A Review of the Paramount Moonlight Night Vision Monocular

Do you ever wonder what lurks outside your doors at night? What wanders in the far reaches of your yard? What eyes peer out at you from the nearby woods? What does your dog see and why is he barking? I've often wondered about these things and wished that I could see into the darkness and know what is out there. But, the expense of night vision gear has always kept me in the dark. Recently, a friend loaned me a Paramount Moonlight Night Vision 3.6x Monocular so that I could try it out for a few months. It was my first opportunity to play with night vision equipment for an extended period of time. I could walk into the darkness with new eyes like a superhero.

As a night vision device, this monocular is a fairly crude first generation Russian device. The unit is identical cosmetically to the Russian Zenit NV-100K Night Vision Scope and sports a Zenit labeled objective marked IR 1,6/85. The scope is equipped with a small detachable infrared illuminator. From an ergonomic perspective, the unit is bulky but fairly easy to use. You simply slip your hand into the back-strap that runs along the side of the scope. Your thumb will be naturally positioned to press the button triggering the IR illuminator. You can focus by adjusting the objective and the eyepiece. At times, this can be difficult. It is very easy to inadvertently remove the objective by twisting it out the scope body (like a camera lens) instead of adjusting the focus ring. You have to be very careful not to accidentally drop the objective when this happens. The scope body itself is constructed of fairly heavy duty plastic that does flex a little along the seams. The unit is powered by two AA batteries which fit into a compartment beneath the hand strap. Replacing batteries requires that a single screw be removed so that the battery compartment can be opened. The unit weighs a little over 2 pounds. Overall, the construction is fairly substantial but the unit should still be handled with care.