Global Sports: Backcountry Toys: Night Vision Devices

Friday, October 14, 2011

Backcountry Toys: Night Vision Devices

By Carole Ashley


Nights in the backcountry are seldom dark. But it can get dark fast. You could turn on the lights or use a night vision device when it does get dark. Backcountry toys don't get better than night vision devices.

The right NVD for you will depend on how you are going to use it. When NVDs are mentioned, most people think of devices that are used in spy movies, and by the military and law. A drop in pricing over the past few years has made a NVD affordable for campers, hunters, hikers and a wide variety of other outdoor enthusiasts. But those night vision devices that come with special features are still expensive.

Night vision devices have two broad categories. Image Enhancement devices collect small amounts of light and amplify them to the point where the human eye can observe the object. Thermal Imaging devices capture the high end of the infrared light spectrum which is emitted as heat by objects. While Image Enhancement devices give you an image with more detail, Thermal Imaging devices give you images with regions of heat. As of now, there are five generations of NVD. Generations 0 and 1 are very affordable, but give poor quality images. Generations 2, 3, and 4 increase in image quality and in price accordingly.

Applications for NVD are actually quite diverse. Some examples are: military, law enforcement, security, hunting, wildlife observation, surveillance, navigation, hidden-object detection, spelunking and entertainment. NVD can be found on helicopters, rifles, camcorders, cameras, boats....just about anywhere. There is even a new craze in up-scale gathering called "A Dinner in the Dark Party", which involves guests wearing NVDs the whole time.

Many people who love going to the backcountry are discovering the wonderful world of the dark. If you are an avid camper, hiker, or hunter, then consider buying a night vision device.




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