Al writes: Any one ever use them in a "do or die" situation or are then all bought as toys? . Reply We used what I'm guessing were Gen 1 vintage NVGs for zerolight/starlight amphibious landings when I was aboard USS Mobile. All I can say is that if they've improved any at all they must be like daylight now. Back then (1990) each boat officer was issued a set for night landings and we found them indespensible. On a flat beach with no backlights we could always pick out the surf line and get a good landing. Other thing we used were big honking ship mounted NVGs (maybe 10" aperature). Those were absolutely fantastic for scanning the horizon for surface traffic. Often outperformed radar! No experience with current and/or civilian models. Joel Wilkins