Over the centuries, night has been one of human beings' worst enemies, preventing them from using at top capacity one of their most important senses: eye-sight. However, the emergence of night-vision devices has led to a true revolution in this field, people being able to carry out after dark certain activities that were previously possible only during daytime. And that's exactly the type of product we'll talk about as follows, namely the Thermal-Eye X-50, launched earlier this year, a device that could really come in handy for law-enforcement agents and regular users alike.

Presented by ATN (American Technologies Network Corporation), the Thermal-Eye X-50 can prove to be an excellent tool in such activities as fugitive pursuit, search & rescue, disturbed-surface assessment, target location, force protection and routine patrols, pretty much any type of activity that requires the cover of darkness in order to achieve optimum results.

The Thermal-Eye X-50 offers certain features the manufacturer claims to be way above anything other similar devices provide. For example, it's supposed to be completely unaffected by bright lights, glare or shadows (as it happens in the case of traditional night vision technology) and is capable of detecting human activity from a fairly large distance, namely around 300 meters (100 feet). The device also sports a field of view of 11 degrees horizontal by 8 degrees vertical, has a focal length of 16 mm and a minimal focal distance of 1 meter (3 feet).

Plus, we're talking about a very tough device, which has been designed to withstand a 2m (6ft) drop to concrete and whose rugged design with integral rubber eye cup helps it survive underwater submersion down to 3m (9ft.). Moreover, the device is very easy to carry around, since it measures just around 13.4 cm x 11/4 cm x 5.1cm, at a weight of approximately 380 grams.

As expected from a product of this type, the Thermal-Eye X-50 is by no means a cheap one, since it retails for an approximate 5,200 US dollars, a price point that will most likely make it attractive for a fairly limited number of users.


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