Night vision, laser Illuminator/designator question

[Not BATFE]

Always been interested in NV, and I'm finally in a place where I can afford it. I see tons of pics on the interwebs of rifles with PEQ15's and DBAL's. Both have IR lasers, as well as IR Illuminators. My question(s): why do some guys run IR heads on their flashlights in addition to the IR illumator on the PEQ or DBAL? To save battery? More IR Illumination? Different/adjustable IR throw pattern?

It just seems redundant, and most IR heads on flashlights are 100-120Mw, while the illuminators on PEQ's and DBAL's are 200Mw+, so I really don't get it. My real goal here is to buy once, cry once, as opposed to learn the hard way with my wallet. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

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[TapRackNGo]

Gen 3, dbal, 952v user here. The IR light isn't always needed, but can light up some dark areas to aid in identification. Keeping in mind IR light discipline, I prefer to have it separate from laser. Anything you project (IR) from you or your rifle can also be seen by someone with NV. The settings on IR illuminators with laser will need to be manually switched for the correct combo. If you need that setting quickly it can be hard to mess with with NV on your head. And some may have a combo you don't want. So you may go into an area with IR illumination and IR laser switched on but decide to just use laser you will have to manually switch it to a different setting. Or want just illumination. With them being separated you simply push laser or light or both. I picked up a used 952v for $125 years ago, much cheaper route than picking up a Dbal with IR illuminator. If the illumination fails you have to send in the whole unit. IM me if you have more questions.

 

[Not BATFE]

Aha! Thanks!

 

[Not BATFE]

At this point, it's looking like an initial investment of about 3-4K. I just purchased a KM1 IR head for my scout light ($225). I'm into saving mode for now, but next up is a Steiner DBAL-I2 followed by a decent PVS14 and a Team Wendy helmet.

 

[JustShoot]

Always been interested in NV, and I'm finally in a place where I can afford it. I see tons of pics on the interwebs of rifles with PEQ15's and DBAL's. Both have IR lasers, as well as IR Illuminators. My question(s): why do some guys run IR heads on their flashlights in addition to the IR illumator on the PEQ or DBAL? To save battery? More IR Illumination? Different/adjustable IR throw pattern?

It just seems redundant, and most IR heads on flashlights are 100-120Mw, while the illuminators on PEQ's and DBAL's are 200Mw+, so I really don't get it. My real goal here is to buy once, cry once, as opposed to learn the hard way with my wallet. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

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Most and same reason I run a different IR source on Rifle and 2 different IR on my helmet . Is that the rifle mounted IR unit is set for high-power distance throw and pre-adjusted to a collimated narrow beam . I don't want to screw around with adjustments and waste time when the shot needs be taken .
So I keep other IR illumination for just a low-power and wide-angle illumination throw . It will not bloom off the foliage and other objects when I need up close illumination on foot travel or just wanting to check out under dark tree lines ...etc .
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[SunTzu]

Always been interested in NV, and I'm finally in a place where I can afford it. I see tons of pics on the interwebs of rifles with PEQ15's and DBAL's. Both have IR lasers, as well as IR Illuminators. My question(s): why do some guys run IR heads on their flashlights in addition to the IR illumator on the PEQ or DBAL? To save battery? More IR Illumination? Different/adjustable IR throw pattern?

It just seems redundant, and most IR heads on flashlights are 100-120Mw, while the illuminators on PEQ's and DBAL's are 200Mw+, so I really don't get it. My real goal here is to buy once, cry once, as opposed to learn the hard way with my wallet. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

It's not just about brightness. You also have to consider how much the IR light spreads out and lights up things you don't want illuminated.

I've had some IR lights reflect off of trees etc in the foreground so that the background that I actually wanted to see was behind the photonic barrier of my own IR illuminator.

Lower powered laser based illuminators are better for me because the beam is focused on what I want to see and nothing else. Also, laser based illuminators will be less visible to opponents with nvg downrange.


Currently, I have a holosun ls321 and a streamlight vir... Yeah, i get it, China-CCP can go jump in a lake, but at the same time the steiner dbal has a bad QC reputation. the LS321 is great for 30-75 yds but would be better with a high power illum option. VIR2 is good under 30 yds.