New from InfiRay is the 640 12-micron multi-purpose Rico Micro RH25 monocular. Currently one of the most versatile systems on the market, the RH25 is small enough to be helmet mounted and powerful enough to be used as a standalone thermal scope, or even a thermal clip-on. Being able to fill the role of a scanner, clip-on, and dedicated scope puts the RH25 into a category of its own that very few products can compete with at a fraction of the cost (VooDoo-S & SkeetIR-X). This versatility was my biggest draw to this optic, and why I requested to have it loaned out to review. Listed below are some of the specifications for the RH25:
Device Technology: Thermal Imaging
Sensor Resolution: 640×512
Sensor Frame Rate: 50hz
Sensor Pixel Size: 12μm
Optical Magnification: 1X
Digital Magnification: 4X
Detection Range: 1375 Yards
Objective Focal Length: 25mm f/1.0
Objective Diameter: 25mm
Objective F#: 1.0
Onboard Recording: Video and Image
Thermal has been getting a lot of attention the last few years and for good reason. While thermal imaging technology is proving its usefulness on the battlefield, hunters also are reaping the benefits it provides. While camouflage can hide during the day or at night from night vision, all creatures emit thermal radiation that makes them glow with thermal. Detection is easy and has allowed me to find many wild pigs that were out in the brush or crop stubble that I couldn’t see with night vision.
Coming in the box with the RH25 is a recoil-absorbing Picatinny weapon mount, adapter for a yet-to-be-sold helmet mount, Allen wrenches and screws, rubber eyepieces to be used as a clip-on or handheld, two 3400mAh batteries, battery charger, cleaning cloth, and USB/BNC Video out split cable.
Useful accessories include the Pictail Shoe and the InfiRay/ADM MQD mount. Throughout my testing, these are by far the most used accessories I had. The mount that came with the RH25 works well when using the thermal as a standalone scope, and can work with taller scope mounts but may sit too high to be used as a clip-on for lower scope mount heights. Also, the Pictail mount is very useful. Not only does it incorporate Picatinny rail sections, but it also features a dovetail for mounting the RH25 to a bridge/helmet setup. The Pictail also is threaded so it can be mounted to a tripod if desired. This adapter allows for quickly changing from a clip-on system, to a helmet-mounted setup with only two QD activations. However, the Pictail doesn’t work with the ModArmory dovetail interface on their Integrated Components bridge. Due to this I was not able to run the RH 25 on a bridge and had to use a separate mount to use it as a single monocular.
As for helmet-mounted use, the RH25 is a solid option. It’s not the smallest and lightest, but versatility comes at a price. I’ve been running the InfiRay MH25 on a helmet for most of the past year and I think it’s one of the best-dedicated options out there, but the RH25 is awesome for the ability to switch from a helmet to a clip-on in seconds when paired with the Pictail mount. The RH25 comes in at 12.7oz (13.5oz with Pictail) which is almost identical to the 12.5oz of a PVS14 both excluding batteries. The housing is larger and the battery housing sticks to the right when helmet mounted. This means that if it is going to be run with NV or another thermal, the RH25 should be set up over the user’s right eye. I wish the Pictail could be mounted on either side to give more versatility to the system so those who run NV could have that over their right eye for passive aiming with NV-compatible optics. However, since I am right-eye dominant, I prefer to have thermal over my right eye and NV over my other.
Battery life for a single 3400mAh has lasted me no less than 5 hours in temperatures down to the ’40s-’50s even though InfiRay specifies a 4-hour run time. For those who do not wish to use batteries inside the unit to keep weight on the front of a helmet down, an external power bank can be used. However, this defeats the versatility of being able to quickly swap the RH25 to a weapon system.
The clarity is impressive with the RH25. This thermal utilizes a 25mm objective lens, 640×512 sensor, and a 12μm pixel size. Also, with a base magnification of 1X, the RH25 has a wide field of view (17.5° horizontally, and 14° vertically) which makes it great for helmet-mounted and scanning purposes. There is a manual focus which I prefer over an infinite focus. This allows users to really dial into the specific range, and even focus on objects just a couple of yards away.
Featuring 7 different reticles, the RH25 can be used as a stand-alone thermal scope. These can be swapped from the internal settings while maintaining zero. This thermal has a digital zoom of up to 4X to help with those longer shots. The thing with thermal is that every time the magnification is doubled, the clarity is halved. The sensor is whatever it is based on the device, and zooming in is just looking closer at existing pixels. For this reason, as well as maintaining a wider field of view, I typically don’t zoom in from whatever the base magnification of the unit is.
The RH25 comes with two rubber eyepieces. One is for use against the user’s eye to prevent the illuminated display of the thermal from lighting up the user’s face.
The other is for use in a clip-on configuration to prevent light spill onto the weapon.
With the correct mount, the RH25 can be easily mounted up in front of a scope or red dot to be used as a clip-on system that maintains your optics zero. iRay states that there is no POI shift when using the RH25 as a clip-on, and I didn’t find anything worth noting shooting a couple of groups with cheap FMJ ammo. One thing I found interesting was when the RH25 was mounted to the rail in front of the scope but the locking mechanism purposefully wasn’t cranked down tight. This allowed the whole thermal to move side to side, and when laying prone with sandbags, the reticle of the scope stayed on target even though the edges of the thermal display were moving.
Red dots don’t provide much of a field of view with clip-on systems so this isn’t an ideal configuration but it can work. However, when used with a low-powered variable optic (LPVO), or magnified optics such as an ACOG the full potential of this unit is unleashed. I’ve noticed that the 1-6 power range for magnified optics is ideal for using with the RH25 as anything above can start to get pixilated. All these optics are doing is zooming into a small TV screen, but it is very useable on these lower magnifications and the RH25 has a detection range of 1375 yards for large warm-blooded animals. Detection range is only for spotting something hot at a distance, identification range is much less. This is not going to be a great option for those wanting to shoot past 300 yards as targets start to get blurry and pixelated.
The ability to have a handheld or helmet-mounted thermal to scan is very helpful when searching for warm-blooded creatures. After detection and within seconds, the RH25 can be added to a rifle. Utilizing the rifle mount to run the RH25 as a dedicated thermal reduces the weight of the weapon platform and makes a better-balanced platform than when using it RH25 as a clip-on. However, when used as a clip-on the weight is not bad, and then users can maintain the same rifle setup they had otherwise. The RH25 has two display modes, handheld, and clip-on or helmet/weapon mounted. While the clip-on or helmet/weapon-mounted setting has the display set to 1X magnification, the handheld modes base magnification is set to 1.3X which ends up filling more of the display to give a more natural rounded image. However, this ends up giving a more narrow field of view due to the higher magnification and trimming out parts of the full rectangular image. Other than trying out the handheld mode to see what it was like, I only found myself using the clip-on mode since I primarily used it as a scanner for detection purposes.
One of the nicest software upgrades the RH25 has over InfiRay’s MH25 is the onboard recording. Now with the press of a button, users can take pictures and videos through the device of exactly what they are seeing. Storage capacity is 64GB which is plenty to use for multiple hunts before backing up the recorded content and clearing out the memory to make room for up-and-coming adventures. Just a reminder that when using as a clip-on, no reticle will be seen since the scope is behind the thermal, and the crosshairs are not visible on the display of the thermal.
The RH25 feels like a solid and tough device and I had no issues with it while trying it out. It is recoil rated for shooting up to a 300 Win/7mm Mag. One thing to note is that when shooting, the image does shutter for a fraction of a second, but this has been the case with all weapon-mounted thermals I have tried. For hunting, I haven’t found this to be an issue. The thermal is also given an IP67 rating which means it offers complete protection from dust and can protect the internals from water when submersed in up to 1 meter of water for a brief amount of time.
When it comes to thermal, there is no current device that gives you the best of every world. Everything is purpose-built and situationally chosen. Bigger thermals with larger objective lenses give clearer images for a weapon-mounted setup, but those have no way to be used helmet mounted and are too big and bulky to be used as a scanner. For those with a “limited” budget, the InfiRay RH25 provides great performance with its 640 sensor and versatility that can’t currently be beaten. For those who can only afford one thermal device, having the capability to run it as a dedicated thermal, clip-on, handheld, or scanner is a powerful advantage. MSRP for the InfiRay MH25 Rico Micro is listed at $5,999 and seems to be posted at that price across all retailers.
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