Yukon Sightline N450 Review

Yukon Sightline Review.

I would like to Thank Thomas Jacks Ltd again for their support and for allowing me to test and review the new Yukon Sightline N450 .

The Sightline is the new replacement for the very popular Yukon Photon so I was very eager to try it out.

Let’s get the geeky stuff over with first, Specs taken from Thomas Jacks Ltd.

High Night-Time Sensitivity
• Eyesafe 850nm IR Illuminator

• IPX4 rated

• 6 Selectable reticles

• 4.0x-16.0x magnification

• 1280×720 CMOS Sensor

• 1024×768 AMOLED View Finder

• 5.5° F.O.V.

• 400m Detection Range

-20°C to +40°C operating temperature

• Quick change power supply (DNV Battery Packs)

• Display-Off Mode

• Variable magnification

• Scalable ballistic reticles

• Accurate zoom zeroing

Three zero profiles

• Universal accessory rail

• Stadiametric rangefinder

• Auto off function

• Cant indicator

This New arrival from Yukon was not a surprise, the Photon for many years has dominated the entry level Night Vision market with some successes and some failures.

It is no secret I have been a huge fan of the Yukon Photons from day one with my first being the 5×42 that had the turret style scope, it genuinely was probably one of the first nightvision products that worked very much like a normal day scope with standard windage and elevation turrets, the picture on this was grainy but truly with an additional T20 IR or bigger it was a very capable scope and in fact counted for me wiping out a whole farms rabbit population shooting almost 2000 rabbits in one year, that was some good times. The built in IR was very power hungry but on this model you could at least use external power and with an added IR torch it more than solved the problem.

Over a few years the Photon then evolved into the XT version. Yukon removed the turret system from the Photon and went fully digital, this caused a lot of problems with many struggling to zero with it and with limited windage and elevation adjustment ( due to the very nature of how digital display works) it was very fussy on how it was mounted, I personally spent a lot of my time either online or in person helping people zero their scopes, but sticking to some very simple mounting techniques this was easily resolved.

The XT came in a few options but by far the best was the 6.5×50, the other option was the 4.6×42.

The 6.5 XT was a pretty stable unit and I never really found any problems with them accounting for a lot of foxes and rabbits over the years. The sensor was starting to get a bit outdated and Pulsar themselves were advancing their tech in their more expensive ranges which in turn filtered down to Yukon I believe. One of the downsides to the XT was that they removed the ability to use an external power source and the built in IR was still very weak giving only around 150yrds of visibility and using bigger external IR’s became problematic at closer ranges due to the 6.5 mag but still was a very capable scope. The XT then evolved in the 6×50 RT with the built in video recording and the new Pulsar Stream recording facility.

I liked the RT and like all the rest I purchased one, the recording and streaming functions was very handy, the set up was very similar though to the XT and the lower mag made it work better at closer ranges with larger IR torches that some preferred to use. The windage and elevation adjustment was still limited and mounting the RT had to stick by the same rules as the XT models and serious work arounds either on the XT or RT models would void the warranty, now to the Sightline.

The Sightline is more like the Pulsar range in many ways but without some key features, this is not the first time Yukon and Pulsar have migrated in similar body shapes as they done this with the Yukon Sentinel and the Pulsar Phantom with many second hand sellers trying to sell the cheaper Yukon product as the more expensive Pulsar unit.

So lets finally talk about the Sightline.

This is no Photon first of all, the shape and design is completely different and how it is mounted is not with standard scope rings, which in a way takes away some of the versatility that made the Yukon Photon so popular.

The Sightline looks and is mounted like the Pulsar Digisight range, buttons are positioned similar to the Digisight making it easier to operate the functions whether you are left or right handed, the sensor on the Sightline is 100x better than that of any of the Photons allowing you to see better both during the day and at night. The built in IR is improved also giving you around 250yrds of light and comes with a rechargeable battery, however, unlike all the rest of the products it has no onboard recording facility and the output is HDMI so recording to a normal Angel Eye is not possible and with no wifi or Stream it is a little complicated, but I did find a solution.

On receiving the Sightline I mounted it straight away to my .243 (my dedicate nv weapon of choice), it attached just like any Digisight via its fixed mount to my rail, fantastic. I noticed when bore sighting that windage and elevation had a lot more movement than the Photon and in fact was not far off what I was seeing through the barrel. Like most of the new Pulsar and Yukon ranges the one shot zero worked fine and had no issues zeroing at all. The main thing I noticed straight off is that daytime clarity was a lot better than the Photon, I couldn’t record me doing this as at that moment in time I was still trying to figure out the best way to record from the device. Unlike any of the Photons it did allow you to set different profiles for different ranges which I thought was a great function and brilliant that they brought that over from the Pulsar Digisight range.

First night out I was blown away by how clear the image was using the onboard IR, straight away I could tell this was far better than the Photon and with the higher zoom and the Picture in Picture display, also taken from the Digisight and Trail range, it was fantastic to use. My only frustration was that I still had no way of recording anything I saw, thankfully though other than sheep there was nothing else to see.

Frustration got the better of me about the recording that I put my geek brain on and with some help from my father in law I worked out the only way to record was micro HDMI to Capture card to USB 3 so I purchased this set up for around £75, plugged it into my laptop and it worked brilliantly.

Unfortunately, by the time I got video capture card etc delivered I only had two days left with the Sightline before having to send it back to Mark at Thomas Jacks so in the end I only got a limited amount of footage.

Over the couple of weeks of using the Sightline I had a lot of pleasure using it. Although the recording functions was frustrating, I was really enjoying how clear the unit was both during the day and at night. This is truly a fantastic straight to the point nightvision scope that can work perfectly during the day.

I have to make this clear, the Sightline is definitely aimed at the shooter who is wanting nightvision to do the job it needs to do, there is no fancy functions or settings to worry about, standard front AO focus like on the Photon but everything else like the Trail and the Digisight making a great combination. Image quality wise it is very much similar to most of the non HD Digisights and at a price many of those are asking for their second hand Digisight models. Although I am comparing the size, weight and design to the Digisights you have to remember that the Digisigt range is far more expensive than the Sightline, what I am truly comparing it to is the other Yukon products that are out there and to the entry level Nightvision world, the Sightline is a huge upgrade to anything that Yukon has produced with an entry level price tag.

In conclusion for under £800 the Yukon Sightline N450 is a very sensible buy, although it lacks in recording and some features that the Pulsar devices have it is very much up there with even some of the top end Pulsar products. One downside I may add though and to many this is maybe not such a big deal, but, The Digisights are water rated at IPX7 which means they can pretty much cope with anything the UK weather can throw at it, however, the Sightline is rated at IPX4 rating so you really don’t want to be laying the your rifle down anywhere near a deep puddle.

I gave this product a 4.5 out of 5, the reason for this is nothing to do with the job it is designed to do it is simply to do with the recording problems I had. If you like to record your footage from your nights it is not an easy set up to get your head around and I am welcome to take questions on how I over came the problem.

I liked the Sightline and anyone who has used one has agreed with much of what I have said about it, I would have liked to spend more time with it now that I know the best way of recording from it but I have to say with all the nightvision I have tested over the years this is by far a very capable and very simple product to use and its fantastic clarity puts in punching way above its price tag.

Next months review will be on the Rekon Tripod with Pig Saddle set up from Wicked Lights courtesy of Scott Country International.