Night vision is a great item to have in your bug out bag.  Think about bugging out and/or having to travel at night for safety reasons.  It makes perfect sense that if you had to bug out because of a threat chances are good it would be at night. You also need to think about navigating at night. If you are trying not to draw attention to yourself night vision is the way to go.

Most people think night vision is expensive.  Yes, night vision can be VERY expensive but does not have to be depending on what your intended use is.

I have collected a few pieces that were not very expensive.  One is a $100 monocular about the size of a deck of cards. This is a nice little piece that you could use to navigate out of a hotel in a power outage for example.  You can find it on Amazon.

I also picked up a larger Gen 1 monocular from Ultimate Night Vision.  It is a Generation 1 night vision product and certainly does not compare to the resolution and quality of the Gen 2 and higher products, but it works for my needs and budget.  Again this is a device that I would use more for navigation and evasion rather than fighting or something like that but it could get you out of harms way.

I watched a video by James Yeager from Tactical Response on YouTube and he pointed out that we all have guns to fight during the day but not at night…holy shit he was right – so I ordered a scope.  (follow this guy he is no bullshit and fun)

I also picked up a Photon XT rifle scope from Sight-Mark.  It is a digital rifle scope and is a blast to play with.  Since it is a digital optic it can be used in both the night time and day light.  This is good since your weapon is not limited to only day or night fighting.  It’s not an expensive optic but again it fit my budget and will give me something that I can use at night.

I also purchased a Thermal monocular  made by Pulsar.  This is a whole new world and very exciting.  Thermal imaging works on heat as compared to IR night vision that allows you to see with infrared light.  You can’t hide very easily from Thermal and it even works in the daylight.  Camo can conceal you from night vision but you stand out against the surrounding with a thermal optic.  If you can swing the cost take a hard look at thermal technology.

If you want to get started with some night vision I would recommend you visit a site like Ultimate Night Vision or even Amazon. Start with a night vision monocular that fits in your price range.  A monocular can be used as a hand held devise or mounted to some headgear and worn over your eye.  You can get stated for a little over $200.  Keep in mind that for the most part you get what you pay for so buy as big as you can.  This will give you something that you can play with and use if the SHTF.  Having the ability to safely move at night and or evade if need be could be the advantage you need to survive.

Add night vision to your list of thing to buy.  I will tell you that it can be fun to just play with.  Take the dog for a walk at night.  Join a paintball group that has night time battles or just go watch the deer move.  We know you have it in case the SHTF and you need to move and evade or fight at night, but you don’t have to share that with your clueless friends.