Holosun Night Vision Gear Review

By Jeremy Tremp
Posted in #Gear
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Holosun Night Vision Gear Review

November 5th, 2022

4:35 runtime

Shooting with Holosun night vision gear is about as cool as it gets. Buying night vision gear — no matter the manufacturer — is also probably one of the most expensive “hobbies” within the firearms market. Being that it is quite cost-prohibitive for many shooters, information on NVGs, passive NVG optics and laser aiming devices is also relatively limited to specialty sources.

holosun night vision gear review
As cool as it gets — shooting a Springfield SAINT with night vision ready-gear from Holosun.

Frankly, I think it’s extremely important to consider all elements of firearms ownership and shooting-related gear as part of our Second Amendment rights, so I like to try out body armor, thermal and night vision devices. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like to play “dress up” and shoot in the pitch black of night if they can?

Driving Interests

As you can probably tell, I’m a huge gear nerd. I have an insatiable appetite for learning new things or expanding my knowledge on subjects about which I am passionate. So, I was very excited when I recently had the opportunity to test out some Holosun weapon-mounted night shooting products at a night shoot I had on my schedule.

review of night vision gear from holosun
Although night vision gear is not cheap, it can be affordable with this high-quality gear from Holosun.

Holosun Optics has been making some fantastic-quality optics at reasonable prices for quite some time now. They have also made a good name for themselves on the quality and customer care side. While their optics are imported, they are all designed, “QC”ed and tested right here in the United States.

holosun red dot sight for night vision shooting
The HE512T-RD optic is a night vision-ready sight that works exceptionally well with the AR platform.

For the night shoot, I was able to get a hold of the company’s HE512T-RD optic. This optic is an enclosed reflex optical sight featuring a lightweight but strong titanium housing. It has a 50k hour battery life, a multi-reticle system, shake awake operation and a solar failsafe feature. MSRP for it with a red reticle is $588.22, and $623.52 with a green reticle.

holosun 512 night vision shooting
The Holosun reflex optic directly mounts to the Picatinny rail on the Springfield SAINT Edge upper.

I also got one of their “holy grail” LE420 multi-laser aiming device units that can be difficult to come by. The LE420 is a multi-laser aiming device with a 600 lumen white light, a Class IIIA visible green laser, class 2M IR laser and a focusable IR illuminator — all housed in a titanium body. MSRP of it is $1,411.75.

holosun le420 laser and ir illuminator review
Boasting IR and white light illumination along with an IR and a visible green laser, the Holosun LE420 is a capable piece of gear for night shooting.

Both of these would be going on my Springfield Armory SAINT Edge 5.56mm rifle for the night shoot. This is a rifle I have used and shot a lot, so I knew it would be a great partner for this exceptional Holosun gear for the shoot.

The Right Night Vision Tools

When shooting with night vision, it’s essential to have a passive aiming device such as an optic that has night vision-compatible brightness settings. This is basically just an extremely low brightness setting that is dim enough for night vision’s sensitive image tubes, but too low for the naked eye to pick up. The other item that is very helpful is a laser aiming device with infrared (IR) settings.

shooting with holosun night vision gear
The Holosun gear works in daylight and transitional light, such as dusk, when NV goggles aren’t necessary.

Night vision intensifies ambient light and picks up infrared light that the human eye cannot discern. With IR lasers and illuminators, you can light up your target and see it through night vision, while it is effectively invisible to everyone else. Pretty cool stuff, right?

holosun le420 review ar-15
The Holosun LE420 mounts to the front of the Springfield SAINT and still allows for the use of other gear including the front sight and sling.

One thing that separates the LE420 from other laser aiming devices is the inclusion of a white light. This is a nice benefit for firearms with limited rail space, and it offers both weight savings and possible cost savings. The only potential downside is that you cannot easily switch between IR and white light on the fly with a multi button switch, and you could put a more powerful dedicated light on (if you have the rail space).

Another awesome tool for night vision shooting is the Sionyx Aurora Pro. The Aurora is a digital night vision capture device that makes filming a shoot much easier. While digital is still catching up to traditional Gen 3 night vision devices, it’s still very impressive and does the job quite well in my experience. Another added benefit of the Sionyx is that it is full color. MSRP on the Pro is $999.

switch for holosun le420
The author used the Modlight Modbutton to improve his ability to actuate the Holosun LE420 while on the range.

When using a laser aiming device, I’ve found it’s easiest to use some sort of switch to actuate the light or laser. You can certainly press the button on the top of the device, but it requires an awkward stretch of your hand to do so. To address this, I utilized the Modlight Modbutton. It’s low profile, connects right to the Picatinny rail and has a modest MSRP of just $78.

Holosun HE512T-RD Specifications

Optic TypeEnclosed reflex
Dot Size2 MOA, with 65 MOA ring
Weight9.17 oz.
ConstructionTitanium housing
Operation10 daylight and two NV settings
Battery/Life:One CR2032, 50,000 hours
MSRP$588.22 (red reticle), $623.52 (green reticle)

Holosun LE420 Specifications

TypeMulti-laser aiming device
Light/LaserClass IIIA visible green laser, class 2M IR laser, IR Illuminator, 600 Lumen white light
Weight10.94 oz.
ConstructionTitanium housing
OperationHigh/low brightness settings
BatteryTwo CR123A
MSRP$1,411.75

NVG In Practice

Zeroing both the optic and laser was easy with the included tools, and after zeroing we were ready for some nighttime fun. The dual-tube NVG-50 NL2 night vision goggles I used were from AGM Global Vision. Having dual tubes makes a huge difference in being able to see a wider field of view and have more awareness of your surroundings.

nvg-50 nl2 goggles review
To go with the Holosun gear, the author used the dual-tube NVG-50 NL2 night vision goggles from AGM Global Vision.

The night we were on the range there was no moon in the sky, so we were relying fully on the IR for the majority of our illumination of targets. We were shooting from about 45 yards on steel most of the night at the event. The LE420’s IR flood was bright enough to easily identify the steel target, and the IR laser was very intense. This made it easy to make hits even out past 100 yards. The unit’s white light was a nice big floodlight that would be perfect for illuminating interiors. The visible laser of it is green, so that proved to be very discernable as well.

wearing night vision gear while shooting
The NVG-50 NL2 night vision goggles mount to a helmet and can rotate out of the way when lighting is adequate for normal shooting.

I also came away very impressed with the HE512T-RD reflex optic. It was easy to adjust, simple to use and easy to pick up. I found the NV settings to be extremely compatible with the LE420 unit, making the range session a true pleasure with them both on the SAINT Edge. I love the shake awake feature of the optic and as well as the “auto off” feature.

holosun night vision gear mounted to springfield saint ar-15 rifle
In a world where ounces add pounds, the Holosun night vision gear is pleasingly compact and lightweight yet boasts durable construction.

The build quality of both the optic and laser are top-notch, and feel extremely rugged and robust despite their light weight from their titanium housings.

Holosun Night Vision Gear Conclusion

If you haven’t had the chance to shoot with night vision yet, I would highly suggest doing some research into some of these products. With a quality rifle and good gear like the Holosun HE512T-RD reflex optic and the LE420 multi-laser aiming device — as well as the Sionyx Aurora Pro — you can really stretch your legs in the dark and have a good time at the range.

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Springfield Armory® recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owner’s manual. These articles and videos are considered to be suggestions and not recommendations from Springfield Armory. The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Springfield Armory.

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Jeremy Tremp

Jeremy Tremp

Jeremy Tremp is a filmmaker/photographer who turned his passion for the firearms industry into a dream job. Having identified a need in the 2A space, he and some like-minded friends started Offensive Marketing Group to help bring their unique skillsets to an industry in dire need of "outside of the box" marketing approaches. One of the perks is getting access to some of the best gear and training in the industry. In his spare time, he loves to be at the range testing gear and learning to be a better shooter, firearms advocate and content creator.

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