 2019.

Armasight was acquired from FLIR by Ecentria in 2020 from FLIR and I think had their first new Shot Show experience in 2021. Still, apparently a lot of people, including some dealers, think that Armasight is part of FLIR and/or Optics Planet and nobody likes FLIR and a lot of people despise Optics Planet and so want no association with Armasight as a result. This sounds like a blunder on the part of Armasights and Ecentria's PR people.

Ecentria is the parent company of Armasight as well as Optics Planet. We are an authorized dealer for Armasight. I was on the fence about becoming a dealer as I do not wish to contribute to the prosperity of the parent company of Optics Planet, however, Armasight makes a quality product as well as some different options than some of the others so I sucked it up and became a dealer. We sell quite a few Armasights, with good feedback.

I don't doubt that you do, but I don't see any of these or other purchasers being from Texas and posting vids and I really have to wonder why.

Not sure why everybody hates FLIR. We have a hand held and had it for 10 years now with no complaints, works great. PS 32 is what we have.
Interesting notes on the Armasight and humidity.

FLIR turned their back on the civilian weapon sight market and hunters in particular. Here is an article from when FLIR discontinued sales, which will give you some indication as to why people dislike FLIR.

https://internationalsportsman.com/breaking-flir-discontinues-all-civilian-sales-2/

I have used their customer service program. It literally took weeks of back and forth for them to sell me a battery holder for the one that broke in my Armasight. So I am not a fan at all.

But Armasight is NOT a part of FLIR, despite all the hate of FLIR.

As I mentioned on FB, Ecentria is the parent company of Optics Planet, OpMod, Dvor and few other brands and now Armasight. These other brands are essentially the "house" brands for OP. When Armasight reached out to me, we spoke extensively and they were kind and understanding but flat out admitted that Armasight was bought to be another house brand marketed through OP but they also wanted to make their mark on the industry independently. But they said it was proving to be difficult because of the bad name Armasight earned after the FLIR demise and because neither independent nor national accounts (think big corporate) dealers wanted to get in bed with Optics Planet. OP sells the Armaisght brand way below their "map" pricing all the time and at the time Armasight was calling me, I could buy their optics for the same price on OP as every day end user as I could purchase them as a dealer. They admitted they couldn't blame dealers for not wanting to sign up and this was something they were discussing with the bosses at Ecentria but they could not and would not promise that anything would change. And to be honest I do not blame Ecentria or OP for that one bit. If you have a house brand, sell it!

So again, if OP was not involved things might be different. Todd Huey of Lone Star Boars might be one to ask because he has long been a big proponent of Armasight and he was one of the only independent dealers to jump on their band wagon when Ecentria bought them and he was pushing them hard for a short time and then quickly dropped them but I never asked him why. I don't know if it was because of the OP connection or because of the quality or something else.

Again, as mentioned on FB, OP is the enemy of every hard working mom and pop dealer in the country. It's definitely a David and Goliath situation. Combined with so many end users having had bad experiences and finding out there is no knowledgeable customer service backing the thermal/nv optics at OP, it's hard for anyone to be overly excited about dealing with a sister company of and house brand of OP.

I'm a guy who never says never, so something could change for us working with them in the future. We left it on very good terms and they understood our position and were actually really nice. Something may change and things may spring to life for Armasight but as it stands they have an uphill battle unfortunately.

Edit: I've had a couple people who can't seem to believe that OP and Armasight are owned by the same company but here is Ecentria's website stating they own OP. https://ecentria.com/brands/

VERY INTERESTING BACKGROUND...which helps explain why there are only 4 dealers in Texas.

I’m surprised Coco Joe (formerly known as JTProcaddie) isn’t repping Armasight.

He has like 87 sponsors and this is right up his alley.

It’s not like Burris (his latest main squeeze) is killing it so he’d be the guy to bring Armasight to Texas. . .

I’ve handled the Armasights at NV shows , they don’t feel or look like a high quality product , the videos that do exist outside of Texas on YouTube look very average.

Lastly it has to be hard to compete in the current market given all the options UNDER Armasights MAP pricing.

Yes sir, it really does explain a lot. I know of two other big players who were trying to buy the Armasight brand when FLIR was selling it. One of them just wanted to buy it to kill the name. The other wanted to resurrect it and they would have had a fighting chance at it but still had an uphill battle.




I just snorted....

I'm amazed at how many folks still buy things from OP. Their antics are not someone I want to support and shocked others don't or haven't had issues either.

They offer a variety of low prices, particularly on sale items...not that everything they sell is current or soon-to-be in stock, based on numerous folks reports. Heaven forbid you should have a problem. It is almost as if they are challenging Botach Tactical, LOL.
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.opticsplanet.com
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/opticsplanet.com
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/opticsplanet.html
https://www.bbb.org/us/il/northbroo...lanet-inc-0654-36000233/customer-reviews

If I may make a suggestion?
Why not try to make your purchases from those of us who try our best to answer questions in the threads and are customer service oriented and are here to assist you before, during and after your purchase? There are many fine vendors who have been here for many years

I think you sped read that Doug...I don't do business with OP. You're exactly right and I agree 100%.

Years ago they burnt me on the old "in stock" but don't really have it trick. Screw them, I don't even look at their site.

LOL, nobody was endorsing shopping at Optics Planet. However, as noted, people often purchase based on price and OP often has great deals. They are willing to gamble that it will turn out well, like buying a brand of scope nobody in your state seems to be using.

Pig_Popper pointed out that the new Armasight videos haven't been very remarkable. When you do look at the videos from recent Armasight products, most are from Armasight proper as near as I can tell, followed by vendors and professional review channels, and then by a very limited number of end user consumers. However, for a company like Armasight that is now multiple years into this new product line I would expect to see a lot more videos from actual end user consumers. By that I mean that when InfiRay popped on the market, it wasn't too look after they started sales that videos from consumers started showing up. Same for Sig, AGM, & Rix. I would have expected the same for Armasight. We have a lot of hunters in Texas, hog, coyote, and other varmints, so I would have thought if the product was good, sales would be good, and happy consumers would be producing content to share with their friends.

That they aren't producing said content strikes me as something being wrong. I realize that this is a non-standard metric to use for evaluative purposes, but if nobody seems to be using a product line, you have to wonder why. Is it the product, the marketing, the company, or some combination? Apparently, it is a combination.

TI, Hughes started the FLIR stuff, Raytheon bought out some of it. Don't remember when FLIR Co. started but most of the US products were Mil. LE based and still look the part. Yes, a lot of company business is to 'kill' competition, control patents, etc. Armasight weapons stuff is just too Mil for me..