In my opinion.....for whatever that is worth....
You really need a good reason to buy a clip-on. Most of my customers who buy clip-on have a very expensive custom rifle and a high end scope like a Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski, Zeiss etc. Their rifle and scope setup is their "baby". They can't imagine using something else just because it's night time. Clip-on is a logical choice when you are married to your rifle/scope setup.
The misconception is that good clip-ons are the same price or cheaper than a dedicated thermal scope. $1,500 less will get you a dedicated thermal rifle scope that has the same or better image quality than a clip-on. For the same exact money, you can get a Pulsar trail rifle scope that will record video, has a battery pack, wifi/phone app and all the other bells and whistles.
Again, I don't hate clip-on, you just get a LOT less for your money unless you have a real reason for it. Just my 2 cents!
- Jason