Imoutdoors.com, a division of ESPN Outdoors, issues highly favorable review of Rigel Optics night vision gear
Date: Thursday 31 July, 2003President of highly popular Internet portal asserts superior image quality of Rigel Optics night vision rifle scopes, goggles, and binoculars
"The night vision equipment was…better than anything else I have used" - Scott Unclebach, President Imoutdoors.comJuly 31, 2003. A team of product editors from Imoutdoors.com recently carried out a field test of Rigel Optics night vision goggles, scopes, and binoculars, and issued the highest marks for quality and ease of use of Rigel Optics Night Vision. Full copy of the review reproduced below.Full Internet version of the review can also be found at www.imoutdoors.com.
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Rigel Optics
Iowa night vision optics maker has affordable, rugged products that stand tall and brightBy Lynn Burkhead
ImOutdoors.com senior editorIf you've tuned into television news programming in recent months, you've undoubtedly seen green-tinted footage of American soldiers performing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the dark of night, I might add.
What's the source of the green-tinted video streaming from imbedded reporters on the battlefield? It's nothing more than the use of night vision technology found in space-age equipment that turns the dead of night into broad daylight for our brave troops on the front lines.
While most of us have seen the technology displayed on various news accounts in recent months, not everyone actually understands how such technology works.
Basically, night vision technology converts a light signal, or photon, into an electronic signal. That signal is then amplified by the high-tech equipment and redisplayed on a phosphorescence screen, thus the tint. Amazingly enough, such cutting edge technology isn't just available to the U.S. military any more. Thanks to Rigel Optics' line of night vision products, such technology can be put to use by outdoors enthusiasts. Obviously, the potential for the misuse of night vision equipment by poachers of big game animals is real. But that one negative potential misuse aside, there are a number of other uses available to the legal, responsible, and ethical outdoorsman.
(Editor's Note: Always be sure to check local and state regulations to ensure the legality of using such technology for various outdoors or hunting-related applications.)
Got a predator problem on the back 40? One way to solve that problem - without turning on floodlights that will scare Wile E. Coyote away - is to focus a pair of Rigel 2100 Pro Night Vision Binoculars on the predator. Easy to focus and lightweight, this product carries good image intensification.
Enjoy hog hunting? In some states, wild hogs are a growing nuisance whose hunting isn't regulated by laws pertaining to other big game animals. Where legal, the use of this night vision technology can turn the call of "Here piggee, piggee" into smoked bacon!
That option can be of particular value since desert and mountainous terrain are much cooler during darkness than during the stifling heat of full daylight. When would you rather hike this summer - when it's 110 in the shade or a comfortable 65 degrees with only stars blazing above?
Of course, there are other uses that can be employed for Rigel's top-end night vision products ranging from paintball - although I'm not sure I'd want to get such gear splatted - to simply enjoying what nature brings into the backyard each evening.
One of the biggest pluses concerning Rigel products is their affordability. ImOutdoors CEO and President Scott Unclebach recently gave several products a try and said they compare and perform on the level of much more expensive models.
"The night vision equipment was easy to use and fun," Unclebach said. "The night vision quality probably wasn't as good as the military's, but better than anything else I have used including a friend's pair of very expensive binoculars."
"I know that for thousands of dollars you can get higher quality, but most people cannot afford that equipment."
Unclebach went searching for wild hogs on his outing, but says that the equipment he used has numerous other applications including the surveying of wildlife populations and the observance of such dark-of-night creatures as bats, owls, and bobcats.
"If you are looking to step into the night vision arena to improve your varmint and hog hunting success, or for any other night vision need that you might have, this is a great place to start," Unclebach said.
For more information, visit Rigel Optics web site at www.rigeloptics.com .
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Contact:
Tel 1-866-810-3398
sales@rigeloptics.com
Night Vision by Rigel Optics
