These reports echo what I have been saying for some time now, that there are issues with different brand scopes / monoculars and not just ATN. Someone on the forums recently boldly proclaimed that ATN is no good and a waste of money, yet made no mention of other brands that have issues too. ATN seems to catch all the heat and hate, and in truth they have to own it since some of it is true. Pulsar on the other hand has basically received nothing but praise on the forums, yet they too have had and continue to have a multitude of problems. Remember when the Trail models first came out? They were pushed hard here by certain members / vendors and everybody had to have one, but as time has elapsed it has become more evident that they too have been very lacking and people are upset, rightfully so. The high end (over $1,000) Pulsar digitals have not made a very good showing either, yet Pulsar continues to receive such high praise. I think one difference is that ATN (in the past at least, and maybe some still) had rather poor customer service whereas Pulsar has been much better in that regard. Flir CS is not up to par either from what I hear. It may sound like I am a defender and promoter of ATN, but in reality I am a defender of truth and fairness. I owe no allegience to any company, and I have owned scopes from Sightmark, Armasight, Pulsar, ATN and a Gen 2 M845. All were good in certain ways and all had problems of one sort or another.
No matter how you slice it or stack it, these high dollar scopes still are not up to the kind of quality that they should have, given their hefty price tags, or that the colorful and creative advertising suggests. When the scopes work, they are a pure joy and unbelievable technology to behold while helping increase the hog and predator count, but when they don’t they are a real source of frustration and loss of a wad of money that could choke a horse. Once the warranty period is over they become an expensive paperweight.
Do I love thermal? Heck yes. Will I purchase thermal again? Probably. I just have to understand and accept the nature of the products right now if I want to play, and be prepared to swallow a hard lump when they go bad. Being well informed before making a decision involving a rather large sum of money is prudent, and that goes for all of them and not just ATN.