Night vision monoculars / PulsarDiscontinued
Pulsar Recon X870
5° · Discontinued
Compare the Recon X870 with others →
Check price
Affiliate links (Amazon, eBay): we may earn a commission. Prices change; the retailer's page is the current one.
Ground across the screen at 100 yd
Field width
How many feet of ground fill the screen at 100 yards. Wider makes scanning faster; narrower usually means more detail on the animal.
26 ft
Specs
| Sensor | |
|---|---|
| Resolution Sensor resolution How many heat-reading pixels the sensor has, such as 384 × 288 or 640 × 512. More pixels show more detail, but the lens matters just as much. | Not published |
| Refresh rate Refresh rate How many times per second the picture updates. 50 or 60 times a second looks smooth; lower rates stutter when you pan or a coyote runs. | Not published |
| Infrared | |
| IR illuminator IR illuminator A flashlight of infrared light that people can barely see or not see at all. Digital night vision depends on it in the dark, and it often limits how far you can see. | 915 nm, built inBuilt-in laser illuminator. |
| IR power 850 nm vs 940 nm IR The two common infrared light colors. 850 reaches farther with a cleaner picture but shows a faint red glow; 940 is close to invisible but reaches less far. | 45 mWPublished as 30 to 45 mW |
| Color in daylight Digital night vision A camera-style sensor that sees in very low light and in infrared, usually helped by a built-in infrared light. Cheaper than tubes, and it shows color by day. | — |
| Optics | |
| Lens Focal length The lens number in millimeters, like 35 mm or 50 mm. A longer lens puts more pixels on a distant animal but shows a narrower slice of ground. | 50 mm objective |
| Base magnification Base magnification How much bigger things look before any digital zoom, like 2× or 4×. Higher is not automatically better: it narrows your view. | 5.5× |
| Max digital zoom Digital zoom Electronic enlarging of the picture. It makes the animal look bigger but adds no detail; past about 2× to 4× the image gets blocky. | 11× |
| Field of view Field of view How wide a view you get, in degrees. A wide view makes scanning for animals faster; a narrow one usually means more magnification. | 5° wide |
| Detection range (maker’s claim) Detection range The maker's figure for how far away a warm object shows up as a dot or two. It is far longer than the distance you can tell what the animal is. | — |
| Display | |
| Display Display resolution How many pixels the small screen inside the eyepiece has. A sharp screen looks cleaner but cannot add detail the sensor did not capture. | Not published |
| Power | |
| Battery | 4xAA, removable |
| Runtime Battery life (runtime) How many hours the device runs on a charge, by the maker's test. Real runtime is shorter in the cold and with Wi-Fi, recording or the rangefinder on. | Not published |
| Features | |
| Rangefinder Laser rangefinder A built-in laser that measures how far away the animal is. The rated range is for big, reflective targets; expect much less on a coyote. | No |
| Video Onboard recording (storage) Built-in memory that records photos and video of what you see. Useful for reviewing shots and sharing hunts; listed in gigabytes. | — |
| Storage Onboard recording (storage) Built-in memory that records photos and video of what you see. Useful for reviewing shots and sharing hunts; listed in gigabytes. | — |
| Wi-Fi / app Wi-Fi and app A wireless link to a phone app for live viewing, downloading videos, changing settings and updating the device's software. | No |
| Build | |
| Weight Weight How heavy the device is. Check whether the maker weighed it with or without the battery, because brands do it differently. | 14.8 oz (no battery) |
| Water rating IP rating (water rating) A two-part code for how well the device keeps out dust and water. IP67 means dust-tight and survives a short dunk; an X means not tested. | Not rated |
| Operating temp Operating temperature The temperature range the maker says the device will work in. Batteries lose much of their runtime well before the low end of that range. | -13°F to 122°F |
| Buying | |
| Warranty Warranty How long the maker promises to repair or replace a faulty unit. Check whether it needs registration and whether it passes to a second owner. | Not published for US |
| US price US price The price we found for the unit in the US, with where it came from and when. Prices change often, so treat it as a snapshot. | Discontinued |
| MSRP MSRP The maker's suggested retail price in the US: the list price, before any sale. Useful for seeing how good a deal really is. | Not published for US |
Source: Pulsar Recon X870 page (pulsar-nv.com, archived December 31, 2015).
Added October 11, 2026 · Specs last checked October 11, 2026
Current models to compare
In production now, nearest in resolution and range.
- Compare with the Recon X870 →
- Compare with the Recon X870 →
38 ft wide at 100 yd
Compare with the Recon X870 →3840×2160
Compare with the Recon X870 →
Other Pulsar Recon models
Other sizes and versions in the same line.
- Pulsar Recon 750Discontinued
500×582 · ID ~170 yd in good light · 29 ft wide at 100 yd · discontinued
Compare with the Recon X870 → - Pulsar Recon 750RDiscontinued
500×582 · ID ~170 yd in good light · 29 ft wide at 100 yd · discontinued
Compare with the Recon X870 → - Pulsar Recon 770Discontinued
500×582 · ID ~170 yd in good light · 29 ft wide at 100 yd · discontinued
Compare with the Recon X870 → - Pulsar Recon X850Discontinued
29 ft wide at 100 yd · discontinued
Compare with the Recon X870 →
