Review: Z-Vision night vision torches

Increasing numbers of hunters are shooting and conducting pest control at night, and Z-Vision are the pioneers of providing torches that give a combination of visible LED and IR light — single torches that fulfil multiple roles. They’re designed in such a way that they’re great at everything, rather than compromising functionality or quality because of the versatility.

I received three torches for testing and they come in two sizes. They’ve been designed from the ground up to be used for hunting.

Z-Vision hunting lights review — The NV-103 mounted to a PARD NV scope, an excellent way to supplement the night-time abilities of the scope by providing a greater amount of infrared light

All are made from aircraft-grade alloy and feature an anodised finish, so they will be durable and wear well. They have separate LEDs for each of their modes, rather than using one LED and putting various filters over them. This, combined with convex lenses, makes each beam of light efficient, extremely clean and less draining of battery power as they aren’t trying to push white light through a filter that kills some of the lumens.

Z-Vision advertises the 303 sized torches will give you up to 500m of visibility with the red and white LEDs, but almost twice that for seeing eye shine alone. The infrared IR850 beam gives you close to 500m, which is plenty for night shooting.

The smaller 103 torches shaves 100-200 metres off those figures.

Each torch has three different coloured LEDs built in, and a dial to switch between the different modes is mounted on the front of the torches. The on/off button at the back can be turned to adjust the power up and down, which can help you get the maximum reach and visibility, yet also save some of your battery life. Z-Vision advertises that a single battery can give an entire night of shooting use when the power is turned down, but on full power, you will get at least 2.5 hours. Each kit comes with two batteries.

The NV-303 and NV-103 are best suited to someone who has a night vision scope (NV in the name is a giveaway) and is looking for infrared (IR) capability. They have a red LED, as well as IR940 and IR850 LEDs.

The red module gives great colour depth and eye shine on animals like foxes, and can be used in any application where your naked eye needs to see the light, so you could mount this torch on a glass scope if you wish. The IR options however, are where these torches excel, with the 850 LEDs giving you a bit more reach, and the 940 LEDs being a little softer and making you almost completely invisible to animals who may be looking in your direction at the light source.

The DN-303 also has red and IR850 beams, but the IR940 LED has been replaced with a white light LED, so this torch might be better suited to someone who wants a torch to function in a more traditional sense but still have some IR capability if the need arises.

Z-Vision has some great mounting options that help to make use in the field streamlined and repeatable. The SPR-1 ring-to-Picatinny rail attachment suits both 1-inch and 30mm scope tube options, and the V2 TWM-LP low-profile mount can be secured to the torches. This allows a user to have multiple ring-to-Picatinny mounts on a few scope-and-rifle combos, and attach the same torch and TWM mount to all of them, without having to unscrew different attachments.

The TWM-LP mounts feature easy adjustment for windage and elevation, so you can fine tune exactly where you want the torches to point, ensuring the best possible image through the scopes. These mounts are extremely well built and there would be no issue at all standing up to regular use on a decent centrefire rifle.

I tested the IR beams from the NV-303 and NV-103 through a PARD Nightstalker 4K Pro scope and was pleased with the results. I could easily identify animals out to the advertised distances and the amount of IR light allowed for fantastic detail through the scope. I also used the red LED in the colour/‘day’ function of the scope and found it great as well. It’s worth noting here that the quality of your scope will likely be more of a limiting factor in your capabilities at night, as opposed to the torches.

The DN-303 provided great potential through the ZeroTech Thrive HD 3-18x56mm mounted on my .223, and the white light was also useful when walking around camp or finding animals I’d shot in the long grass.

The 303 torches are $345 and the 103 torch is $315, so they’re priced competitively with other torches that require filters or other bits of gear to accomplish the same job. The accessories I mentioned, as well as a few others like extra batteries, bow and rifle mounts and switches, are all priced nicely as well.

Your money is also supporting an Australian family-owned business that has developed these products specifically for our market and conditions. Any hunter who is looking for a robust torch to be used in a variety of applications would do well to check these out.