There is no shortage of different types of thermal optics for you to choose from, and one of the options at your disposal is a pair of thermal binoculars.

There’s also room in your toolkit for more than one thermal optic (two is one and one is none, remember) but at the same time, if your decision comes down to whether a thermal scope or a pair of binoculars is right for you, here are some instances in which you should choose the latter.

You Already Have a Thermal Scope (or Night Vision Scope)

That is obvious. If there is already an optic over your rifle, then a thermal scope is off the table, and thermal binoculars are the right bet. This is the obvious answer whether you have a thermal or night vision scope on your gun.

Besides, there are advantages of using a pair of thermal binoculars instead of a scope anyway. You can use a pair of binoculars for scouting as efficiently if not more efficiently than a scope, and you don’t need to muzzle anything when you’re using a pair of binoculars.

In addition, using binoculars for scouting instead of your scope will preserve your battery life, and the ergonomics of binoculars tend to be better for that application, anyway.

You Want to Keep Your Rail Clear

If, for any reason, you want to keep your rail space open, then a pair of thermal binoculars is a better bet for you than a thermal scope is.

And, on top of that, thermal binoculars can do basically anything that a scope can except take a shot, since they don’t have a reticle and aren’t designed to be mounted to a gun.

You Don’t Like the One-Eye Night Blindness

There’s one thing that thermal scopes and thermal monoculars both cause that won’t affect you if you have thermal binoculars instead.

It’s called night blindness, and it happens when your eyes are exposed to light in complete darkness. Without getting too technical, what you need to know is that certain wavelengths of light damage your night vision, making it feel like you’re blind when you leave the eyepiece and look into the dark again.

You’ll experience this to some degree with all thermal optics, but at least with binoculars, you won’t have one eye that can see and one that can’t, which some hunters report causes headaches.

Also, regardless of whether you use a thermal scope or binoculars, one thing you can do to help mitigate this is to set your display to all red; red light is still not ideal, but it won’t damage your ability to see in the dark as sharply as other wavelengths.

You Like the Form Factor and Ergonomics

You might also prefer thermal binoculars over a scope (or a monocular) for the same reasons that others give for conventional optics.

It’s more comfortable to use both eyes to view a target, which only binoculars allow - both thermal scopes and monoculars are inferior on this matter.

Moreover, the ergonomics of thermal binoculars mimic those of their regular, conventional counterparts, down to how to focus the image. So there’s that to consider as well.

Thermal Monoculars: A Practical Alternative to Binoculars

Now, suppose you want an optic that offers some combination of the benefits of a thermal scope and binoculars, but you don’t want the weight or size of binoculars - or even the higher price, which is generally the case when compared with thermal monoculars.

Therein lies your solution. As a general rule, thermal monoculars offer the same features and functionality as thermal binoculars, but they tend to be lighter, and since they only have one eyepiece, they tend to be more affordable, too.

Since they are lighter and more compact, carrying a thermal monocular in the field is easier and frees up space, plus it lightens the overall weight of your loadout.

Add into this the fact that they are generally more affordable and you have an even more attractive proposition.

The one thing to be aware of is that, even if a given thermal monocular offers everything else you want, by their natural design, you will only be able to use one eye for viewing at a time, which means you might still run into the issue of one-eye night blindness.

But that would happen with a scope anyway, so it very well might make a monocular a practical alternative.

Shop Thermal Binoculars and Other Optics Here

Whether you determine a pair of thermal binoculars is for you, or you go instead for a monocular or even a thermal scope, we have what you need, from the top brands, such as Nocpix, PULSAR, iRay, RIX, and many others. Shop our collection and find what you need today.