About
About NV Guide USA
NV Guide USA exists because night vision and thermal technology are genuinely complicated — and most of the content out there does a poor job of explaining either. We’re a team of veterans and experienced hunters who got tired of seeing buyers make expensive mistakes based on bad information. So we started writing the guides we wished had existed when we were figuring this out ourselves.
We’ve used this gear operationally and recreationally. We know the difference between what a spec sheet promises and what a unit actually delivers at 2 a.m. in a field. That gap is what this site is built around.
What We Cover
Night vision and thermal optics — monoculars, clip-ons, rifle scopes, goggles, and handheld units. We write buying guides, technology explainers, and side-by-side comparisons. If you’re trying to understand Gen 2 vs. Gen 3, NETD ratings, or why two scopes with identical specs perform differently in the field, this is where you’ll find clear answers.
How We Approach Reviews
- No gear we haven’t used. Every unit we write about has been tested in actual field conditions. We don’t summarize manufacturer specs and call it a review.
- We’re specific about conditions. Cold weather, humidity, fog, light pollution — we document what we tested under and what it meant for performance. Vague reviews are useless reviews.
- We disclose loaners. Some units come from manufacturers or distributors as review samples. We note this when it happens. It doesn’t change our conclusions.
- We correct ourselves. Technology updates and extended field time changes things. If a review needs updating, we update it and note what changed.
Meet the Team
Ray Dominguez — Founder & Lead Reviewer
Ray spent 12 years in Army Special Forces, including multiple deployments where he used military-grade NV and thermal equipment extensively. After leaving the service, he moved into hunting and long-range shooting. He started NV Guide USA because he kept watching hunters spend thousands on gear that was wrong for their use case. Ray focuses on technical reviews and the more complex explainer content.
Cole Whitfield — Field Tester
Cole is a predator hunter and trapper based in rural Kansas who’s been running NV equipment on coyotes and hogs since 2011. He covers enormous amounts of ground every season and has strong real-world opinions about durability, battery performance, and what actually matters when you’re miles from your truck. Cole handles long-term durability assessments and budget gear reviews.
Sandra Park — Technology & Research
Sandra has a background in photonics and worked in defense optics manufacturing before moving into science communication. She translates technical specifications into plain language and catches the kind of errors that come from not actually understanding the underlying physics. She’s the reason our technology explainers are accurate rather than just readable.
Contact
Corrections, questions, gear you think we should look at — we read everything that comes in.
Email: [email protected]
We don’t accept sponsored content or paid placements. Our recommendations are based on testing, not relationships with brands.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships do not affect our editorial decisions or recommendations.