The thermal imaging technology of the Trijicon REAP-IR is everything top-notch and professional.
The compact and mini thermal sight is as serious as it gets for demanding thermal shooters.
With a scope of this caliber on your gun, you must have legit reasons to be out tonight as it will be your ultimate nighttime hunting, police, training, and military weapon sight.
Like all other thermals, it’s compatible for daytime use too.
But only the best thermal scopes can be deployed under the cover of darkness with the industry’s best imaging quality to see and hunt down more.
The REAP-IR Mini is one such scope.
Update: The Trijicon REAP-IR has been discontinued. Check out Trijicon's current range of thermal optics here. Alternatively, visit the thermal scope roundup here for our reviews of the best devices.
Quick Overview...
What We Like: S.W.A.P.
What We Don’t Like: Price
Best Uses: Night Shooting, Day Shooting, Tactical Use, Hunting, Scouting, Varmint Control, Surveillance
- Thermal Resolution: 640x480
- Pixels: 12 microns
- Refresh Rate: 30 Hz/60 Hz
- Eye Relief: 1.06”
- Color Modes: White Hot/Black Hot
- Battery: 2x CR123/3.5-5 hours
- Dimensions: 6.28 x 3.42 x 2.96”/24.5 oz
Our Verdict: If you need professional results from a professional thermal weapon sight, you need something from Trijicon. Do away with the distractions of complicated, time-consuming, non-essential features and focus on the fundamental features of what a thermal scope is supposed to do. The REAP-IR is one of the most expensive thermal scopes on the market but is the epitome of unsurpassed thermal imaging in a compact and lightweight rifle optic.
Who is the Trijicon REAP-IR 35mm Mini Thermal Best Suited to?
The REAP-IR 35mm Type 2 thermal scope is excellent for those who do not need to positively identify a target before engaging as thermal does not provide those types of details. What it does provide is the ability to see heat signatures to identify humans and animals that are hiding, obscured, or trying to flee under the cover of darkness.
Unsurpassable surveillance benefits and unparalleled night hunting can be achieved with the REAP IR. It’s not an amateur toy to test out your photographic or video talents but a weapon sight that is needed for the harshest and most demanding conditions.
If you love the quality of Trijicon and want something bigger then you cant go past the IR Hunter MK3 60mm thermal scope. Alternatively the Trijicon IR-Patrol IRMO-300k rifle mountable thermal monocular is also popular for its versatility.
How Does the Trijicon REAP-IR 35mm Mini Thermal Perform?
Trijicon has put themselves into a position where they are well equipped to provide high-performance and compact scopes to military, law enforcement, and civilian shooters. They certainly are well within their field to provide expert products and their price points reflect that.
With a hefty portion of your savings, the REAP-IR could be yours. With that comes industry-leading sensor resolution of 640x480 and 12-micron sensor pitch capability which are currently the leading-edge technologies for thermal.
You can toggle between 30 Hz and 60 Hz refresh rates for your needs or to conserve battery life. Speaking of battery life, it’s still nowhere near the ultra-consumption rates of the latest thermal scopes recently released by ATN and Pulsar.
Still, as a product that was released to LE and civilians with features that were provided after much feedback by military operators, the REAP IR Type 2 is about as professional of a thermal scope as you can get. Better yet, it does without the digital frills that you see on amateur alternatives.
With foundational quality at its core, the REAP IR Mini is a high-performing thermal scope. You’ll find a way to afford it if you want real results for real field use.
Features & Benefits
S.W.A.P.
Size, Weight and Power is what that acronym stands for. This REAP IR model is from the Type 2 series with a 35 mm focal length – ultra short, ultra-lightweight, and when combined with a 640x480 12-micron sensor, you have ultimate power, clarity, and sharpness bundled into a compact package.
It provides a 12-degree field of view, 2.5x base optical magnification, and 8x digital E-Zoom. It requires two CR123 batteries to operate. When using 60 Hz, battery life will provide 3.5 hours of operation. When using 30 Hz, battery life will provide up to 5 hours of operation.
Edge Detect Mode
Edge Detect Mode is one of those features that operators wanted to see on their military thermal scopes. It’s a feature that dims the overall brightness of the display.
This produces many benefits that includes less likelihood of giving away a shooter’s position due to the glow from the display, and it also helps to reduce the stark negative effects of night blindness once you come off the optic.
Furthermore, it helps the shooter to stay behind the optic longer by reducing eye fatigue as it provides a streamlined focus on the targets that have a heat signature with an “edge” outline.
Apart from Edge Detect, the REAP-IR offers two polarity (color palettes) display: White Hot and Black Hot. Each polarity mode offers three levels of brightness.
Easy Zero
The Easy Zero Method is not unlike One Shot Zero or One Shot and Freeze with ATN and Pulsar. It’s the ability to sight-in quicker, easier, and with less rounds to get your zero.
Entering the appropriate menu settings, you will be able to access the Easy Zero program and use the scope to make the adjustments by following the prompts. A follow-up round or two will put you onto bull’s-eye.
Convenience Features
The Type 2 models feature new upgrades. One improvement is the top-loading battery compartment which is an obvious and self-explanatory benefit for those who are familiar with these types of sights. For others, we must point out that it’s an appreciated feature because there are still many optics of yester-year that require removing the sight off the gun to replace batteries.
Secondly, the REAP-IR has an integrated Picatinny rail on top if you wanted to attach another accessory like a compact tactical flashlight.
You also have a stadiametric rangefinder on the display to acquire distances on a target of known size. The rangefinder reticle actually changes to conform to target size. The distance will be seen on the display as well as the size range parameters the shooter set.
Don’t forget that there is also a thumb-stick controller on the right side of this model, and it’s designed for fast and intuitive navigation of the menu and settings. Don’t bother with having to find the right buttons in the dark – the rugged, weatherproof, and multi-directional thumb-stick does the trick.
Made in the USA
All Trijicon products are made at the multiple facilities that they have in the United States except for some specific riflescopes that are manufactured in Japan. As for the IR series of scopes, they are all 100% made in the USA from start to finish.
Limitations
Price
If you snorted at the price, we understand and even relate to your reaction. However, when top-tier and state-of-the-art thermal technology does it, and does it well, for the military, you can’t really scoff at its tried and proven performance if you’ve just got hunting and recreational surveillance in mind. This is a thermal designed for the most ardent of shooters who need the utmost from their optic.
Trijicon products are not cheap, and their thermal scopes are not affordable. If you want the best of the best, you’ll have to dig deep.
Popular Questions
The featured model is the IRMS-35-2 that indicates it’s the commonly referred to “Type 2” model. They are essentially the same thermal scope but the Easy Zero, top-loading battery compartment, and the Picatinny top-rail features are unique to the Type-2 models which the IRMS-35 lacks.
The REAP IR Mini features five reticle patterns with MOA adjustments. You can also set multiple reticle save locations so that you can switch the REAP-IR between different guns and it will know which zero and which gun you’re using based on the selected reticle.
Trijicon covers the optics and metal housing of the REAP-IR thermal scope for the lifetime of the original buyer’s ownership. The illumination/electrical components are not included in the limited lifetime warranty and are instead warrantied for three years from the date of purchase. The product must be registered with Trijicon in order to receive repairs or replacements under the warranty.
The REAP IR IRMS-35-2 has a RS-170 analog video output but the cable and other necessary equipment must be purchased separately.
The detection range of human-sized objects is extremely long at 1200 yards plus, but the recognition range is 450 yards.
Conclusion
Everyone knows that it’s almost near impossible to walk away from a REAP-IR and not be impressed.
With absolute quality on its side, you can expect workhorse dedication from your thermal for every need day or night.
If you’re after exceptional, industry-leading quality in the basic features of what a thermal imaging scope is supposed to provide, this is it. No-nonsense, accurate, and straight to the point.
Update: The Trijicon REAP-IR has been discontinued. Check out Trijicon's current range of thermal optics here. Alternatively, visit the thermal scope roundup here for our reviews of the best devices.
Further Reading
