REVIEW: Sightmark Wraith Monocular

Night vision at an affordable price? That's something we all dream of. Sightmark has now released a digital night vision device, the Wraith Monocular, and we have taken a detailed look at it and compared it with a PVS-14 with a current Gen2+ tube.

The Wraith Monocular offers you 8x digital magnification, 4k sensor resolution (3840x2160) with object detection of up to 300 yards / 274 m, and a 1280x720 FLCOS screen.

Being digital, you can also simultaneously record videos and photos with it. The HD video resolution is selectable with 720p, 1080p, or 4K. The Wraith 4K Monocular is made of aluminum and operates in a temperature range between 0°C and 60°C. It is shockproof and waterproof to IPX6, protecting it from heavy rain or snowfall.

Accessories

Included in the package is a helmet mount, an additional lens cap, another eyecup, two CR123 batteries, and two USB-C cables.

The helmet mount is connected to the appropriate mounting arm via the classic Rhino-Mount. It holds very well, but we would prefer a Dovetail mount, as it is even more stable.

On the front, the helmet mount is equipped with a USB-C port. With this, you can power the Wraith Monocular through an external power bank.

If the Wraith is powered via USB, no batteries are needed in the device, saving weight.

If you have two Wraith Monoculars, you can mount both on the helmet mount and power them simultaneously with just one power bank. Really well thought out.

Operation

The operation of the Wraith Monocular is simple. There are two buttons and a toggle switch. You can control everything well through these three control elements. Pressing the button with a dot turns on the device. Holding it down will turn it off. A message will appear on the screen. Pressing the button during operation will take you to the menu of the Wraith Monocular. We won't explain it separately here, but don't worry, it's quite intuitive, and everything is explained in the user manual.

The button with the two dots starts and stops the video recording or takes a photo. If you press it for a long time, you switch from day mode to night mode and back. Unfortunately, this cannot be done during video recording. Also, you cannot access the menu during video recording.

In night mode, you can choose whether you want to activate or deactivate the built-in IR illuminator. This is done through the menu and unfortunately (yet) cannot be quickly changed.

The toggle switch is responsible for the zoom. Here you can choose from 1x to 8x digital zoom in tenths. So 1.0x, 1.1x, 1.2x, etc. up to 8.0x. You have to switch through all levels, which can take some time from 8x down to 1x. However, the zoom was not used by us when mounted on the helmet.

Overall, the Wraith Monocular offers you three points to attach it to a tripod. Two on the bottom, one in the middle of the base, and a standard photo thread on the lower helmet mount groove.

You will find the third thread on the top near the grooves for the helmet mount. When used as a fixed camera, the 8x zoom on the Wraith Monocular makes more sense than when mounted on the helmet.

Usage, Pros and Cons

In using the Wraith Monocular as a night vision device on the helmet, we noticed some positive as well as negative factors. As always, let's start with the positive.

We think it's great to power the Wraith Monocular with an external power bank via a cable. On the one hand, you have almost unlimited power available, and the power bank also serves as a good counterweight. Unfortunately, the overall system's water resistance suffers, at least depending on the cable and power bank you use.

We also like that two Wraith Monoculars can be attached to a bridge with power. This way, you can enjoy a binocular experience at a much lower price than many other options on the market.

The Wraith Monocular is also lighter than a PVS-14, even though both are approximately the same length.

What we didn't like was the small field of view. For static observations, it is completely okay, but in motion, especially in buildings, the small field of view is a problem. You can quickly lose your orientation.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the PVS-14 40° field of view with the Wraith Monocular with a field of view of around 10°. The manufacturer specifies the field of view as 51 feet (approximately 16 meters) at 100 yards, which is rounded up to 10°.

However, the advantage of the small field of view is that it prevents any lag or delay in the image display. This is a problem that other digital night vision devices still experience.

During longer video recordings, the footage is not saved as one large file but in 880 MB .AVI video files each. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be slightly annoying during post-processing. However, not much is lost if the recording were to freeze.

Night Vision Capability

The Wraith is a digital night vision device. This means that at its core, it is a "low-light sensor" and not a light amplifier like the expensive analog night vision devices. Analog devices with their image intensifier tubes can amplify existing light (especially in the IR range) by a factor of 10,000 or even more, whereas digital night vision devices simply perceive the existing light thanks to a very high ISO factor. On that evening, the weather was cloudy with no moon or starlight, and in the woods, making it quite challenging conditions for night vision. The date and time are incorrect, as we did not set them.

Therefore, in really dark conditions, an analog device will always have the upper hand. As soon as it gets a bit brighter, such as in a city in dark but still illuminated alleys, both systems are almost equal. Unfortunately, it's hard to capture this in a picture or video because recording with a classic analog night vision device is very challenging.

In the image above, only ambient light is present, no additional IR light source. You can see why the digital system always requires an additional IR light source when it gets really dark. In the case of the Wraith Monocular, it would need the integrated IR illuminator or an external IR light source. With this light source, you can see everything very clearly. Unfortunately, you will also be immediately visible to others using night vision devices as you essentially light up like a flashlight.

For tactical purposes, the Wraith Monocular is therefore only partially suitable, but it does have its place for hunters or in civilian use.

CONCLUSION: With the Wraith Monocular, Sightmark has taken a step in the right direction. A digital night vision device designed for helmet use with a very good, lag-free image refresh rate. Unfortunately, the field of view is a bit too small for movement in rooms, but it is very suitable for observation. Night vision capability is definitely there, but an additional IR light source is usually required, ruling out tactical use. However, for hunters and civilians, it is a very useful solution for seeing in the dark.

The biggest plus point is that what you see can be recorded directly, which is not easily possible with regular night vision devices. The Wraith is also very suitable as a night vision camera mounted on a tripod.

Another major advantage is the digital sensor's insensitivity to overly bright light. An analog night vision device, especially older Gen1 and Gen2 models, could be completely destroyed by too much light. Digital night vision devices are not affected by this.

The Wraith Monocular is available from all retailers carrying Sightmark starting at 799.99 Euros.

SIGHTMARK on the internet: sightmark.com