Test & review: PARD NV 007S rear-mounted night vision unit

The NEW PARD NV 007S rear-mounted night vision unit impresses in this field test and review by Chris Parkin

The latest incarnation of PARD’s popular 007 now carries the ‘S’ suffix, and this one comes in at the top of the range above the previous ‘A’ and ‘V’ models.

What's the benefit of rear-mounted night vision?
The great benefit of any rear-mounted add-on is that it doesn’t have any effect on the existing zero of your rifle. It is essentially just a screen, connected to a camera, looking at the reticle and the existing sight picture of your scope. It’s just like watching TV – the actors don’t move if you sit in a different position. However, a key drawback to a rear add-on is that it demands space between the scope and your eye.

It’s all very well advertising eye relief ‘X’ or recoil rating ‘Y’ if you can’t physically adapt to it. The whole point is that you don’t want to start moving your current day scope forward to accommodate change. Although the previous 007A model was reasonably compact, the ‘S’ has changed the orientation of the 18650 battery from linear to vertical, which saves a lot of space – approximately 25mm. This makes a scope with this PARD go from acceptable to very comfortable, with more freedom to fit in without compromising ergonomics.

Rated up to .308 Winchester, the sensor is a 1080P unit with an OLED display offering 1024x768 pixels on its screen. A new mounting collar system offers secure positioning, so instead of having to wrap layers of black insulation tape to build the correct diameter for the ocular bell, you now get a choice of three polymer collars for an even better fit. The collar butts up against the ocular lens surround to set the PARD’s position. 

How has the PARD NV 007S improved on previous models?
This arrangement is more versatile, as the ‘S’ has a slightly greater depth of field, so doesn’t require 12mm or 16mm options to suit the underlying scope. All tools are supplied to fit the collar, including Allen keys and spare seals, before it’s securely nipped in place. Even if it’s not lined up quite perfectly it doesn’t matter; zero isn’t affected and you are unlikely to even notice until you watch video or stills on a PC monitor or tablet.

The second benefit of the 007S is that it now satisfies international IP67 dustproof protection and waterproof ratings for full submergence to 1m for 30 minutes. As well as core night-vision functionality, the PARD can be used in normal daylight colour mode and will record stills or video in either scenario.

More features of the new PARD NV 007S...
Favourites can be set up for power on and you can also set it to record manually or automatically with recoil activation. There is a small 850nm (visible) IR illuminator on top, as well as Picatinny mounting for additional, more powerful illuminators. The standard unit gave me illumination for around 50-60m shots, depending atmospheric conditions, but with a PBiR-L illuminator mounted forward on the scope’s body I was watching foxes over 300m away in some pretty bad conditions.

It’s not exactly cinematic quality but it’s fully functional and reliable, especially as you get all of your scope/reticle’s normal functionality without any loss of zero. Mechanical alterations of magnification on the scope are faster than digital NV systems, although the 007S does offer 4-14x digital magnification. I preferred to remain fully optical and applied zoom via the main day scope.

I found the PARD took about 20 minutes to set up on the Nightforce scope I used it with. A trip to the range in daylight helped me familiarise myself with the eyepiece and controls. I got everything paired well to the scope and was confident that all operations would be instinctive for when I might be in a hurry after dark.

A USB-C battery charge cable is supplied, plugging in on the underside next to a Micro SD card slot for video/stills recording. PARD advertise an eight-hour run time, but this is dependent on internal IR intensity if used. It has three stages with the maximum offering 5W of power. I didn’t use it for anything other than testing. More powerful external IR is the key to all digital NV for maximum effect at a distance.

Field testing the PARD NV 007S
I found myself happily returning home after six hour’s use with an estimated 1/8 of the battery power left, but I had been careful to switch off the unit and screen when not in use for extended periods. The 18650 batteries (flat-topped versions in this case) are simple enough to swap, with a single screw opening cylinder to the right side of the unit. No problem even in the dark.

The rubber bellows eyecup is comfortable, requiring little compression to maintain the inherent 45mm eye relief from lens to pupil. Being a rectangular internal screen like a TV means you do need to divert your gaze into the corners to see some of the menu options or display icons. This is where I often criticise the actual ocular lens quality of products, but the focal point for the screen is quite forgiving on the PARD, so once the rear dioptre collar is set for your eyes, you don’t need to touch it.

Test conclusion
There is a lot more to find out about the PARD in published specifications, but as an overall opinion I liked the original 007A unit when I got used to it, yet the ‘S’ is noticeably smaller/shorter and more optically forgiving. It’s worth the additional cost because you can enjoy all the day/night benefits with fewer ergonomic drawbacks and have the IP67 assurance for when the going gets tougher. It’s a respectable product evolution from PARD. 

Specifications
Magnification:    4-14x
Objective Lens: N/A
Eye Relief: 45mm
Eyepiece Resolution: 1024 x 768px
IR Illuminator:    Yes
IR Power: 5w
IR Wavelength: 850nm / 940nm
Video Recording:    Yes - Recoil Activated & Manual
Image Capture:    Yes
Expandable Storage: Yes - Micro SD Card
Battery Type:    18650 Li-Ion
Battery Life:    Up To 8 Hours
IP Rating:    IP67 Waterproof
Wi-fi Support:    Yes
Height:    118mm
Width:    75mm
Length:    102mm
Weight:    Up to 265g
Price: £535.00 inc. one mounting collar, battery and charge cable. Additional mounting collars, £19.99

Contact
Sportsman Gun Centre
for PARD, Nightforce and Element Optics Scope rings

Also Used
Sauer 100 Keeper
Hornady Ammunition
PBiR-L illuminator