Pulsar Telos Series

Telos is Pulsar's upgradeable handheld thermal line. One body, one battery, one control layout, and a range of sensors and lenses that change what the unit is good at.

Choosing between the models comes down to two questions: how much ground you need in view at once, and whether ranging should live in the scanner.

The upgrade path changes what those choices cost you. Pulsar can change the sensor, change the objective lens, or add a laser rangefinder to a Telos after purchase, so the tier you start at is not a permanent decision.

The Telos Line Splits by Sensor Size, Not by Price

Every Telos model name carries its sensor class and its lens. XQ is a 384 sensor, XP and XG are both 640, XL is 1024, and XT is 1280. The number that follows is the objective lens in millimeters, which is why the XQ35 is the only 35mm unit in the group.

LRF in the name means a laser rangefinder is built into the housing. An LRF model and its non-LRF twin are the same optic otherwise, with identical sensors, lenses, and magnification.

The thing most buyers get wrong is assuming the list climbs in a straight line. It does not. Base magnification actually runs backward, with the 640 XG50 starting higher than the 1280 XT50, and the widest view in the line belongs to the most expensive unit rather than the cheapest. Sensor size and lens together decide magnification and field of view, and those two specs are what separate these models in the field.

Compare Every Telos Side by Side

Two patterns are worth pulling out of that table. Detection distance is nearly identical across every 50mm model, so it is not a useful way to separate them. Field of view varies by double, from 8.8 degrees to 17.5, and that is the spec you will actually feel on every scan you make.

Start With Your Ground, Not the Spec Sheet

Timber, brush, field edges, and feeder setups. Distances are short, and identification happens well inside what a 384 sensor handles. The XQ35 is the lightest unit in the line and the easiest to carry all night, and its 35mm lens gives it a higher starting magnification than its sensor size suggests.

Humid country, river bottoms, and wet ground. When the air is heavy and everything reads the same temperature, sensitivity matters more than resolution. The XP50 is built around holding contrast in exactly those conditions, and the LRF XP50 adds ranging to the same optic.

Long lanes, cuts, and crop rows. Narrow ground rewards magnification and does not punish a narrow view. The LRF XG50 starts at 3.5x and reaches the farthest of the 640 units, at the cost of the tightest field of view in the line.

Open pasture and crop ground where you glass wide and confirm far. The XL50 pairs a wide field with the deepest zoom range in the series, so you find heat across an entire field and then push in to identify what it is. The LRF XL50 is the same optic with ranging built in for ground where distances change constantly.

Long sessions covering serious acreage. The LRF XT50 has the widest field in the line, which means fewer sweeps to clear the same ground and less fatigue over hours behind the glass.

More Resolution Buys Field of View, Not Reach

This is the most common misunderstanding about the top of the line, and it is worth being blunt about. Stepping from 1024 to 1280 does not let you identify animals meaningfully farther out. Both use the same pixel size behind the same lens, so both land roughly the same detail on an animal at a given distance.

What the higher resolution buys is a wider frame and a more comfortable image over a long night. That is worth money to someone glassing large acreage for hours. It is not worth money to someone who wants to shoot farther, because it will not do that.

When a Built-In Rangefinder Earns Its Cost

The XP50 and the XL50 are each sold in ranging and non-ranging versions, and the ranging version is otherwise the same optic, so you are paying for the module rather than a better image. The LRF XG50 and LRF XT50 come only with ranging built in.

Ranging in the scanner is worth it when distances change shot to shot across open ground, and when you hunt with a partner, because the caller can find the animal and give the shooter a number without anyone moving. It is not worth it when you hunt known distances around feeders and food plots, or when you already carry a rangefinder you trust.

Laser reach is a measuring figure rather than a hunting distance. A Telos will range something considerably farther out than it will show you clearly enough to identify, and the image, not the laser, decides whether a shot is on the table.

Every Telos Shares One Platform

Each model uses the same rubber coated body, the same ambidextrous control layout, and the same removable battery pack that charges over USB-C or wirelessly. Focus and zoom rings sit together on the lens so the unit runs the same in either hand.

Every unit is fully waterproof, rated to survive a drop into shallow water rather than just shedding rain, records video and photos to internal storage, and connects to a phone through the Stream Vision 2 app.

All of them accept the same hardware upgrades. A sensor change, a lens change, or a rangefinder addition can happen after purchase through Pulsar's upgrade service, which is the strongest argument for buying into this line instead of an optic that can never be anything but what it was on day one.

Not Every Hunter Needs a Telos

A Telos is a scanner. If the optic needs to sit on the rifle and be used for the shot, buy a thermal riflescope and let the handheld stay a handheld.

If your sessions run long enough that one eye starts to fatigue, two-eye viewing is more comfortable, and a thermal binocular is the better spend. If you want something that lives in a jacket pocket for quick property checks, a compact handheld is smaller and cheaper than any Telos. And if the budget sits below this line, the broader handheld collection has capable scanners under it.

Used Telos units also come through our used and demo stock from time to time, so it is worth asking what is on hand if the new price is the obstacle.

Pulsar Telos FAQ

Which Telos has the widest field of view?

The LRF XT50 at 17.5 degrees, followed by the XL50 at 14. The LRF XG50 has the narrowest at 8.8 degrees, which is the tradeoff for its higher magnification.

What is the difference between the Telos XP50 and the LRF XG50?

Both are 640 sensors, but the XG50 uses smaller pixels, which makes its sensor physically smaller. Behind the same 50mm lens that produces more magnification and a narrower view. The XP50 sees wider and holds contrast better in poor conditions; the XG50 reaches farther down narrow ground.

Do all Telos monoculars use the same battery?

Yes. Every model runs the same removable pack, which charges over USB-C and supports wireless charging, and swaps in the field without tools.

Is the 1280 model worth the upgrade over the 1024?

It depends on what you want from it. The 1280 gives you a wider field and a more comfortable image over long sessions, but it does not identify animals meaningfully farther out than the 1024 does.

Which Telos is best for coyote hunting?

It depends on your ground rather than the species. Calling in timber and along edges suits the XQ35. Open pasture where you need to confirm an animal at distance suits the XL50. Narrow lanes and cuts suit the LRF XG50.