Night Vision

Ahhh pocket change right? .....

You wont need NV I promise you that. I went last time all you need is a good flashlight (something that is dedicated for use on a rifle/pistol not just a dollar store flashlight) and some glow sticks (work wonders in ambushes). The site at golden is mostly flat with some forested areas on the far corners so any NV you might consider will probably out ranged anyway, and frankly one quick toss of a glow stick will illuminate an entire platoon of enemies without giving away more than just a general idea of which direction youre hitting them from.

Also remeber, all it takes is just one .5 cent bb to ruin a 2000 dollar pair of nv

Thats good to know that I wont be left in the dust during night games since I wont really be able to afford to drop 2000$ relatively niche equipment like that for quite a lonnnnggg time

Honestly, I only ever really enjoyed using the Gen 2+ and up. The other stuff just isn't versatile or effective enough. If you keep your eyes open, and you know where to look, you can find them for $1,500 or less. They are an investment, and there are so many other pieces of useful kit to buy. This is the reason that I've never purchased a set myself, and I usually hit 2-4 night games a year. It's just not enough night play to spend the extra cash. If I had all of my other gear perfect and in order, I probably would then. A good flashlight will blind NV as well, unless they are really high quality, in which case they'll become fuzzy and more difficult to use, or they have auto gating, and are ridiculously expensive. It's not just the base cost either, you'll need a mount, a J-arm, and a helmet too.

It's pretty easy to protect a decent set of NODs. I bought a pair of Gen1 dual tube Sightmark Ghost Hunter 1x24 from the States for less then $500 brand new with shipping, and for lense protection all you gotta do is cut out a piece of lexan and secure if over the objective lense. Personally I'm gonna get some flip up sight covers and some lexan and that will be more then enough to shield it from direct hits and too much light. Also, it is true that Gen1 needs a fair amount of ambient light to work. But I have used these things at night with very little ambient light and for bbwarz, they'll do just fine.

I own a Gen 1+ monacle and yes you do need decent ambient light but mine have a decent IR illuminator so I can see in total darkness. I have used it for night games several times but I did just fine without it so don't bail on playing at night just because you are with out. A good way to tell whether you are able to "Operate" at night is try a couple of local night games so you have an idea as to what to expect.

Yeah, a bunch of us guys were playing panther night games with no NODs, and still managed to dominate the field. Using NODs would just turn the proverbial rape into a murder lol

If you're going to ice back, check out what other players have. I'm sure they'll let you look through them and see. The biggest complaint I've heard with Gen-1 is that they don't sit right on your face. If you're in a storm, a forest, or a building then they are a little weak also. I used Gen-1+ twice for long periods, at Cold Front, and the again at Black Denial, and both times I was disappointed. At Battlefield I got to use Gen-2+ and Gen-3, and I decided to wait and save. I believe Night Optics is a good brand in NVs, and they're reasonably priced compared to competitors.