Pulsar Helion XP38 and Bering Optics Hogster-R 35mm Video

Kirsch

Active member
I was recently asked to do a side by side comparison of the Pulsar Helion XP38 thermal scanner and the Bering Optics Hogster-R 35mm thermal scope/scanner, as I own both. The recorded video is never as good as what it looks like through the eyepiece. However, the Pulsar difference in quality of the view through the eyepiece and the resulting video was greater on the Helion (internal recording) than the Hogster (DVR) on this night. Also, the Pulsar brightness seemed fine in the eyepiece, but recorded a little on the dark side. In addition since the Hogster is a thermal weapon's sight, it was mounted on a rifle giving a little more stability, so a steadier video.

What this video should show is the Hogster-R is a very capable thermal. On most nights, I would say this very reasonably priced 384x288 thermal is almost as good image-wise as my Pulsar Helion XP38. It can spot and ID animals at least as far and at times at further distances.

New Comparison Video

Here is a chart comparing the two. To summarize the chart, the Pulsar has a slight edge in image quality, has a wider FOV, and has a longer battery life. The Bering Optics has a slight advantage in detection, is smaller, considerably less expensive, and can be a weapon's sight. Both are very good thermals and I own both.

Scan_Comp.jpg
 
Kirsch there appears to be right much disparity between the native mag of the Hogster at 2.0 and the Helion at 1.9. Any idea why the Hogster appears to have so much more mag, or any idea of which one is more correct. Thanks for the video.
 
^^^ I noticed a similar issue with my old ATN Thor.
Atn on 2.2 image seemed further out.
Pulsar on 2.2 image seemed closer


I had to put the atn on about 2.7 to match the pulsar at 2.2
 
I will be doing a comparison of my Trail XP50 LRF and the Hogster R35 I recently picked up. Also have a Helion XP28 and 2 XD19A's for scanning. I can do nothing but concur with Hirsch. This is an exceptional scope for the money. I am totally impressed with it. Will give more extensive thoughts on the 2 in my comparison. Dealer I bought it from said he had a new ATN 640 scope and it "blew it away".
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1Turned comments off on video...that's a gay move Night Goggles doesn't have comments on for any of the videos. It isn't just this one.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpKirsch there appears to be right much disparity between the native mag of the Hogster at 2.0 and the Helion at 1.9. Any idea why the Hogster appears to have so much more mag, or any idea of which one is more correct. Thanks for the video. I have commented about this on many occasions prior. I have never felt the Pulsar Helion XP's claim to be 1.9x is correct. I have bumped it up to 4x and objects didn't seem nearly as close as my Flir PTS536 as well.
 
Originally Posted By: varminter .223Seems the helion would look better in a different mode or black hot in those conditions. There was a portion of the video done in black hot. I can tell you I have spent hundreds of hours behind the Pulsar Helion XP38. It is an excellent thermal and I know how to adjust it to look good. I did turn off image boost for this video because it seems to add a lot of artifacts to the video. On this night, the Pulsar video didn't look great. Since the last update, the image quality using Image Boost has made the image better. However, it messes up my recordings. Due to this, I had to record without Image Boost on. In fairness to the Hogster, I also had the Image Enhancement turned off on it. I took both units on their standard settings and tweaked contrast and brightness to make the images look the best possible to my eye.
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1Yea the video def didn't do justice for the pulsar. Several on FB are bashing the op What do you mean by this? Please show me or link to what you are talking about. All I have ever done is try to conduct myself on this forum and others with integrity.
 
Originally Posted By: KirschOriginally Posted By: Catdog1Yea the video def didn't do justice for the pulsar. Several on FB are bashing the op What do you mean by this? Please show me or link to what you are talking about. someone posted ur video on FB predator pages and pulsar pages and many aren't happy about it.
 
Originally Posted By: KirschOriginally Posted By: Catdog1Turned comments off on video...that's a gay move Night Goggles doesn't have comments on for any of the videos. It isn't just this one. ahhh ok. Ic now. Well that's a cheap move of them to pull.
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1Originally Posted By: KirschOriginally Posted By: Catdog1Yea the video def didn't do justice for the pulsar. Several on FB are bashing the op What do you mean by this? Please show me or link to what you are talking about. someone posted ur video on FB predator pages and pulsar pages and many aren't happy about it. Well, it wasn't me. I posted this video on Predator Masters and on AR15.com. If someone posted the video, hopefully they posted my comments about the video as well, but I doubt it. It is easy for people to cast stones, isn't it. There was a similar video earlier this year with a Hogster and a Trijicon by a different person. A lot of Trijicon owners got all upset about it as well as the image difference wasn't as much as the price would typically warrant.

This exact thing is the reason I don't typically like to do comparison videos. The video recording quality has such a huge impact on the end result.
 
Kirsch, thanks for the reply. All of us appreciate your efforts to bring us unbiased information that "helps us" make decisions. Everybody should know that thermals have times when they just don't seem up to snuff for some reason, and that is not uniform across thermal brands. Some nights any particular thermal may look better than another sometimes of the same brand or even same model.

It seems you feel the Hogster may be closer to actual 2.0 native mag. Again thanks for the reply and all you do here.
 
They're basically just upset that they felt that you let the pulsar settings go without adjusting them and in return made it look more horrible than it actually is.

I can't remember what Facebook page I saw it on I would have to go back and look later I don't have Facebook on my phone just on my laptop
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleUpKirsch, thanks for the reply. All of us appreciate your efforts to bring us unbiased information that "helps us" make decisions. Everybody should know that thermals have times when they just don't seem up to snuff for some reason, and that is not uniform across thermal brands. Some nights any particular thermal may look better than another sometimes of the same brand or even same model.

It seems you feel the Hogster may be closer to actual 2.0 native mag. Again thanks for the reply and all you do here. I agree on the "some nights some just look better". The last Pulsar XP upgrade seemed to improve the video quality at times, but it seems to have had the opposite impact on my recording quality.

As far as native mag, the Hogster does seem to have more. It could be a combination of FOV and mag, but the Pulsar does seem lower than 1.9x. No science or math behind it, just what my eye sees.
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1They're basically just upset that they felt that you let the pulsar settings go without adjusting them and in return made it look more horrible than it actually is.

I can't remember what Facebook page I saw it on I would have to go back and look later I don't have Facebook on my phone just on my laptop Whatever Facebook page or pages or group can go ahead and bash me. They probably don't know me, my history, or if I have some type of agenda. The people who are probably feeling hurt are those who own a Pulsar XP. I am not sure why they should feel hurt because they can continue to use their Pulsar Helion XPs which is a very good thermal.
 
Anybody who has read your posts knows that you have always spoken very highly of the Helion XP38 as an excellent unit that you have to your eye 98% of the time while hunting.

But, maybe they feel the pinch of the price difference vs. quality. Thankfully everyone of us has the option to buy what we "think we need" vs. what we "think we can afford". Some people can drop $10,000 or more on a thermal and not bat an eye. I thank God for that because it will ultimately benefit all of us down the road.

Some people manage to kill coyotes without top tier scopes, and don't feel too disadvantaged. I can shoot about as far right now at night as I would feel confident with the rifle I'm using no matter what scope it had on it.
 
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