Night Vision Store Experiences

[Zed1]

I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR from the Night Vision Store which is owned & ran by a fella called Clive Ward but internet research is throwing up a lot of bad press regarding his complete lack of communication with customers & really bad after sales service which at the moment is making me very reluctant to go ahead with a purchase,has anyone on here dealt with this company & encountered any problems?

Also,is anyone using the aforementioned IR in conjuction with a PARD NV add-on?,if so can you provide me with any feedback,do they work well together?

 

[Wolf]

I ordered a black sun 2 b22 early November, after 2 weeks it had not arrived so tried calling and emailing him to no avail. After googling him and looking on other forums I can’t believe he is still in business!

About 5 weeks later I received a email from Clive saying my item had been shipped and it arrived a couple of days later. By this time I had already purchased one from another company.

My advice would be to avoid the night vision!

 

[Zed1]

I ordered a black sun 2 b22 early November, after 2 weeks it had not arrived so tried calling and emailing him to no avail. After googling him and looking on other forums I can’t believe he is still in business!

About 5 weeks later I received a email from Clive saying my item had been shipped and it arrived a couple of days later. By this time I had already purchased one from another company.

My advice would be to avoid the night vision!

Yes,avoiding him seems to be the general consensus,i'm also confused as to why he's still in business after what i've seen,someone who's clever enough to manufacture IR's but doesn't know how to answer a phone or reply to emails is completely baffling!,business suicide!

What is the Black Sun 2 b22 you mention or is that a typo?

 

[Wolf]

The black sun 2 b22 is a led 850 nm ir torch, I believe if your after a ir light for a pard 007 your better off with a vcsel rather then a led.

I haven’t used the b22 yet after waiting so long for it to arrive I got a pbir-x and I’m so impressed with it don’t think I’ll end up using it.

Pard do sell a vcsel ir that comes with a mount. I actually bought one off a forum member recently it’s good but the beam doesn’t fill the screen on a low mag dedicated night vision scope.

 

[Bighit]

He has always been hard to get a hold of . He can be got hold of on other forums like the Night vision forum .

www.nightvisionforumuk.com - Login

 

[Zed1]

The black sun 2 b22 is a led 850 nm ir torch, I believe if your after a ir light for a pard 007 your better off with a vcsel rather then a led.

I haven’t used the b22 yet after waiting so long for it to arrive I got a pbir-x and I’m so impressed with it don’t think I’ll end up using it.

Pard do sell a vcsel ir that comes with a mount. I actually bought one off a forum member recently it’s good but the beam doesn’t fill the screen on a low mag dedicated night vision scope.

Kin ell,this is getting confusing,vcsel,led...,i had a PBIR-X on loan,i now have a Solaris srx V2,i'm looking at the Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR to cut down on bulk & weight,it doesn't state on the Nightvision Store website if the BLADE is vcsel or led?,you mentioned 'black sun 2 b22',there's no mention of that on the website,is that what all the BLADE's are??,technology fries my head!,do you or anyone else know if this BLADE is vcsel or led?,i'm actually waiting to get a shot of a BLADE to try with my PARD but i've no idea when that's going to happen,sometime within the next fortnight i hope.

Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR illuminator

www.nightvisionstore.co.uk

 

[Pelletpinger]

Kin ell,this is getting confusing,vcsel,led...,i had a PBIR-X on loan,i now have a Solaris srx V2,i'm looking at the Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR to cut down on bulk & weight,it doesn't state on the Nightvision Store website if the BLADE is vcsel or led?,technology fries my head!,do you or anyone else know if the BLADE is vcsel or led?,i'm actually waiting to get a shot of a BLADE to try with my PARD but i've no idea when that's going to happen,sometime within the next fortnight i hope.

The Blade is a VCSEL, alot lighter and compact than torches like the Solaris but has the same performance.

 

[Wolf]

Kin ell,this is getting confusing,vcsel,led...,i had a PBIR-X on loan,i now have a Solaris srx V2,i'm looking at the Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR to cut down on bulk & weight,it doesn't state on the Nightvision Store website if the BLADE is vcsel or led?,you mentioned 'black sun 2 b22',there's no mention of that on the website,is that what all the BLADE's are??,technology fries my head!,do you or anyone else know if this BLADE is vcsel or led?,i'm actually waiting to get a shot of a BLADE to try with my PARD but i've no idea when that's going to happen,sometime within the next fortnight i hope.

Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR illuminator

www.nightvisionstore.co.uk

 

[Roy75]

I have a black sun dark engine (not blade) that worked perfectly on my Pard 007 long past the range I would shoot out to with my HMR.

 

[Pelletpinger]

Thanks for that but @Wolf has posted a link to the B22 IR which states it's LED,it's also not the model i'm wanting,i'm looking at this one...

Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR illuminator

www.nightvisionstore.co.uk

& like i previously stated there's no mention of if being VCSEL or LED?,this is now doing my nut in!,if the Clive Ward fella wasn't so bloody difficult to get hold of i would have just phoned him & asked him instead of having to seek advice on here

The Blade is definitely a VCESL laser torch. The one you linked is the 850 and if you look at the side theres a covert version which is the 940

 

[herb64]

I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a Black Sun Dark Engine BLADE IR from the Night Vision Store which is owned & ran by a fella called Clive Ward but internet research is throwing up a lot of bad press regarding his complete lack of communication with customers & really bad after sales service which at the moment is making me very reluctant to go ahead with a purchase,has anyone on here dealt with this company & encountered any problems?

Also,is anyone using the aforementioned IR in conjuction with a PARD NV add-on?,if so can you provide me with any feedback,do they work well together?

Find something else. Blokes a jerk. You will eventually get what you order. Might take a week might take 4. One thing for sure you will have a job to get hold off him. Avoid like the plague

 

[Roy75]

Best to PM him on night vision forum.

 

[Zed1]

Right,so,am i correct in saying that the Black Sun IR systems that @Wolf posted a link to are LED but the smaller more compact Dark Engine BLADE's are VCSEL which will work better than LED with my PARD NV007 SP LRF?!,i just need clarification before i go throwing money away,can you tell how fried my head is now?!

Doesn't help when folk post other comments before i post replies that take me ages to try & word correctly

 

[Pelletpinger]

Right,so,am i correct in saying that the Black Sun IR systems that @Wolf posted a link to are LED but the smaller more compact Dark Engine BLADE's are VCSEL which will work better than LED with my PARD NV007 SP LRF?!,i just need clarification before i go throwing money away,can you tell how fried my head is now?!

Yes you are correct, you need a VCESL like the Blade to get the best out of an add on like the 007.
LED torches dont give enough power.

 

[Zed1]

Yes you are correct, you need a VCESL like the Blade to get the best out of an add on like the 007.
LED torches dont give enough power.

THANK YOU!!!

& thanks to everyone else who commented.

 

[Zerovarm]

If you're looking for an alternative to the Blade I can highly recommend the Wraith ESL by Ludicrous Lumens. I've had both and still have the Wraith

 

[Zed1]

If you're looking for an alternative to the Blade I can highly recommend the Wraith ESL by Ludicrous Lumens. I've had both and still have the Wraith

I've looked at that Wraith ESL before but they say it's for dedicated NV,i only use a PARD add-on,it may not make any odds but this NV technology malarkey fries my head more than enough as it is,i'm old school,NV is relatively new to me,used spotlights all my shooting life & they never caused me any grief,clamp them on & switch them on...simples!

 

[Zerovarm]

I've looked at that Wraith ESL before but they say it's for dedicated NV,i only use a PARD add-on,it may not make any odds but this NV technology malarkey fries my head more than enough as it is,i'm old school,NV is relatively new to me,used spotlights all my shooting life & they never caused me any grief,clamp them on & switch them on...simples!

The best torches for an add on will be bigger and bulkier than both the Blade and the Wraith ESL. The Night Saber Wraith 2x/3x by LL is what I use with my Vulpine Mk3 (add on) and it reaches out to silly distances. By mentioning the Blade I assumed you wanted something of a lower profile. The Wraith ESL is as powerful as the Dark Engine Blade with a much "cleaner" image. That's my experience anyway.

 

[Zed1]

Well folks,after doing some testing last Friday night i've decided to stick with the Solaris,the Blade is certainly a lighter & more compact unit but with a Pard add-on the Solaris definitely has the edge,even moreso at centerfire foxing ranges,combine that with all the other uncertainty regarding the Blade i'm going stick with what i've got for the time being,it most likely won't be long before all the IR manufacturers start producing smaller IR torches that will enhance image quality,you know how it goes!

Thanks again for all the input,much appreciated

 

[Zed1]

Well after all of the above guess what?!

I came home Wednesday night to find a small parcel in my hall,my name & address on it,i had no idea what it was,i hadn't ordered anything....the gf strikes again!!!,i could have throttled her when i opened it & realised!,she wanted to thank me for something i did recently,she knew i wouldn't be amused at her spending money on me & that if she'd offered i'd have refused the gesture point blank!,she got thanked of course but she got a mild bollocking at the same time!,she knew i was looking at them,she'd been sat next to me whilst i was on the website & had heard me discussing them with others,unbelievable!,anyways,she'd ordered it & it was through my door within 3 days,seemingly she'd contacted Clive Ward beforehand to explain & discuss the matter & he'd replied to the emails promptly so she went ahead,he even gave her a small discount!,the owner of the Blade that i'd tried previously never had any problems with his purchase either so perhaps the Night Vision Store ain't as bad as it's made out to be.

Haven't had the chance to use it properly yet,that's me with 2 IR's now (3 counting the onboard on the PARD),spoilt for choice.....