The Nightfox Whisker night vision, on paper, seems to pack a punch for its size. They’re designed for anyone looking to explore after dark without the bulk, weight or price tag of pro-grade gear.
They appear to offer clear, detailed viewing from dusk to total darkness. They have a built-in rechargeable battery (thankfully!), HD recording, a focusable infrared beam, and a simple five-button control. A clever blend of practicality and performance – just what you need for wildlife viewing, animal surveys and research, camping trips, outdoor exploration or simply satisfying your curiosity about what’s going on in your garden after dark.
Nightfox Whisker night vision binoculars review
Nightfox Whisker night binoculars: Design
- Nice build quality
- Multipurpose buttons
- Fixed zoom and focus wheels
Nightfox Whisker has a nice weight to it; it feels solid, but without being heavy. Compared to Sigwei’s night vision scope that we reviewed in tandem, this is almost half the weight, no doubt mostly due to the lack of six AA batteries, as this unit is rechargeable.
There are five buttons on the top of the device in a row, with two wheels on the front left and one on the right.
Key specifications
Sensor: CMOS
IR range: 850 nm
Exhibition: 960×376
Battery: Built-in lithium battery
Battery life: 5 hours mixed IR – 10 hours (no IR)
Enlargement: 1x to 10x (adjustable)
Memory card: MicroSD (supplied)
Weight: 609 g including battery
Warranty: Two years
The buttons control power, IR level, zoom, photo and video recording and mode selection. The IR level and zoom share the same buttons – a quick press adjusts the IR level, while a long press controls the zoom, which takes some getting used to. We also occasionally found ourselves accidentally long-pressing the power button, turning off the device instead of pressing the zoom button next to it. A different placement or textured finish on the power button would have helped prevent this. Since the device takes about four seconds to restart, there’s a real chance you could miss your target if you press the wrong button in the middle of the action.
The left wheel controls optical zoom and focus, and the right wheel focuses the infrared beam and is also the zoom adjustment. The wheels are quite stiff to turn and we found we needed a finger and thumb to make adjustments, much like how you would manually focus a camera lens. Perhaps these will loosen over time, with more use, but we like that they are unlikely to be accidentally knocked out of position once we have them where we want them. They each turn 180 degrees with an obvious start and end point.
Once in focus, the image on the large LCD screen is pleasingly sharp and clear. You get loads of detail and the IR does a good job of what it’s supposed to do: let you see in the dark.
The texture of the cover helps prevent slipping, but since these night vision goggles don’t have a waterproof rating, it’s unlikely you’ll be using them in inclement weather. That said, we’ve taken them out in drizzle after dark and didn’t feel they were particularly susceptible to damage from a small amount of moisture. However, we carefully wiped them off afterwards.
The gasket around the large LCD screen appears to be well-shaped and doesn’t let in much light when held up to the face, minimizing reflections and glare on the screen.
Like the Sigweis (review to follow), one lens is an actual lens and the other is an infrared LED light. The lens rotates to focus; counter-clockwise to make it a focused spot, and clockwise to make it more of a floodlight.
Nightfox Whisker Night Binoculars: Performance
- Clear display with good details
- Adjustable optical zoom
- Lighting only comes from the right
Once you’ve charged the binoculars after unpacking, you’re good to go. 32 GB micro-SD comes pre-installed, so you’re also ready to take photos and record videos of your finds right away if you want.
The ‘M’ or mode button allows you to switch between photo and video recording, or view and manage your previous media. The navigation is simple and can be found without referring to the manual. Ideally, we would have liked separate buttons for video recording and photos, rather than having to switch between the modes, but it takes almost no time at all to switch between them. The ‘OK’ button takes the picture or starts/stops recording when the correct mode is selected.
There are a whole bunch of other settings at your disposal when you long press the ‘M’ button. Here you can change image resolution, video size, backlight level, exposure, contrast, video sound (on or off) and more.
When you observe, at the top left of the screen, a small blue icon tells you what mode you are in, next to it in white, the resolution of the image, or the recording quality of the video as well as the IR level, from zero to seven. At the top left of the screen you see the current time; in the lower left corner, the battery level indicator, which works accurately.
The IR illumination range is 900 feet, which is 700 feet more than the Nightfox Swift. We could see the details of an unlit building on the other side of a large playing field, although it was pitch black. We were even able to play “fetch” with our black dog without flashlights, street lights, or glowing balls!
Although the image on the screen appeared sharp in live view, the photos we took while out and about were quite low quality when we downloaded them, but good enough to serve as a record of your observations, even if you don’t win Animal Photographer of the Year with them. Mind you, we’re used to seeing images from some of the best cameras on the market, so maybe our expectations were a little too high for this 16MP device.
Nightfox Whisker night binoculars: Functionality
- Rechargeable (with long battery life)
- Includes a 32GB microSD card
- No waterproof rating
The Nightfox Whisker is a rugged digital night binocular that blends practical performance with advanced features for wildlife observation, mapping and general low-light outdoor use. A 32GB microSD card is included, and transferring the images from the device to your computer is as easy as transferring files on a memory card, just like a regular camera.
At its core is an adjustable optical zoom that ranges from 1x to 10x, giving you the option of either a wide 57-degree field of view at low magnification or the ability to zoom in for a closer look. Unexpectedly, the image sharpness becomes softer the more you zoom.
A practical feature that stands out is the long-life rechargeable 5000 mAh battery. Depending on the use of the IR level, the battery lasts about five hours. This is great for longer viewing sessions. With IR off, you can get around ten hours of use from the Nightfox Whisker (we haven’t tested this personally). You can also use it to record your findings during the day.
The Whisker feels solid in the hand and is designed to withstand field conditions while remaining ergonomic and, compared to other models such as Sigwei’s Night Vision binoculars, relatively lightweight. As we mentioned, it’s not a waterproof rating, so while we think they’d be fine in fog or drizzle, we wouldn’t risk using them outside in anything worse than that.
Should you buy Nightfox Whisker night vision binoculars?
Nightfox Whisker is a versatile option for both day and night viewing, whether at close range or over long distances.
We think, compared to other models we’ve reviewed, the Whisker offers excellent value for money thanks to its extra features. Whisker gives you greater control over zoom and focus and can record what you see as 16 MP photos or AVI videos. We believe this makes them ideal for field research.
Unlike some models that require up to eight non-rechargeable AA batteries, the Whisker doesn’t need any, saving you on ongoing costs.
At the time of writing, these binoculars are available for around $200.
If the Nightfox Whisker night binoculars are not for you
If all you want from your night vision scope is to see what’s ahead of you in the dark, the Nightfox Swift does just that. They are head mounted and more like night vision goggles for close up viewing and they are also cheaper. The Nightfox 100V is even more affordable and better suited for sneaking wildlife in your garden than for long-distance use.
Another pair of night vision binoculars we’ve recently tested (review to follow) is Sigwei’s Night Vision binoculars. They can also record photos and videos, but they require disposable batteries and are quite large.
For more ideas and alternative models, check out our overview of the best night binoculars. We regularly update this with the best models as we find and evaluate them.
