From the manufacturer:
Sightmark's high-performance digital night vision optic is now offered in thermal with the same peerless image quality, rugged durability, and adaptability that customers expect from the Wraith name.
No longer limited to digital day and night vision, the Wraith Mini Thermal Riflescope can now harness the power of digital infrared through its 384x288 resolution thermal sensor to provide users with crisp images.
The Wraith Mini Thermal scope also comes equipped with a built-in camera with audio recording, capable of preserving the best moments of a user's hunt on a high-capacity memory card (256gb max).
With rugged and dependable aluminum housing and temperature resistance from -4°F to 122°F, the Wraith Mini Thermal is designed for demanding outdoor environments and is built to last. With its battery life of 3.5 hours in video mode and 4.4 hours in preview mode, and USB charging capability, the Wraith Mini Thermal is necessary for night hunters everywhere.
Features and Specs
384x288 Thermal Resolution
Lightweight and Compact
OLED Display
5 Color Palettes
9 Reticle Colors
10 Reticles
5 Weapon Profiles
Built-in Recording w/ Sound
2x CR123A @ 3.5 hrs
5V via USB
19.3 oz
-4°F - 122°F
White Hot, Black Hot, Green Hot, Rainbow, Magenta
1-8x
2x optical
What's In The Box
Flip-Up Covers (Front and Back)
Removable Throw Lever
Rubber Eyecup
CR123A Batteries x2
USB Cable
First Impressions
I was intrigued by the Wraith Mini Thermal rifle scope. I started my testing inside my house, looking at my dogs. I was utterly blown away that I could see the heat signature on the ground from my and my dog's feet. The clarity was exceptional. I immediately noticed that I could focus on objects just a few feet away. I have to test this outside! In the backyard, I went with my dogs. My backyard is 50 yards across, has no lights, and has a very wooded area behind my property, so this was an excellent first place to look around. Seeing my dogs through the Wraith thermal put a smile on my face. I could finally see all the little animals my dogs were eager to go outside and bark at. There were squirrels, birds, and even a few opossums. I could even see the heat in the trees. I went to the front of the house and looked around the neighborhood. I could tell which cars had been driven recently by the heat signature of the tires and engines. This scope is incredible!
I went back inside and started looking at the features. It has 5 weapon profiles, 10 Reticles, 9 Reticle Colors, and 5 color pallets. The Wraith Thermal can run on 2x CR123A for 3.5 hrs or an external Battery pack. Sightmark offers a QD Mini Battery pack. The QD Mini External Battery is a Picatinny-mounted battery pack that delivers continuous charging with a universal USB Type-A cable. I strongly recommend buying one of these.
Reticle
The Wraith Mini Thermal offers 10 different reticles in 9 different colors. Being a long-range shooter, my favorite is the Mil reticle in red or orange. The Wraith Thermal also offers an MOA reticle. I used a Ruger RPR in .22 LR and a Sig Cross in 6.5 Creedmoor during my testing. Using the RPR in .22 LR, I went to the gun range at night and quickly took out rabbits, rats, field mice, and moles between 5 and 100 yards with subsonic ammo. Having the Mil reticle was a massive help as I had to rapidly engage with hold-overs and hold-unders. Using the Mil reticle is the perfect setup for this type of engagement.
I tested out most of the reticles but used the Mil reticle about 90% of the time. The only thing I found I wasn't excited about is the reticle is in the second focal plane. This means as you zoom from base magnification, the holdovers will change. It is not a huge deal, as most shots while hunting will be taken within your point-blank range (PBR). (Point-blank range is any distance that a firearm can hit a target without the need to adjust for bullet drop) For most rifles, PBR is roughly 1 to roughly 300 yards. The good news is this should be an easy fix with an update on the firmware if Sightmark updates it to a first focal plane. (FFP)
Color Pallets
The Wraith Thermal offers 5 color pallets: White Hot, Black Hot, Green Hot, Rainbow, and Magenta. I found white hot and black hot to be the most useful, and white hot was my favorite. I found the black hot to be useful when there are more trees and brush. Both are easy on the eyes. I liked green hot and rainbow more for scanning and spotting, and the magenta I only got a little use out of. Having multiple options at this price point is very nice, especially shooting in snow or open fields.
Weapon Profiles
Another handy feature is having 5 weapons profiles. In my 6.5 Creedmoor, I use 3 different loads. Hornadys 147 Eld-M, 95 Vmax, and a custom 140 cast lead subsonic. As for my 300 Blackout, I have at least 2 loads I use. 208 ELD-M subsonic and 110 V-Max. I can utilize the profile to change bullets or guns. This is very helpful when switching to a subsonic bullet or from a heavy bullet for deer to a light bullet for varment. Under the different profiles, it saves your bullet data, reticle, and color choice.
Battery test
The Wraith mini thermal can run on 2 CR123A batteries for about 3.5 hours. I'll turn the unit off or put it in standby mode to maximize the battery life. Since the unit start-up is quick, I just shut it off while in the stand. If I'm out walking around, I leave it on. You will definitely want a few backup batteries, as 3.5 hours when hunting passes by very quickly. The high-quality lithium CR123A batteries are expensive, and the cost adds up fast when you go through 3 pairs every time you go hunting. I ended up opting for the external QD Picatinny mounted battery. I still have 2 CR123A batteries as a backup but have not had to use them due to the long life of the external battery pack.
Image Quality
The Wraith Mini Thermal Riflescope features a 384x288 resolution thermal sensor to provide users with crisp images and a detection range of 14oo yards. The 2x optical magnification and 1-8x digital zoom combined with its 1024x768 OLED display provide rich color and temperature operation. This gives the Wraith Mini Thermal perfect image quality for close to mid-range engagements.
Devices with a 384x288 size are typically the most common in the market because they are more affordable than 640×512 thermal devices; at the time of this writing, 640x512 is the top-of-the-line thermal sensor. 384x288 still allows a detection range of almost 2000 yards, depending on their lens size. The zoom function can be used more effectively with the high number of pixels available.
Unless we start talking about thermals in the $20,000 range, the 640x512 configuration is the highest-quality thermal sensor available. Devices with this sensor have a high-definition thermal image with long-range detection, recognition, and identification. Increasing the digital zoom to 4x still returns over 80,000 pixels, providing a clear picture.
Overall Value
The overall value of the Wraith Mini Thermal is a 10 out of 10 for me. At just under $2000, Sightmark has brought high-quality thermals to everyone. We no longer have to put buying a thermal optic out of the picture. For a tight budget, stop eating fast food for a few months, and you will have saved enough to purchase a thermal.
Pros/Cons
As far as pros, I could copy and paste everything above. This truly is, in my opinion, probably the best on the market in this price range. As far as cons, one thing I have to remember is the price point. Of course, there is always bigger and better, but not at this price. With that being said, I would like an FFP Mil reticle. I see this as something that should cost the end user nothing because the firmware could just be updated. It would be nice to have a larger display, but it wouldn't be called the Wraith Mini. The only thing other than an FFP reticle is a higher-resolution screen. The only reason i say this is because i can't afford a clipon thermal and I tested the Wraith Mini Thermal in a way that its not desined to be used. I put it in front of my 4.5-27x56 and 1-4x24. I might be able to utilize it with the 1-4x24, but I was getting parallax issues with just a quick mounting of this configuration. But because of the base magnification of 2x on the thermal and the base 1x on the 1-4x24, when I zoomed to 4x, I saw the actual LEDs. Mounting it in front of the 4.5-27x56 was an outright no-go. It was just too much. With that being said, I can't find anything to complain about.
The Overwatch