Bayonet Types on Pulsar Clip-On Devices Forward, Core and Krypton | Optics Trade Debates

By Maruša Justinek Nov 10, 2020

Welcome to another Optics Trade debate. Today, we are going to talk about the Bayonet Types on Pulsar clip-on devices: Digital night vision clip-ons, thermal clip-ons, and the new Krypton thermal clip-ons. We receive a ton of questions regarding the Bayonets and all adapter options.

At the moment, what kind of Bayonet types is Pulsar offering? The Bayonet on Core has two notches, one on each side of the circle. This is where the pins fit in, and then to fix it in place, they rotate. The second one has four notches, makes it more fixed – it is an upgrade. This was first introduced on forwarding F155, then on F135, and lastly on F455. This is the same Bayonet as on Core devices.

With Krypton, the form factor of the device is similar, but they went for a different Bayonet. It no longer has notches – now it has a thread – which is a completely new solution. The adapter is screwed on. So, these are the three Bayonet types.

Now, moving on to the solutions. The first solution is normally the original solution, which is the DN adapters for Core and DFA devices. There are two pins inside, and it is really easy to connect them. There is a locking mechanism, so they have to first be unlocked to be retracted. The original solution is quite bulky, it is very reliable, but it also features plastic inserts. The reason people sometimes lose the plastic inserts is that if you take it off when using the device in low-light situations, it is difficult to find it.

The second reason is that Pulsar thought the best way would be to fix the adapter on your day-time riflescope and then to leave it on. They are always supplied together with lens covers, so you just remove the covers and put the Core on top of it. A lot of people do not favor the design because it is bulky and not elegant.

At the moment, Pulsar is the only manufacturer of the adapters where you can put two different objective lens diameter rifle scopes – if they are similar, like 42 or 44. They produce only three adapters and with the inserts, you fit the adapter to your scope, no matter the external diameter. They have a 48 mm adapter, which fits external diameters all the way from 44 and all the way to 50. Then, they have the 56 mm model, which goes from 50 to 60, and there is also the 56 mm model, which goes from 61 to 68.

In Europe, there are two main producers of adapters for all night vision devices: Rusan and Smartclip. Both offer different reducing rings for Core: the Smartclip has a PCM 52 reducing ring, which is very special as you get a perfect, tight fit due to the additional screws on the side. Rusan does something similar, but also cheaper and with only two pins and without any screws.

In the past, both Rusan and Smartclip produced adapters that went directly on Core but because Core is slowly fading out, they both more often go for the reducing ring solution. For the Forward, there is the original adapter called FN: FN42, FN56, and FN50. It works the same as DN, the only difference is that DN has two pins, and FN has four. Rusan and Smartclip both produce reducing rings, which are almost identical – Smartclip is smaller and more lightweight, but their function is completely the same.

Both of them also produce direct adapters, which have four pins already incorporated into their design. They are similar in shape, the difference is their locking mechanism. Rusan has a lever that goes towards the target, and Smartclip has a lever that goes to the side. Aesthetically, it is a matter of preference.

Krypton has a completely new Bayonet system. There is the original PSP adapter: PSP 42, PSP 50, and PSP 56. On the daytime optics side, they work completely the same. The design is also identical, as well as the DN, FN, and PSP. However, Pulsar decided to introduce a special mechanism on the side of the clip-on, where you are able to change the position of the screen in a way that the screen of the device is always in the center of your field of view. This does not affect the point of impact. The built quality is high but for this, also the price.

The prices of this reducing ring and the adapter will probably a bit higher than with Forward and Core, around 200 €-250 € for the whole set. This is all fresh, so let us wait and see.

Thank you very much for watching. Please check out our other videos, and we will see you in our next debate. Bye!