Leupold LTO Review

So I stumbled across this, and after much pondering it was a MUST HAVE! This little gizmo is phenomenal. I did some research and testing beforehand as well. Here’s what the deal is. Have you ever had that animal you couldn’t track after shooting because you lost the blood trail? Have you ever wondered what’s hiding behind something you couldn’t clearly see? Well, Leupold has the answer.

With today’s technology, infrared technology has drastically advanced and is now available to the average consumer. To be totally honest, after the Army I didn’t think I’d ever have access to infrared technology again. The military gave us the “best quality” (at the lowest bidder obviously) newest technology. We had infrared scopes, monoculars, and night vision on a daily basis. It wasn’t until I got out of the Army until I realized it was not something I could afford.

Last season, I shot a beautiful buck. Evidence on the arrow, I HEARD it hit, blood trail for a distance and then it disappeared. Later that week it was found by a nearby farmer who was unable to appreciate the harvest because of how long it had been since he expired. If I would have had this device, I would have been able to enjoy the shot that was taken.

This little monocular shows heat signatures. It gives you a picture representation in varying colors (which it allows you to select your color palate) showing the temperature difference.

I’ve tried a few different ones on the market. There are pro’s and con’s of both. For starters, this particular one is on the higher end of the cost scale. However, not only is it easy to use, but it is actually more user friendly overall. As another “con” it isn’t rechargeable, but the “pro” side of this one is the battery won’t explode in your pocket, or the whole device won’t crap the bed when the ridiculously expensive rechargeable battery leaks acid onto the circuit board. The other few on the market are made by FLIR, which in the military world is an acronym for Forward Looking Infrared Radar. The company who created that acronym makes these monoculars. They have them across the spectrum in price. Some have features that are awesome but not entirely useful for hunting like the ability to save things to a computer/smart phone, etc etc etc. Also, the picture quality on them isn’t the best, and the distance factor is decreased. Unless you are close, you aren’t going to get an accurate reading, let alone a reading at all. Unless you plan on spending THOUSANDS with these, you’ll be far upside-down in comparison to the Leupold.

Please don’t misinterpret me, I’m not saying FLIR makes a bad product at all. It’s just not the best for this application. Prime example, I was at a friends house and we were testing this out. With a range finder in hand, we tested this theory. Granted, it was challenging to use my phone and range finder AND this all at the same time, so I couldn’t capture photos. BUT, there was a stray cat running through his front yard. Measured with the range finder, it was 38 yards. This cat slowly walking was CLEARLY in sight, and CLEARLY visible. You could even make out it’s features, through the hair and the elements. Shockingly, I had to test more. His dog running out back showed similar heat signatures, and even if his pooch was rapidly running, it was still clearly visible and didn’t distort. It even left a heat signature where she was laying in the grass. Here is even a picture of the kitchen sink, with luke-warm tap water coming out. This shows it’s effectiveness to me.

So, in the essence of being thorough, I went a little further. I took some water at 102 degrees and dropped it on the ground. I gave it a half hour. Then took pictures of it. The reason I went to 102 degrees is the average temperature of a whitetail deer is 101.1 degrees. So after a half hour, it still showed a significant heat signature. Enough to track blood. That makes it worth it to me!

Worth the investment. Granted I’ve only played with it as of yet, but I can’t wait to put it to the test fully this upcoming year.

-Bill Vahle, Fall Obsession Field Staff