July 2026 - Written by the HeatSight Optics Team
HeatSight TPM A01 Review - The TPM A01 is the flagship of the HeatSight lineup: a 640×512 thermal rifle scope with a built-in 1,200-meter laser rangefinder and onboard ballistic calculator, at a price where most of the industry is still selling 384 sensors without ranging. Integrated LRF plus ballistics has become the standard feature set on premium thermals from Pulsar, NocPix, RIX, and InfiRay - scopes that run $3,000-$5,000. The A01 brings that feature set in under $1,400. In this review we'll go through the sensor, the rangefinder, the battery system, and where this scope fits.
The A01 is a traditional tube-style thermal that mounts and handles like a day optic. At 868 g (about 30.6 oz) before batteries and 269 mm (10.6") long, it's noticeably lighter than the 50-ounce LRF flagships from the big brands - less scope hanging off the front of your rifle on a long walk to the calling stand. The housing is IP67-rated (fully dust-tight and submersion-resistant), shock-rated to 1200G of recoil, and operates from -40°C to +60°C - that -40 rating matters if you hunt Midwest winters, where lesser scopes' spec sheets quietly stop at -20.
The A01 runs a 640×512 VOx detector at 12 μm pixel pitch with a ≤40 mK NETD and a 50 Hz refresh rate. In practical terms: a full 640 sensor behind a fast 50 mm F1.0 objective means detail and detection range that no 384 scope can match, and 50 Hz keeps the image smooth when you're tracking a moving coyote instead of smearing it. Five palettes are onboard (White Hot, Black Hot, Fire Hot, Rainbow, Iron Red) along with picture-in-picture and hotspot tracking.
Behind the gun, the difference a true 640 core makes shows up the moment you power on. At 100 yards a hog is not a blob, it is a hog: ears, snout, the heat line down its back. At 200 I can still pick the big sow out of the group, and at 400 body heat pops against a cool field long before a spotlight would ever find it. On calm dry nights I pick up coyote-size heat well past any distance I would take a shot, which is exactly what a scanning-and-shooting scope should do.
The 905 nm LRF ranges from 10 m out to 1,200 m with ±2 m accuracy. Paired with the onboard ballistic calculator, that means you range the target and the scope gives you the corrected hold - no phone app, no dope card by red flashlight. Knowing the exact distance is half the battle on night shots past 150 yards, where a coyote-sized target and a thermal image give you almost no depth cues.
I check the rangefinder against distances I know cold: fence posts, feeders, the far berm at my range. It reads within a couple meters of the tape, instantly, out well past normal shooting distances. Punch the button, get the number, let the ballistic calculator shift the hold. No phone app glowing in a dark field, no dope card under a red light. It is the difference between guessing 280 or 340 and knowing.
Power comes from two removable 18650s (3,200 mAh) for a rated 9+ hour runtime - the best endurance figure in our lineup, and 18650s are the most common, cheapest high-drain cell you can buy. Carry a spare pair in a plastic caddy and an all-nighter is covered. USB charging and data transfer are built in.
Onboard 16 GB storage (about 13.8 GB usable) records JPG stills and MP4 video, with WiFi and CVBS video output for streaming or an external display. Diopter adjustment runs -5 to +5 with a generous 48 mm of eye relief - enough to keep the eyepiece off your brow on heavier-recoiling rifles.
A typical night for me is mixed pasture and hardwood edge, wind in my face, moving between vantage points and letting the scope do the looking. Scan wide on base mag, find heat, bump the zoom, decide. The A01 is light enough that I stop thinking about it between setups, the two 18650s outlast my patience, and one-button recording means the morning review tells the truth about the night. Cold, wet, and past midnight is where this scope earns its keep.
Full 640 + LRF + ballistics under $1,400: The competing feature set costs 2-3x more from the legacy brands. That's the A01's core argument, and it isn't close.
Real environmental ratings: IP67, 1200G recoil, and a -40°C floor - specs typically reserved for scopes at twice the price.
9+ hour runtime on common cells: Dual 18650s beat the proprietary-pack approach on both cost and field-swap convenience.
Lighter than the LRF flagships: ~31 oz vs. the 50 oz class, on a standard tube-style body.
If you want ranging and ballistic correction on a 640 sensor without spending Thermion money, this is the scope we'd tell you to buy - because it's the one we built to answer exactly that request. Want maximum reach instead? Look at the TPM C19-640 75mm. Want the same 640 core in a lighter package without the LRF? The TPM C19-640 35mm starts at $1,199. Every HeatSight scope carries our 2-Year Limited Warranty.
Specifications: 640×512 VOx, 12μm, NETD ≤40mK | 50mm F1.0, 8.8°×7.0° FOV | 2.8x base, 1-8x e-zoom | LRF 10-1,200m ±2m (905nm) | Ballistic calculator | OLED 1024×768 | 50Hz | Detection 2,600m / ID 650m | WiFi, CVBS, USB | 16GB storage, JPG/MP4 | 2×18650 3,200mAh, ≥9h | -40°C~+60°C | 1200G | IP67 | 268.9×91×64.3mm | 868g
The TPM A01 640x512 50mm LRF is available at heatsightoptics.com for $1,399 (regularly $1,599). It's in stock and ships from our Michigan facility. Questions about which HeatSight scope fits your hunting or property-security setup? Call us at (313) 338-8168 - you'll talk to the people who actually build and flash these units, not a call center.
This review was written by the HeatSight Optics team based on our own design, bench, and field testing of production units. We build these scopes, so consider the source - and consider that we also publish the cons, because we'd rather you buy the right scope than return the wrong one.