Overview: Phantom Hill CTF-1 Infrared Laser and Illuminator

Should you’ve ever tried sporting trendy night time imaginative and prescient goggles, you may perceive why they’re usually described as a superpower. Though it is not fairly as spectacular as flying like a rushing bullet or lifting a semi truck, the power to see clearly, determine targets, and shoot precisely in a nearly-pitch-black atmosphere looks like an unfair benefit. Nevertheless, like most superpowers, night time imaginative and prescient comes with some inherent drawbacks. It requires a considerable quantity of substances — for starters, you may want a helmet, shroud, mount, and goggles or a monocular. The price for this stuff provides up shortly and may simply exceed $5,000 or $10,000, and that is earlier than you think about frequent equipment like helmet-mounted lights, strobes, battery packs, and ear safety. Seek advice from OFFGRID Challenge 43 for a number of in-depth articles explaining the fundamentals of helmets and night time imaginative and prescient programs.

As soon as you have executed your analysis and chosen an evening imaginative and prescient setup, the subsequent merchandise you may want is a weapon-mounted infrared (IR) laser and illuminator.

The Challenges of Conventional Lights, Lasers, and Illuminators

Above: OFFGRID editor Tom Marshall wrote about two rifles he configured with conventional mild/laser/illuminator setups. The primary, seen right here, encompasses a Steiner DBAL-I2 IR laser flanked by a SureFire Scout mild with Vampire head that may swap between IR and white mild settings.

Subscribe Right now and Save!

Since IR mild is not seen to the bare eye, an IR laser and illuminator acts as a lightweight supply and aiming level that solely you (and anybody else within the space sporting NVGs) can see. Sometimes, this can be paired with a separate weapon-mounted white mild, which can be utilized in low-light and transitional environments the place night time imaginative and prescient is not required. Should you’re considering that this sounds costly, you are not flawed. It is easy to spend one other $1,500 or extra on a multi-function IR laser/illuminator unit similar to a Steiner DBAL or L3-Harris ATPIAL-C, plus $300 or extra on a top quality white mild.

Above: Tom Marshall’s second rifle encompasses a Holosun IR laser/illuminator and a white mild that includes components from Cloud Defensive and Valhalla Tactical. A pair of distant switches enable activation of every machine.

As if that is not sufficient, you may nonetheless have to determine how you can mount your white mild and IR laser/illuminator onto your rifle. Relying on every machine’s positioning and the way a lot rail area you need to work with, chances are you’ll want so as to add distant switches and route their wires fastidiously to maintain your setup organized. That is one other rabbit gap filled with multi-function switches, mounting adapters, and wire-routing equipment that add to the entire price of your setup.

As soon as you have spent the money and time to configure a rifle with a standard mild/laser/illuminator setup, the outcomes are actually rewarding. However for newcomers to the world of night time imaginative and prescient, this price and complexity will be discouraging. It has usually left us questioning why there is not an easier and extra inexpensive “turn-key” choice available on the market — Phantom Hill got down to present precisely that.

Phantom Hill CTF-1: An All-in-One Resolution

You most likely have not heard of Phantom Hill — neither had we — however that does not imply it is a newcomer to this market. Phantom Hill has spent the final 14 years designing night time imaginative and prescient tools behind the scenes for a few of the greatest gamers within the business: Ops-Core, Gentex, S&S Precision, Princeton Tec, and Crye Precision, to call just a few. Solely lately did the corporate determine to launch its first product below its personal model title.

The Phantom Hill CTF-1 is described as “a easy instrument at a good value that may be put to speedy use with out the necessity for extra elements.” The MSRP for this unit is $799, a value that is roughly half that of the multi-function IR laser/illuminators we talked about earlier, to not point out the additional price of a separate white mild. This caught our consideration, so we requested a pattern to evaluation shortly after it was launched in late 2021.

Above: Our pattern is marked as serial quantity 12, indicating simply how “sizzling off the press” it was.

Design and Performance

The CTF-1 covers all three of crucial features — white mild, infrared laser, and infrared illuminator — in a single compact unit.

Above: We mounted the CTF-1 on this Aero Precision EPC 9mm AR pistol, which can be featured in a separate article quickly. It options components from Arbor Arms, Arisaka Protection, JK Armament, Major Arms, RISE Armament, Strike Industries. (Picture by Nate Gerhart)

At its core is a metallic housing with an unusual-looking uncooked end. This attribute comes from its Direct Metallic Laser Sintered (DMLS) aluminum development. DMLS is a 3D-printing approach that makes use of a laser to sinter (i.e. warmth and condense) metallic powder right into a stable construction. This expertise allowed Phantom Hill to maneuver shortly from a prototype part to a production-ready design, whereas avoiding costly tooling or molds that might drive up manufacturing prices. Phantom Hill says the tough sintered end has a secondary benefit — it reduces the IR reflectivity of the unit, due to this fact making it much less seen to different NV-equipped personnel.

The housing has an built-in Rail Grabber that locks onto a Picatinny rail utilizing a single cross-bolt with a Torx head. We discovered this mounting system to be very safe. It match three ARs we tried it on, however we suspect that its tight contours across the prime rail could make it incompatible with sure large-diameter handguards. Compatibility with non-AR platforms can be hit and miss at finest.

The Phantom Hill CTF-1 makes use of a symmetrical design with a white mild on one aspect and an IR illuminator on the opposite. The white LED produces 380 lumens of impartial 5700K mild and tasks it in a smooth flood sample. That is splendid for close-quarters use and room-clearing, because it gives a large angle of visibility, but it surely would not have the ability or throw mandatory for long-range pictures outside. Should you’ve used a Streamlight TLR-7 pistol mild, it is similar to that.

As for the IR illuminator, its beam sample is basically the identical because the white LED. For individuals who just like the technical particulars, it options an 850nm wavelength and 1120 mW/sr output; for the remainder of us, it seems roughly as vibrant below a set of NV tubes because the white mild appears to be like to the bare eye.

The IR illuminator prompts concurrently with the 850nm IR laser, which is centered straight over the bore of the weapon. We can’t say that every one IR lasers are created equal, however civilian-legal Class 1 IR lasers are restricted by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (sure, the FDA regulates lasers) to a most output lower than 0.70mW. Because of this, most high-quality civilian-legal IR lasers can be calibrated to simply under this restrict, and can seem equally vibrant below regular use.

Activation is easy, with two textured rubber buttons on prime of the unit. Every corresponds to its aspect of the housing; the left “VIS” button prompts the white mild, and the precise “IR” button prompts the IR illuminator and IR laser. Each are momentary-only, so you may have to press and maintain to maintain the ability on.

Not like many multi-function laser models, the CTF-1 does not have a visual laser in-built. This retains price and complexity down, but in addition means you may solely be capable to zero the laser below night time imaginative and prescient. If each activation buttons are pressed and held for 3 seconds, the unit goes into zeroing mode, and the IR laser activates constantly. It might probably then be adjusted through elevation and windage hex screws to match the weapon’s level of affect. Fortunately, its centered alignment meant we did not must do a lot adjustment after mounting it on our Aero Precision EPC 9mm AR.

The CTF-1 is powered by two CR123 batteries, every sealed behind separate weatherproof caps behind the housing. Phantom Hill says the caps have a taper-fit design to make it simpler to reinstall them at the hours of darkness. Most run time is marketed at 3 hours.

Impressions on the Vary

We examined the Phantom Hill CTF-1 IR laser and illuminator side-by-side towards an AN/PEQ-15, which is the full-power military-spec model of an L3-Harris ATPIAL-C. The total-power PEQ-15 isn’t out there on the civilian market, however a brand new ATPIAL-C will run you roughly $1,350 — that is $550 greater than the CTF-1. It would not embrace a white mild, so consider just a few hundred extra for that if you happen to do not have already got one.

Above: This picture, taken by way of an AGM International Imaginative and prescient white phosphor PVS-14, exhibits the CTF-1 IR laser and illuminator aimed toward a berm roughly 25 yards away. The one ambient lighting was some dim moonlight. 

Above: These photographs present the CTF-1 beam subsequent to a PEQ-15 in “low” mode (left photograph) and “excessive” mode (proper photograph).

With the PEQ-15 on its civilian-legal “low” setting, the lasers seem similar, as we anticipated. The CTF’s illuminator seems far brighter than the PEQ’s, however the PEQ’s adjustable focus lens produces a way more concentrated beam with a tough edge. At distances nearer than 100 yards, we might give the CTF-1 a bonus, particularly in enclosed areas. Past 100 yards, the PEQ’s concentrated beam is superior.

With the PEQ-15 on the “excessive” setting, it positively outperforms the CTF-1, particularly contemplating its capacity to regulate the beam focus for various distances. The laser can be noticeably brighter, drawing a line that highlights mud particles within the air. Nevertheless, this output mode isn’t accessible to industrial ATPIAL-C models. Full-power PEQ-15s are solely out there to the army and legislation enforcement businesses, so it is not a good comparability. We included it as a degree of reference, for the reason that CTF-1 nonetheless carried out surprisingly properly compared.

Closing Ideas

There are just a few drawbacks to the CTF-1. The centered laser makes it inconceivable to mount backup iron sights in entrance of the unit or apply it to something with a set entrance sight. The housing is tightly-contoured across the rail, which can make the unit incompatible with sure handguards (e.g. integrally-suppressed weapons). The activation buttons are positioned shut along with similar dimension and texture, so regardless of the small ridge between them, it is comparatively simple to fat-finger the flawed one. And the shortage of a visual laser makes zeroing extra of a problem.

That mentioned, the Phantom Hill CTF-1 gives spectacular worth at $800, and completely fulfills its said aim of serving as “a easy instrument at a good value that may be put to speedy use.” We discovered that it really works particularly properly for brief weapons with restricted handguard actual property, since there is not any want for a separate white mild, switches, or cable routing. The extensive beam sample for IR and VIS outputs additionally lends itself to those purposes. Whether or not you are simply getting began on the planet of night time imaginative and prescient otherwise you’re searching for a extra handy technique to convert certainly one of your ARs for NV use, the CTF-1 is an interesting choice, and we’re glad to see this market turning into extra various.

We’ll go away you with a bit of fine information. Phantom Hill has introduced a second product referred to as the CTF-2, which can function an up to date 3-button activation system and compatibility with SureFire-style mild and illuminator heads (e.g. a SureFire Scout mild and a B.E. Meyers KIJI illuminator). Phantom Hill expects to launch this product round mid-2022.

For extra data on the Phantom Hill CTF-1 and future Phantom Hill merchandise, go to phantomhill.design or comply with @phantomhill.design on Instagram.

Written by Patrick McCarthy