This is a review of Owlset HEIM ES X-Nano XPD Mini Thermal Sight Wi-Fi (VEOT-RSS08) from Jani Nordman.
The what? A new tiny thermal optic from Vector Optics sub-brand Owlset. I’ll first write the features you get and, in the end, I’ll try to figure out who could be the end user for this optic.
Key features
This is just basically a thermal camera in the front and a tiny screen at the back with an ACRO footprint. But for some more in-depth features, the screen is 256×192 resolution with a size of 1.4”
The image is quite clear and easy to see, but mounted to a pistol and keeping the optic at arms' length, it’s not the easiest to see what you’re looking at unless there’s a clear temperature difference between the subject and the background.
The camera in the front has a 12 μm sensor. What is that? Is that good? I’m not an expert on thermal sensors, but what I’ve learned now with my foray into thermal optics is that the 12 μm gives you greater clarity, which I can attest to, and you can see from the videos below that the clarity is quite high.
You get six different color modes. I’ve tried to demonstrate them in the videos below, so you get a feel for what the different modes look like and what could be the best for the scenario you’re planning to use the optic.
There are 10 different reticle options (the reticle can be turned off) with 5 different colors: black, white, green, red, and yellow.
The focus area is starting from a few meters away, so close targets are out of focus, so take this into consideration before making any purchase decisions.
Battery
I wanted to give the battery its own section, as I feel this has a good setup for the battery situation. In the packaging, you get three batteries, a charger that charges two batteries at the same time via a USB-C port, so you can have all three batteries with you and charge the two batteries from any source that gives you USB C, in todays world, this is very widespread. The optic also has a USB-C port, so that you can charge the battery that is inside the optic, or in a pinch, you can hook a battery pack to the gun and run a USB-C from the pack to the optic and get a drastically longer battery life.
In my testings I used the optic for a few (3 to 4) hours and got one of the batteries drained, but I didn’t have the screen on all the time, so I don’t have a timeline for how long each battery lasts. As mentioned above, you can prolong the battery life so easily. I would not worry about battery life.
Operation
In my testing, I noticed a lag quite often. You can see this in the videos, so if you aspire to use this for self-defense, take this into consideration. Now, I wouldn't use this as the only optic on any platform, I’d mount it to? Well, obviously, no, but as an offset optic for, let’s say, a defence rifle. Maybe, yes. As this gives you a capability where you can pick out heat from far(ish) away, the limiting factor is the screen size, so picking up a heat source and positively identifying it is a challenge from further away. There are also 0.5x and 1x modes. I preferred the 0.5x as for subjects closer than 50m, the 0.5x gave a better field of view, but the 1x is needed when you want to see further away with more clarity.
If you plan to use this for hunting, just make sure you’re up to date on your region/country's hunting laws around thermal optics, and take the small size into consideration.
Is it good for a handgun platform, shortly, No. Thermal has quite a lot of drawbacks for being the only optic for a handgun platform, as mentioned above about the arms distance making the screen size tiny, not being able to focus at close range, and any window surface becomes a mirror for the thermal view, so you get a mirror effect everywhere. Also, if the target (such as a paper target) has no heat, it’s very hard to see; I had to heat the paper target with my hand to be able to zero the optic. The aforementioned stutter lag also eliminates this from being the only optic, as if it freezes exactly the wrong time; this could be costly.
There are multiple ways you can utilise the optic, so I won’t even attempt to list the multiple use cases; it’s up to you if you feel you need this for whatever use case you envision for it.
Final thoughts
Is it a gimmick? I’d argue, no. As there are use cases that can be justified for the somewhat high cost, I say somewhat as costs are always user specific, for some people the price of this optic around 600+$/€ is a lot of money, but for some it’s just a month's supply of ammo for training so you be the judge if you feel the price is high or low.
I liked using this in my makeshift handheld mount while walking the dogs for walks in the forest, as this picked up all the small creatures (no, not aliens!) that move about in the forest that you can’t make out that easily with just the naked eye. For this, I could see this being a powerful aid in the scenarios I’ve listed above.
I really like the app that comes with the WiFi version, where you get a live view of the optic on your phone screen. You can change settings from the app, but the optic comes with a touch screen as well, so you get to make changes quickly, also straight from the screen. You can see me changing some settings with the touch screen in the videos below as well. If I feel I need this optic for my use case, I could justify the cost easily. Just remember to shield the camera end from direct sunlight when not in use. There is a rubber cover in the box for protection. There is also a non-Wi-Fi version available.
See all the specific specifications from the link below.
Plusses
+ Small (both + -)
+ Easy to use touch screen
+ Lot of options for view, reticles, colors etc.
+ ACRO mount, plus a picatinny adapter in the box
+ USB C for everything
+ Three batteries, with a charger in the box
+ Rubber cover in the box
+ Waterproof (IP66)
+ Wifi and an easy-to-use phone app.
Minuses
- Small (both + -)
- Laggy
- Heavy (123g) for handgun use
- Very specific use cases
- Only 2-year warranty
Videos of the optic:
Video 1 : Click here.
Video 2 : Click here.
Video 3 : Click here.
More information:
You can click here.
If you are interested in original review, please click here to view all.
