Oh hoh. Welcome to my realm. I've spent quite a few years researching and using NODs and speak fairly frequently with lots of the Canadian NV retailers and end users.
There are a few retailers that I trust for NV stuff. Cold Harbour is absolutely good to go, so is Opfor Night Solutions and Mk4 Designs. I would stay away from GSCI, Brandon Optics, Alpha Optics, and anybody else that sells GSCI products as their offerings really aren't very good.
To start with, night vision is a system. Just having the night vision device is just the start, you need peripherals supporting it to make it work optimally (helmet, mount, IR illuminators, IR lasers). In terms of night vision devices, a PVS-14 is as ubiquitous a platform as you can get. Basically everybody starts off with using one and either stays with it or upgrades to binos. Personally, it is always my recommendation to get a PVS-14 first to see how much you use it and to get good at using it as it's a very seamless transition going from a mono to a bino.
The heart of NV devices is the image intensifier tube (IIT). There are several generations based off American IIT technology. Gen 0 and gen 1 are garbage. Stay away from these as they are basically next to useless. US gen 2 and older US gen 3 (OMNI VI and older) is somewhat serviceable but won't be able to compete against modern tubes. US gen 3 OMNI VII and OMNI VIII tubes are excellent (thin-film technology) but very rare to find in Canada due to ITAR (US arms export restrictions). So the American tubes are basically impossible for us to get, so we turn to the Euros. Harder Digital in Germany makes gen 3 tubes with gallium arsenide photocathodes but they are using older US gen 3 technology (thick film) and really aren't worth the money.
So you'll see the retailers I suggest stock primarily Photonis tubes. Photonis has quite a long history of being competitive with their IIT technology. Their older mil-grade XD-4 and XR5 lines were excellent for their time and still hold up compared to older US gen 3. But their new offerings in their Echo, Echo+, and 4G lines are where they shine. They offer excellent specs and performance and are very good value, which is why proper NV retailers are mostly offering devices with Photonis Echos. I personally have an Echo+ tube and have compared it with nearly every other available tube on the market including top of the line US gen 3 filmless tubes of which it is about 90% of the performance (the gen 3 having a gallium arsenide photocathode and being filmless gives it better extreme low light performance).
The IIT also has performance metrics and specs that can be used to see how good of a tube you are getting. This is a writeup from the owner of Opfor Night Solutions about the specs and generations of night vision and is an excellent read:
https://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=193908
Besides tube specs, there's also phosphor screen colour. The traditional green phosphor is an option but nowadays the trend is to have white phosphor tubes as WP has less eyestrain and better contrast.
Once you've decided on the tube you want that fits your needs, you need to decide on a housing. For a monocular, there's not much choice. Personally I would stick with either a milspec PVS-14 housing or a Nocturn Tanto if you want something a little lighter. If you want binos, there are tons of choices. Do you want articulation (so you can roll the pods up), IPD stops if it articulates (fixed spacing between your eyes), the material of the housing (polymer vs aluminum), features such as modularity, onboard IR illuminator, external power options, etc. This is when I recommend you talk with the retailers so they can suggest housings that fit your wants and needs.
Lastly is the choice of lenses. I like new manufactured Carson (milspec) glass the most, though some retailers favour the lighter RPO glass or a milspec variant (Edmund). Don't cheap out on the glass and get Optronics or ADI as they have significant image distortion or sealing issues.
Once you've got your NV device figured out, now you need to put the rest of the system together. Do NOT use USGI skullcrushers with Norotos Rhino mounts. You will absolutely have a bad time. Get a quality mount (Cadex Low Profile Mount, Norotos AKA2, Norotos LoSto, Wilcox mounts). If it's a PVS-14, you'll need an arm to interface with the mount (or just get a bridge for it). Buy a bump helmet (or ballistic if that's how you roll). Team Wendy Exfil LTPs are a good choice with a molded in aluminum shroud, decent padding, good suspension. Only downside to TWs is the rail system is not as universal as the OpsCore ARC rails.
NV is a heck of a rabbit hole with tons of information and misinformation out there. I strongly advise you contact CHS or Opfor or Mk4 and ask questions and learn from them. Feel free to ask me stuff too!
