Our Sigweis night vision binoculars review

The Sigweis night vision binoculars are currently retailing at $189.99 on Amazon and they have hovered around this price for the last four years. The cheapest we’ve seen them is $139.99, but only for very short periods at a time — flash-sale-type events.

On paper, these night vision binoculars boast impressive specs, including an infrared light that stretches 980 feet (298 m), a daytime viewing mode and seven brightness levels. Not only that, but it can record 1080p videos and 3MP stills on the supplied MicroSD memory card.

The binoculars arrive in a custom-fit military-grade hard case. Also supplied is a carbon-tipped lens cleaning brush, a 32 GB high-speed MicroSD Card, a shoulder strap and soft carry bag and everything else you need to get going, apart from batteries — more on that later.

Nightfox Swift, the Sigweis feel solid in the hand and less toyish. However, this does come at the cost of them being noticeably heavier (1.3 kg with batteries inserted) and bulkier, something you will want to consider if you’re taking these out on the trails with you.

Key specifications

Sensor: CMOS
IR Range: 980 ft / 298 m
Display: 2.31-inch LCD
Battery: 6 x AA batteries
Battery life: 8 hours IR / 16 hours daytime use
Magnification: 3x optical, 4x digital
Memory card: MicroSD
Weight: 2.86 lbs (1.3 kg)
Warranty: Not specified

There are six large buttons on top of the night vision binoculars that are easy to reach with your fingertips when you’re holding them to your face. The most-used buttons are on the outer edges, with the power and menu buttons in the middle of the device. Each button gives reassuring audible feedback (as a click) when pressed, and the buttons depress enough that you can easily feel you have pressed it, even with cold hands or thick gloves. The textured casing helps wet fingers to keep a secure grip on the binoculars, which is especially useful, as the Sigweis can be used in inclement weather, thanks to their IP56 waterproof rating.

There is a wrap around the large LCD screen, but we’d have liked this to mould to our face by being more malleable; it lets in a lot of light, especially from the bottom, which makes the screen very reflective. We found ourselves staring back at ourselves in certain daytime lighting conditions, making it difficult to see the image on the screen.

Unlike previous night vision binoculars, where the lenses are within the unit’s body, in the Sigweis, they protrude from the front. One is a lens, and the other is an infrared LED light. The lens rotates to focus; left to close objects and right to focus on something further away.

Sigweis night vision binocular showing the buttons on top.

The IR, zoom, mode and shot buttons are on the outer edges and easily reachable, even with small hands. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)

Nightfox Swift, which is only marginally cheaper. The illumination only comes from the right-hand side of the unit, which means that sometimes you get noticeable shadows even if your target is right in front of you. Not important when just observing, but something to be mindful of if you’re filming or taking photos.

When the unit is turned on, the default mode is video. By pressing the mode button, you can cycle through to photo mode and media playback mode. You can just observe without recording or taking stills if you want to.

Eight symbols visible on the LCD screen indicate the mode, night vision sensitivity, space on memory card, image resolution, SD warning, battery indicator, zoom level and IR level.

The 3x optical zoom is fixed, but the digital zoom (sensor cropping) extends to 4x. As with digital zooms, image sharpness decreases the more you zoom.

The large focus wheel is smooth to turn, with an obvious start and end point. You could turn it with just one finger but we found it easier to operate like you would a camera lens. Once in focus, the image on the large LCD screen is pleasingly sharp and clear in both daytime and at night.

Sigweis night vision binoculars: Functionality

Six AA batteries required (doesn’t take rechargeable batteries)
IP56 waterproof rating
Daytime mode

When the Sigweis night vision binoculars arrived, we were keen to start testing that evening. Having recently tested the Nightfox Whisker, which was handily chargeable via USB-C, we’d hoped for more of the same. Sadly, though, we found that the Sigweis need 6x 1.5V (AA) batteries. Cool, we have some rechargeable ones in the cupboard. Except, wait, on reading the warning note on the back of the binoculars, it said to not use rechargeable batteries. We tried it anyway just in case, but true to the warning, rechargeable batteries did not work, and the binoculars did not boot. Our testing was put on hold until we bought some non-rechargeable AA batteries. This is the worst thing about these binoculars. Non-rechargeable batteries are not only expensive but also have a significantly worse environmental impact than rechargeable alternatives.

Putting our qualms about the non-rechargeable batteries aside, the Sigweis Night Vision binoculars feature a generous IP56 rating. The ‘5’ means the binoculars have limited dust protection, and the ‘6’ means they can withstand protection against strong water jets in all directions. You can use them in all-terrain locations (like sandy deserts or pollen-filled fields) and in inclement weather without worry.

Sigweis night vision binocular case on a wooden table. — A small hard ‘suitcase’ style case is supplied to keep your night vision binoculars safe when transporting or storing. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)

Although you can use these night vision binoculars anywhere, the weight is a significant factor. As a comparison, the recently reviewed Nightfox Whisker weighs 609 g, including the rechargeable battery; the Nightfox Swift weighs a tiny 360 g, including the battery. The Sigweis weigh a hefty 1.3 kg. They are tripod mountable, which helps if you’re staying in one place, but if you have a long way to walk to your viewpoint, you’ll definitely feel the weight in your rucksack or kit bag.

While these are primarily night vision binoculars, you can use them in the daytime too. The best application for this would be research (e.g., animal surveys), as the image/video quality isn’t good enough for inspiring footage or stills. It’s a handy feature, though and means they aren’t completely redundant once the sun comes up.

The hard shell case is of excellent quality. The other accessories, like the soft case and neck strap, are fine, but nothing to shout about.

Should you buy the Sigweis night vision binoculars?

We want to really like the Sigweis night vision binoculars, but there are two big downsides. The weight, but more importantly, the fact that you need 6x non-rechargeable batteries. Although you can apparently use them for 8-16 hours, depending on IR levels and screen brightness, this still doesn’t seem good enough to warrant the extra expense of buying new batteries each time, or the negative environmental impact.

If those things don’t concern you, these are a good pair of night vision binoculars at a very affordable price. They do what they are meant to — allow you to see objects, animals and people in the dark and take stills or videos for future reference.

They are very easy to use; we only had a read of the user manual to see what it contained. The English grammar throughout is pretty poor, but that is fairly common when products have been made in a place where English is not spoken as a first language. Still, you can find everything you’d need in terms of operation and troubleshooting. We spent a couple of minutes getting to grips with what each button did and navigating the menu system — that was enough to get going.

If the Sigweis night vision binoculars aren’t for you

We recently reviewed the Nightfox Whisker night vision binoculars. We think they are comparable regarding operation and image/video quality, but they are lighter, rechargeable and more compact. The one thing they are missing compared with the Sigweis binoculars is a waterproof rating. This only really matters if you purposely plan to use them around water or in inclement weather often.

Nightfox Swift, which, thanks to the head mount and maximum viewing distance of around 75 yards, are more akin to goggles than binoculars. The battery is rechargeable via micro-USB, and it weighs a tiny 360 g. The Swift are particularly helpful if you need your hands free while observing, perhaps while feeding animals at a rescue center at night, or developing photos in a dark room.

If you need a pair of night vision binoculars with higher magnification, check out the Luna Optics LN-G3-B50. The magnification ranges from 6x to 36x. This gives the flexibility of wide-area scanning and close-up viewing. There is also built-in image stabilization at 6x to help minimize wobble. At 16MP, the resolution is also better, but they are more expensive.

For alternative ideas, check out our round-up of the best night vision binoculars. We regularly review this guide and update it with the best models we find as they come to market.

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