3 year old Night Vision goggles

[windy]

My 3 year old is on a night vision goggle kick at the moment and has got me wanting night vision as well. What is the most budget conscious way to go? He wants to look for monsters under he bed, I want to look for monsters on the walk to the tree stand. Lol. Is there any low end competition to go against the Bushnell Equinox?
Thanks for any advice and yes mother is aware that we are looking for NV and what real Gen2/Gen3 is worth so we cant pull a fast one and get the good stuff.
Windy

 

[DMS1]

I have only had experience with the lower end NV. They work, but you will not see very far without some ambient light, eg, partial moon. You might see shapes at 100 yards, but you won't be counting points on a rack. Not sure what you get if you add a zero (my old monocular was ~$150). I do enjoy sitting late in the stand and using them for observation. Even deer that come from up wind are more confident after dark and will check you out.

 

[skypilot]

Rigel Optics made decent, inexpensive gen 1+ goggles about a decade or more ago for 750 USD. I still see their style goggles occasionally.

Seems they became cross wired with the US government over export violations, so not sure they are still in business.


I keep a Crappy tire NV monocular in my hunt pack. It can be helpful navigating the woods when leaving your stand if you don't have reason to use headlamps and flashlights.