Recreational Uses of Night Vision Goggles

The fun of night vision

Most people think night vision devices are for spies, soldiers, or law-enforcement officers, but these days, outdoor enthusiasts are using night vision as well. Though some night vision devices are still quite expensive, most have become more affordable over the past decade or so, and many people are beginning to take an interest in them.

The two types of night vision are imagine-enhancement devices, which collect light and amplify it so that the human eye can observe an object in the dark, and thermal-imaging devices, which capture parts of the infrared light spectrum emitted by objects as heat. Image-enhancement devices offer a very crisp image with a lot of detail, while thermal-imaging devices merely show the user areas of heat.

Each of the two types of devices are quite popular among civilian consumers for uses ranging from hunting, hiking, and camping to wildlife observation, hidden-object detection, and spelunking. Night vision equipment can be found on helicopters, camcorders, rifles, cameras, and boats, and there's even a new trend of throwing dinner parties-- called "Dinners in the Dark"-- at which the guests dine in the dark wearing night vision goggles.

Likewise, many enthusiasts of night vision equipment have begun to get involved in outdoor and back-country activities in order to put their night vision devices to use in a wider variety of ways. Even professionals required to use night vision for things such as security, surveillance, and navigation are starting to take an interest in hiking, camping, and hunting after dark.