More companies offer thermal products than ever before, prices have generally come down, and the technology within these units keeps improving. With such an obviously hot market, many tactical dealers have entered the Brave New World recently, with many more wondering if they should add thermals to their merchandise mix.
Yet a new product line, especially one as high-tech as thermal, comes with a learning curve for you, your staff and your customers. A large part of that educational process includes dispelling myths and misconceptions about thermal.
Let’s face it: While most everyone carries a tiny computer in their pockets connecting them to the World Wide Web, the sheer amount of available information too often creates confusion, misunderstandings and unreal expectations — on both sides of the sales counter.
Tech Differences
We’ve hit this issue before at Tactical Retailer, but if you offer thermal technology, a good number of customers new to the tech will equate thermal with night-vision. Of course, the two are most definitely not the same.
As I continue to experience, all kinds of people interested in thermals will ask me about “night-vision.” Yet, as they mention various units and videos they’ve seen online, it’s clear they really mean thermals. Again and again, I find myself explaining the basic differences to people, and sales staff will likely need to do the same with potential customers.
Thermal optics are actually not “optics” at all. Essentially digital cameras, thermals identify electromagnetic radiation, what most of us refer to as “heat.” The unit’s front lens detects this heat; that information runs through a digital sensor or “core,” which projects an image to the rear display lens.
Night-vision units, however, intensify the available light using image intensifier tubes or digital sensors to, in effect, light up the night. That light can be from the stars or moon, streetlights or other sources like infrared illumination.
Night-vision doesn’t work in complete and utter darkness. It requires some sort of light or infrared help. Most night-vision can’t be used during daylight hours, either, as the daylight will burn out the intensifier tubes.
Thermal can operate during the day. But certain environmental conditions like high humidity, smoke and very dusty air can degrade the images seen through a unit and reduce detection range.
New Customer Confusions
Armasight is a top manufacturer of both thermal and night-vision technologies. Steve Lemenov, Armasight’s Senior Director of Marketing, knows all too well the misunderstandings common with first-time thermal buyers.
“These first-timers often assume thermal optics will deliver the same image detail as daylight glass or Gen 3 night-vision, which leads to unrealistic expectations,” Lemenov explained. “Many also believe thermal devices can see through walls or detect heat signatures from miles away under any conditions.”
Henry Burge, Director of Marketing for IRAY, which also offers the Nocpix brand of thermals, finds similar situations at his IRAY dealer establishments.
“The most common misconception is that [thermal] is an IR [infrared illuminator] emitting device or some sort of night-vision,” Burge noted. “Customers then learn that it is thermal and often immediately think that means it can see through something, such as trees or brush. While thermal can identify animals in thick cover, a portion of that animal has to be visible for the thermal to pick up the heat signature.”
He added that customers even expect thermals to “see” through glass. Not true! All thermal can do is detect the heat variations on the glass.
Great though they are at identifying heat signatures, a specific thermal’s performance is still influenced by range, environmental factors, and the nature of the target itself.
Dennis Lam, Dealer Sales Director for DNT Optics, also finds new customers carrying unreal expectations about thermal.
“Buyers assume the image will be cinematic, crisp and high-contrast,” Lam said. “They don’t understand that those videos [they’ve viewed on the internet] are often recorded in ideal conditions and they’re processed post-capture.”
What these newbies also don’t realize, he added, is that “thermal sensors perform differently in humidity, rain or thermal saturation. Customers expect 4K clarity when actual thermal imagery has texture, noise and atmospheric interference.”
Numbers Game?
New buyers can get wrapped up in numbers and will often equate thermal resolution to total performance. So, they may well assume a thermal built with a 640 sensor is automatically twice as good as a 384 thermal.
“They rarely understand that NETD drives real-world clarity, and that lens quality and software pipelines can outperform higher-resolution sensors,” Lam noted. “The reality is a 384 thermal with strong processing can beat a poorly tuned 640.”
NETD refers to Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference. The lower the NETD rating, the better the thermal is at detecting smaller temperature variations. For example, a thermal scope with a very low NETD will not only spot that hog but will show different intensities of color shades for the hotter parts of the hog. In this example, the center on the hog will be much brighter (hotter) than the cooler tail or ears.
Sales Staff Responsibilities
“Sales staff can add tremendous value by setting clear, accurate expectations early in the conversation,” Armasight’s Lemenov said. “That means explaining what thermal does exceptionally well: detecting heat, tracking movement, enhancing situational awareness and clarifying where limitations exist.”
He continued, “Demonstrations, comparison imagery, and simple explanations about sensor resolution and lens size go a long way. Staff should guide customers toward optics built for their actual use cases rather than letting them over- or under-buy based on misconceptions.”
DNT’s Lam thought that sales staff should acknowledge some of these overblown expectations first-time thermal buyers often have and then work to correct.
“Explain that online videos are taken in ideal conditions, while thermal performance varies with humidity, terrain and temperature differential,” Lam said. “Teach detection, recognition and identification as a simple decision model. Detection: You’ll see something is there. Recognition: You’ll know what type of animal it is. Identification: You’ll know exactly what it is.”
He strongly suggested that sales associates ask targeted questions, like, “What distances do you typically engage?” “How humid is your area and what terrain do you hunt?” “Are you scanning with a handheld first?”
Professional Help
As a retailer, you might think that once these pricey thermal units are on your shelves, you are all by your lonesome. Untrue! Many thermal companies provide their dealers with a great deal of help.
“Helping to educate not just end-users, but our dealer network, was one of the primary reasons we started our AGM USA YouTube page,” said Chase Stephens, Director of Brand Development for AGM GlobalVision. “All of the subject matter here revolves around how we can use video to help educate both dealers and end-users of our products. How our products work, how to zero them in, and which product families are built for specific tactical use cases.”
The company shares similar information in its many blog articles on the AGM website.
“Educating, informing and entertaining are pretty much always at the core of the content we produce,” Stephens added.
“Having a solid understanding of thermal technology fundamentals is essential to selling it,” said Lemenov. “While you may not need to be an expert in every intricate detail (that’s what we’re here for!), having a general knowledge of how the technology operates and the advantages it offers customers can significantly enhance your sales pitch.”
To help educate dealers and their customers, Armasight launched Thermal University at armasight.com/armasight-university/, which offers numerous articles explaining thermal technology, plus features examinations of individual thermal units, their capabilities and specifications.
(As Armasight manufacturers night vision, it also offers the companion website, Night Vision University, also at armasight.com/armasight-university/.)
“Our goal is to demystify thermal technology and give retailers confidence in discussing features, use cases and performance differences,” said Lemenov. “When retail staff understand the value behind each product type and/or category, they’re better equipped to guide customers and close sales.”
In addition, Armasight supplies its dealers with in-store sales training, plus product literature and display stands. The company and its dealers follow a MAP policy, and Armasight does co-op advertising with its larger dealers.
PARD USA is there for its dealers, too. In 2023, PARD introduced a series of informational videos on topics such as the difference between night-vision and thermal, and optical versus digital zooms and many more related tech topics at pardusa.com/support/video-collection.
PARD didn’t stop with only digital help. The company also partnered with a 30-person national rep group to support dealer-level needs, including in-store education of staff and consumers.
But there’s another level of dealer education needed for strong thermal sales, as IRAY’s Burge noted.
“Selling thermal is all about education, by sales staff first becoming familiar with thermal themselves and actually going out and using the technology,” Burge said. “I would venture a guess that staff members who have personally used thermal technology are 10 times more likely to sell a thermal to an end user than their counterparts who have never looked through one outside of a store setting.”
Too Pricey?
One common fear retailers have is that the thermal units are too expensive to provide steady product turnover. And who wants to invest thousands of dollars to make the occasional sale?
“We hear it frequently from retailers, that thermal is too expensive for their area,” Burge admitted. “Yet, and contrary to popular belief, we find our best sales success in the most rural areas. While it may have been true that thermal was too pricey for most customers years ago, thermal technology has shifted in such a way that the average price is lower, and the performance is better. Few industries experience this growth, and it is often compared to flat-screen televisions.”
Not only have overall thermal prices in general come down in the last five years, but there now exists a definite category of sub-$1,000 thermals that actually work pretty well and are making large inroads with first-time thermal buyers. These units are usually based around 256 sensors and sport relatively small objective lenses.
Thermal = Science PhD?
One huge barrier to selling thermals is the assumption many people have that they need a massive science degree to run these high-tech units. Not true!
If a customer can navigate the functions and apps on their cell phone or tablet, he or she can learn and use today’s thermal and night-vision units, which are easier to operate than ever before.
Easiest way to prove this to potential customers? Hand them a thermal and talk them through various adjustments.
Handheld thermal monoculars are extremely popular with law enforcement, search-and-rescue units and first responders. Here, changing out palettes, adjusting image quality and taking video and photos are simply a matter of one or two button presses.
Similarly, most thermal weapon sights have one-shot zeroing systems easily accessed and operated.
Once they realize they can actually run the unit, a potential customer is well on their way to becoming the real thing.
New For 2026
Many new thermals launched early in 2026, with more to come as the year goes on. The list includes:
AGM Global Vision — AGM recently expanded its ObservIR™ thermal binocular lineup with the ObservIR 50-640 and ObservIR 60-1280 models. The ObservIR line now offers a complete range of sensors and objective sizes to meet the varying needs of law enforcement, military and professional users. www.agmglobalvision.com
Armasight — At the 2026 SHOT Show, Armasight launched its Gen 4 ArmaCore™ 640 A-SWaP system, a next-generation thermal core with an integrated video engine, plus an advanced 12-micron sensor. Gen 4 ArmaCore’s operate the 12 thermals in the PRO Series. armasight.com/
ATN — ATN introduces the ThOR 6 640 LRF 3-24 thermal scope as part of its 6th Generation thermal optics line. It features a 3-24X magnification range, 50mm Germanium lens, and a detection range up to 3,650 meters — this model is purpose-built for long-range thermal engagements. atncorp.com
BA Global Defense — The new Xeno TM-384-25LRF Thermal Monocular is a versatile handheld with a laser rangefinder that works out to 1,000 meters (depending on the target). Features include six color palettes, two rechargeable batteries for up to 16 hours of use, and on-board video recording. baglobaldefense.com
DNT Optics -- The 10 units in the flagship Hydra line are going strong, including the four newer Hydra’s featuring laser rangefinders and ballistic calculators. DNT recently teased the Hydra Mini, due out sometime this year. us.dntoptics.com/
NOCPIX (IRay USA) – The VISTA S50R Rangefinding Thermal Monocular and its 1280x1024 thermal sensor may well be the new standard for what a thermal monocular can be. Featuring a 50mm Germanium lens, the S50R boasts electronic image stabilization, an integrated 1,200-yard laser rangefinder, and a large-format 2560×2560 AMOLED display. irayusa.com
Pulsar – Early this year, Pulsar introduced the TRAIL 3 LRF XQ50 weapon sight, optimized for short- to mid-range shooting in challenging weather, and the Trail 3 LRF XR50, designed to operate at medium to longer distances given its high-resolution 640×480 thermal sensor and 3-24 magnification. pulsarvision.com
Sightmark — The two models in the new SHADE Thermal Riflescope line both sell for under $1,000 and still present many of the same features and capabilities of more expensive units. Looks like a strong seller for first-time thermal buyers. sightmark.com
Trijicon – The company’s rugged thermals, including the REAP-IR and IR-PATROL, remain very popular. Often overlooked, though, is the company’s Trijicon® SkeetIR™x line of three miniature, multi-purpose thermals purposely designed for first responders, law enforcement, and search and rescue units. trijicon.com
Wave Infrared — Wave’s newest is the cutting-edge ATRIS 650 LRF, featuring an integrated laser rangefinder that instantly measures out to 1,300 yards with the single press of a button. In its Ballistic Mode, it speedily calculates bullet-drop compensation solution and displays the correct aiming point. waveinfrared.com
