HIKMICRO has moved quickly from newcomer to one of the most-used thermal brands in UK foxing and deer management, largely by putting sensor quality that used to be premium-only into kit most shooters can actually justify. BushWear stocks the range across thermal riflescopes, clip-ons, day/night scopes, handhelds and binoculars.
The families are easier to navigate if you know what each one is for:
- Stellar — thermal riflescopes. The Stellar 3.0 models (SQ35L, SQ50L, SH50L and SX60L) have an integrated laser rangefinder (LRF); see the Stellar 3.0 SQ50L, for example.
- Thunder — thermal units built to clip on in front of your existing day scope, so you keep your rifle set-up. Thunder 3.0 is available with LRF; earlier Thunder 2.0 models are also listed as stand-alone thermal riflescopes.
- Alpex — digital day/night riflescopes, not thermal: they work as a day sight and use an infrared illuminator at night. The workhorse line: Alpex Lite 4K at the entry point, Alpex 4K in the middle, Alpex Pro at the top, most available with or without an LRF.
- Lynx — handheld thermal monoculars for spotting and counting before the rifle comes out. Lynx 3.0 is the current entry range; Lynx Pro and Lynx-S sit alongside it.
- Condor and Falcon — longer-lens monoculars for bigger ground, where detection distance matters more than field of view.
- Habrok — multi-spectrum thermal binoculars combining thermal, 4K day and rangefinding in one unit. Two-eyed viewing is easier over a long night.
- Cheetah — clip-on night vision that mounts in front of your existing day scope, so you keep your zero and your familiar reticle.
Thermal scope or day/night scope?
A thermal scope (Stellar, or a Thunder clip-on) shows heat, so it picks out a fox or deer in full darkness, long grass or the edge of cover. A digital day/night scope (Alpex) shows a normal image by day and an infrared-lit image at night, so one scope does both jobs. For the difference between the Alpex models, read Alpex Pro vs Alpex 4K: is the upgrade worth it?; for thermal scopes against Pulsar, the UK Thermal Scopes Buyer's Guide; and for handhelds, choosing a handheld thermal spotter.
The supporting kit is here too — 18650 batteries and chargers, IR illuminators, Weaver and Picatinny rails, ocular lenses and binocular harnesses — along with HIKMICRO 4G trail cameras and the HIKCam shooting camera.
See also the Lynx 3.0 monoculars, Pulsar, and the full night vision and thermal range.
