Originally Posted By: marine guyI'm also looking to purchase my first thermal. I've got it narrowed down to 2 units. Bering Optics Hogester R 25mm and the Flir PTS233. What I'm looking for is good warranty, easy to use, quality, customer service,no need for bells and whistles and the majority of my shots will be under 100 yards. Mostly my bait piles. These 2 are in my price range. Which one would you pick? I know I could spend a little more and get something better, but this is all I need for now. If you are limited to the $2200 or lower price point, these would be two of the main options and the Pulsar RXQ30.
Of the two you mentioned, here would be my pros/cons:
Warranty:
Bering Optics Hogster 25mm has a 4 year warranty, and Flir has a 3 year warranty on most items but the core has a 10 year warranty. Most issues aren't core related, so I actually like the 4 year Hogster warranty better.
Image:
From my experience, the Hogster has a much cleaner image. It also does better in high humidity situations. The Flir PTS233 is OK when the Humidity is low but once it gets in the 85%+ range, it really struggles.
Focus:
The Hogster has an adjustable focus and the PTS233 is fixed. I like adjustable on low base mag thermals, but sometimes fixed can be kind of nice if you have lots of moving targets and you don't have time to adjust the focus. Most people seem to prefer adjustable but just letting you know there are pros and cons to both.
Size:
The Hogster is a more compact scope, and can double as a scanner better than the PTS233. Both are fairly small, but the Hogster wins on size if you like compact.
Ease Of Use:
This is where the Hogster really shines. Three buttons. One is the Menu, and the other two really just help move through the menu and power the scope on and off. The buttons are also very easy to push with or without gloves. The Flir buttons are really hard to press with gloves on. The Hogster is really the easiest scope I have ever used as far as the Menu and people quickly understanding it.
Recording:
You said you weren't interested but the PTS series of scopes do record video, and they have automatic shot recording. The Hogster has video out and can only record via a DVR.
Base:
I like the base of the 35mm better than the 25mm, but I would say the base is equal between the two if comparing the 35mm, but on the 25mm, I would give a slight edge to the Flir.
Customer Service:
After the Armasight acquisition, there were lots of complaints about Flir Customer Service on various forums. Flir has made some changes and it seems to be moving in the right direction. If you can get to the right person (Very Large Company), things seem to go well. Bering Optics is a much smaller company. Some will like that and some will not. Many times when you call, you will get a chance to talk to Boris who is the director of the company. He is very knowledgeable. They service the units right in Texas. I have talked to them many times but haven't had any situations that would require me to send in a thermal to see how well they do.
So, overall on the two you mentioned, there were more areas where I gave the Hogster the positive rating over the Flir, so I would say Hogster 25mm given those two choices. If you want to shoot consistently in the 150-200 range, I would recommend the 35mm.
