For those who play in the dark with night vision, BNVDs (Binocular Night Vision Devices) are all the rage. Unless you are swimming in expendable cash like my friend JW with his ANVIS10 quad tube pano NODs (think Zero Dark Thirty). Anyway, when looking into dual tube binocular night vision there are limited options. If you have the cash you get the best like Richard L. who has PVS-31s. They are the ultimate BNVDs but for most people they go with Sentinels or DTNVGs.

Binocular night vision really started with the PVS-5 but became more common with the AN/AVS 6 and 9 colloquially called ANVIS6 or ANVIS9. The difference between the two is minor and has to do with the objective lenses. These were made for aviation purposes. They are light weight and give pilots better depth perception and more information by having both eyes aided with night vision. While you could pair up twin PVS-14 monoculars to make your own BNVDs, they are heavy. The ANVIS goggles are great but they are light weight and not made for ground fighting. So step in the Sentinels by Adams Industries. They are a ruggedized version of ANVIS goggles. Just like the ANVIS goggles the Sentinels are two adjustable eye pods with a bridge mounted to your helmet.

photo credit: TNVC

In terms of flexibility they are rather limited. That is why the PVS-31 and DTNVGs are more desirable. You can fold the eye pods up and out of the way.

Below is a photo of PVS-31 with the right eye pod folded up.

photo credit: TNVC

The PVS-31 goggles are not cheap. They can fetch around $12,000 for a set. Act In Black’s DTNVGs are typically $8,000 and have the ability to fold just like the PVS-31s.

photo credit: TNVC

Why do you want your night vision to fold? Storing them upwards and folding the eye pods closer to the helmet alleviates head fatigue. You can also fold one eyepod out of the way and use your weapon mounted sights. Another benefit is to use a non aided eye to gather more information like better light sensitivity or if you want to deploy a handheld thermal imaging device like a Flir Scout or Flir Breach.

So what does this have to do with the Adams Industries’ Paladin? It is a new version of their Sentinel housing but now with folding eye pods!

According to one of the reps at Adams Industries, he flew into Vegas with the Paladin housing disassembled. For some reason he was unable to check his luggage in and TSA confiscated the pins used for the hinges of the Paladin. So they got some screws and nuts at Home Depot just to have something in place to show at SHOT Show.

The Paladins shown here is just a prototype. The full production version will feature titanium plates and hinges, The eye pod bodies will be the same material used in their Sentinel housings and they will use some form of nylon for friction in the hinges so they do not come loose. Pricing should be similar to their Sentinels. Dual Echo tube white phosphor Paladins will cost around $7,000.  Chris of Adams Industries believes these will be the most rugged set of folding NODs out on the market. I hope they offer the Paladin housings like they offered the Sentinel housings. So people who want to upgrade their Sentinels or ANIVS goggles can just buy the Paladins then swap over the tubes and lenses.

Check out Adams Industries for more info.