Types

What a thermal is for decides almost everything else about it — whether it has a reticle, how wide it sees, what it weighs and where it mounts. A scope and a handheld with the same core are not competing for the same job, so the comparisons here stay within a type.

• Riflescope195 units · est. detection 250 m–2,083 m
• Handheld monocular113 units · est. detection 146 m–1,250 m
• Clip-on29 units · est. detection 396 m–1,563 m
• Binocular22 units · est. detection 515 m–1,250 m

Only groups with two or more units get a page — one unit is not a comparison.