Pard NV008 and NV008 LRF Review

Pard NV008P

The Pard NV008 Series of night vision scopes have been designed to be have superior performance whilst having the flexibility of being a multi purpose product. The NV008P can be used both as a hand held spotter or attached to your rifle. It’s a superbly versatile product.

With a built in HD OLED display, the NV008P provides images and footage with fantastic clarity and detailed colours. It has the ability to record to external storage if required, up to 128GB. As for most of the Pard range, it features WiFi connectivity allowing the connection of the scope to a mobile device, for setup and remote display of the live and recorded footage.

The Pard is built to withstand poor weather conditions with it’s IPx7 waterproof rating and a strong aluminium construction.

The PARD NV008P is a close to zero (45mm) eye relief digital day/night scope, making it ideal for PCP air rifles, .22LR and .17HMR. The provided reach back mount is designed for picatinny attachment, so if you plan using it on a rifle with dovetail rails you will need an adapter. The integrated 850nm infrared torch is surprisingly powerful. Pard claims a range of 200 metres and we have found it more than sufficient at typical airgunning distances and further.

If you need more light you can always augment with an external illuminator. Powered by a 18650 rechargeable li-on battery, which is supplied, Pard claims around eight hours of use. In reality, much depends on the extent to which you use the IR torch. Although we always take a couple of spare batteries, we rarely have to use them. Made from high grade aluminium, the NV008P carries an IPX7 waterproof rating. It only weighs 435g and is just 162mm long, making it one of the lightest and most compact products of its kind on the market. The high definition OLED 1024×768 screen is extremely clear, providing an excellent picture both day and night, making it a scope you really can use around the clock. The easy to follow menus provide access to a range of functions and options including the ability to record 1920×1080 30fps AVI video and take photos as well as connect to another device over wifi. The buttons also enable the 6.5x or 12x magnification options – note there is nothing in between. You can choose from a number of different reticle designs and colours and the zero function is very straightforward. We use an NV008P for rat shooting on an FX Impact – a combination that is simply unbeatable.

Key Features

• High Definition OLED 1024X768 Screen
• Wifi Connectivity / Smart Phone Control
• HD Video Recording Function
• Up to 128Gb External Storage
• Picatinny Rail Mount
• Waterproof IPX7 Rated
• 6061 Grade Aluminium Alloy Construction

Who is it for?

The Pard NV008P is designed for hunters who want to shoot during the day and carry on at the touch of a button when it gets dark. As a close to zero eye relief scope, it is not suitable for recoiling rifles and is best used on PCP air rifles, .22LR and 17 HMR rifles. Unlike its sister product, the NV008P LRF, there is no range finding capability so you’ll either need a separate range finder for use at night, or you’ll need to be very familiar with your venue

PLEASE NOTE: Separate 18650 battery charger is required and not supplied. The micro USB port is for data transfer and not for charging. Charging via the USB port may damage the product and render the warranty invalid.

Pard NV008 LRF

With a built in HD OLED display, the NV008 LRF provides images and footage with fantastic clarity and detailed colours. It has the ability to record to external storage if required, up to 128GB. As for most of the Pard range, it features WiFi connectivity allowing the connection of the scope to a mobile device, for setup and remote display of the live and recorded footage.

The Pard is built to withstand poor weather conditions with it’s IPx7 waterproof rating and a strong aluminium construction.

The PARD NV008P LRF is the same as the NV008P in most regards with the notable exception that it has an onboard laser range finder (LRF) – a matchbox device located on the right of the unit that is rated out to 600m. As a result, it is slightly heavier at 450g. The magnification options are slightly different at 6.5x and 13x although the picture-in-picture option enables 26x. As a close to zero (45mm) eye relief digital day/night scope, making it ideal for PCP air rifles, .22LR and .17HMR.

The provided reach back mount is designed for picatinny attachment, so if you plan using it on a rifle with dovetail rails you will need an adapter. The integrated 850nm infrared torch is surprisingly powerful. Pard claims a range of 200 metres and we have found it more than sufficient at typical airgunning distances and further. And if you need more light you can always augment with an external illuminator. Powered by a 18650 rechargeable li-on battery, which is supplied, Pard claims around eight hours of use. In reality, much depends on the extent to which you use the IR torch. Although we always take a couple of spare batteries we rarely have to use them.

Made from high grade aluminium, the NV008P LRF carries an IPX7 waterproof rating. The high definition OLED 1024×768 screen is extremely clear, providing an excellent picture both day and night, making it a scope you really can use around the clock. The easy to follow menus provide access to a range of functions and options including the ability to record 1920×1080 30fps AVI video and take photos as well as connect to another device over wifi. You can choose from a number of different reticle designs and colours and the zero function is very straightforward. We use an NV008P LRF when hunting rabbits at night and cannot fault its performance.

Key Features

• Inbuilt 600M Laser Range Finder
• Colour reticules
• 6.5x Optical 13x Digital Magnification
• Picture in Picture up to 26x

PLEASE NOTE:The micro USB port is for data transfer and not for charging. Charging via the USB port may damage the product and render the warranty invalid.

In the box

• Picatinny mount
• Rechargeable li-ion 18650 battery

Who is it for?

The Pard NV008P LRF is intended for hunters who also shoot at night where the laser range finder feature is invaluable. That said, the image quality on the NV008P LRF is superb, making it more than acceptable for use during the day as well. As a close to zero eye relief scope, it is not intended for recoiling rifles and should be used with PCP air rifles, .22 LR and 17 HMR rifles.

PARD NV008 and PARD NV008 LRF review and guide 

The NV008P and NV008P LRF are identical in all aspects other than the fact the latter has an onboard laser rangefinder function, hence the ‘LRF’ tag – a slightly smaller than a matchbox size unit on the right of the main scope.Weighing just 435/450g and measuring 162x54x68.5mm, the PARD 008P is one of the lightest and most compact night vision (NV) products available. I’ve been using the LRF product as my go to NV for some time, shooting rabbits out to 70 or 80 metres with FAC air rifles and it’s become a firm favourite, so the following is based on my own experience based on many hundreds of hours of trouble-free use.

Mounting

The PARD NV008P is a near to zero eye relief which means that unlike traditional glass scopes, your eye must almost touch the ocular lens, making the scope unsuitable for recoiling air rifles but perfect for PCP air rifles and perhaps .22LR. As a result, the PARD NV008P comes with a good quality reach back mount. However, it is designed for use on picatinny rails so if your rifle has dovetail grooves you will need to buy an adapter. Many users, me included, found that once zeroed, the reticle became located very low in the viewing screen. Some users even found they had run out of vertical adjustment. The problem is easily resolved by inserting some shims between the scope and the mount. I used tiny squares of coke can but PARD now provides a small packet of shims.

External features

The ocular lens – the one closest to your eye – has a dipotre adjustment collar. Turning it focuses the reticle and other on screen information. At the front, another collar which has a small lug on it adjusts the target image. I have found that I need to adjust both collars when I switch between day and night mode, but it only takes a second or two. Above the ocular lens is the battery housing. The PARD NV008P, and many other PARD products, take a single 18650 rechargeable battery that is supplied. Unscrew the cap and insert the battery positive end first – there’s a little diagram to remind you. PARD claims eight hour of battery life and in truth I have never gone flat. However, it’s worth taking a fully charged spare just in case. You’ll need the type that has a flat positive terminal.

To the right of the ocular lens is another cap. You’ll need a coin to undo it and reveal a couple of ports and a slot for a mini SD card which you will need for recording footage on. In all honesty, I’ve not used either of the ports. I prefer to take the battery out to charge it. The 850nm integrated IR illuminator is located forward of the battery just above the objective lens. Looking at it you’d be forgiven for thinking it would be too puny to be any good – I certainly did. However, switch it on at night and the output is staggering – easily good for 100 metres at least and more than ample for airgun use. There are three brightness settings and by sliding the lens forward and back quarter of an inch you can adjust the beam. Using the IR illuminator will impact the battery life and for that reason alone, I prefer to use a separate torch. The PARD NV008P has a small picatinny accessory rail for this purpose although I use a rail on my rifle as attaching to the scope obscures the power button slightly.

The buttons

I’m going to focus on the LRF version because that’s the one I use. Other than the rangefinder button, the controls are exactly the same for the non-LRF scope. 

A large power button with a blue circle around it is located on the left of the scope. Holding it down for three or four seconds switches the PARD NV008 on and off. When it’s on, a small red light will show. Pressing the button briefly puts the scope into a sleep mode and another brief press instantly wakes it up again. Make sure that when you want to power down for good you hold the button down until the red light goes out.

Above the power button are four further buttons. The first opens the menu. On older models a brief press would activate a red dot laser. However, due to confusion as to whether the function breached regulations or not, units now distributed by Sportsman Gun Centre have this function disabled. We’ll talk about the menu in a bit.

The next button enables you to switch between day and night mode. Holding it down configures the PARD to operate in the dark. Brief presses activate the IR illuminator for which there are three intensity levels. Holding the button down again takes you back to day full colour mode.

Forward of that, on the LRF version, the button with a flag on it activates the rangefinder. A short press turns it on and off. A yellow distance reader in metres or yards to the right of the reticle provides a constant read out. Simply place the small cross-in-a-box rangefinder reticle on your target. A long press of the button activates the onboard video recorder which is indicated by a red dot in the top left hand corner and a time counter. On occasion I have found the scope locks up if I press the button to range find and then hold it down again to record. However, performing the record function first and then the rangefinder eradicates the problem. With the rangefinder turned off your recordings will show a date stamp. Switch it on though and the date stamp disappears.

A short press of the last button operates the PARD NV008P’s 6.5x and 12x magnification options. You can have one or the other, there’s no sliding scale between the two. By holding down the button you activate the video playback mode.

The menu

Accessed by holding down the rear button, the menu comprises four screens. If you’re like me, you won’t use most of the options. You can scroll up and down using the IR and magnification buttons, confirming selections with the button in between marked ‘OK’. The ones I use most are

• Picture-in-picture (PiP) mode which magnifies the centre part of the reticle in a separate viewing window. 
• Reticle adjustment. This gives access to five different profiles – A through E – against which you can save different zero information as well as reticle styles and colours. With this sub menu open you can zero your rifle. There are plenty of reticle choices in either red or yellow. A long press of the OK button saves what you have entered and takes you out of the menu mode.
• Brightness of IR. Allows you to select a default setting for when you switch the IR illuminator on.

Other buttons, including those for brightness, unit selection, date, time and language are all self-explanatory. You can also turn a wifi function on and off as well as the audio function for recordings.

Zeroing

Zeroing digital scopes confuses some people, but with the PARD NV008 the process is reasonably straightforward even if it requires a little dexterity with the buttons. Remember that the magnification and IR buttons double up to enable you to scroll up/down and left/right. The button in between – the rangefinder button on the LRF model, which is also marked is ‘OK’, confirms selections.

• Long press the menu button and scroll down to the second option ‘Reticle Adjustment’ and press ‘ok’
• You will see along the bottom the magnification you are currently set at followed by:
  • A – this is the first of the five profiles you can save to. 
  • Scrolling across to highlight the X: icon in blue allows you to adjust windage left and right. Scroll across again to highlight the Y: icon to adjust for elevation. 
  • When you make an adjustment the image will freeze. Simply fire a group of shots at your desired zero distance and then move the reticle to move where your pellets hit then hold down the OK button to save. If necessary, repeat the process until you are happy.

Who is it suited to? 

The PARD NV008P and NV008P LRF are intended for those who hunt with air rifles and want to be able to use the same set up in daylight and at night quickly and easily. The image during the day is a slight compromise on good quality glass but more than adequate for hunting. Those who shoot targets and in competitions are unlikely to use a PARD.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Light and compact so doesn’t compromise the balance of your rifle
• Excellent onboard IR illuminator
• Five profile settings
• Reliable and durable
• Easy to operate

Cons:

• Mount is only suitable for picatinny rails so you’d have to buy an additional adapter for dovetail rifles
• Mount may need to be shimmed

Pard NV008 Specifications

Comparison to the NV007

PARD’s other infrared night vision product is the NV007 which attaches to the ocular lens of a regular glass scope. There is no rangefinder function. It’s fair to say the product works better with some scopes more than others, and it can take some time to get the set up just right in terms of focus and picture clarity, but once sorted, it is an excellent product and cheaper than the NV008P. Other PARD products use thermal technology and are considerably more expensive.

Other scope brands to consider for day and night scopes 

Other infrared day/night digital scopes to consider include:

• ATN X-Sight 4K Pro 3-14x and 5-20x
• Sightmark Wraith 2-16×28 / 4K Max
• Yukon Photon RT 4.5×42 and Sightline N470S/N450S
• Pulsar Digisight LRF N450

FAQs

How to zero a Pard NV008 scope?

Zeroing is achieved via the ‘Reticle Adjustment’ sub menu. Fire a group, hold the scope on your point of aim and move the reticle to cover the point of impact.

How to focus an NV008 scope?

Use the ocular dioptre to focus the reticle and screen data, and the objective lens collar to focus the target image.

Is the NV008 waterproof?

Yes, the PARD NV008P and NV008P LRF have IPX 7 waterproof rating. 

Where can I find an instruction manual for the NV008?

An instruction manual is included.