I was communicating with Vic, the owner of TNVC, to learn more about astronomy set ups for use with night vision and asked what was new (he knows A LOT about astronomy stuff). He said they had just finished up a new lightweight dual PVS-14 bridge based on their PBM (powered bridge mount). Being a huge fan of dual PVS-14's, I asked more questions and was pleasantly surprised with the specifics. It's called the NPBM-D which stands for non powered bridge mount dovetail. It's just shy of 3 ounces, uses rings as a secondary attachment point that go over the objective lock ring, articulating arms, and best of all the retail price is $315. I said I'd like to buy one as soon as I can. They sent me an invoice and I paid right away.
I've been using the D-14 dual mount for several years and have been debating for a while on getting another dual mount. I like the QD (quick disconnect) feature of the D-14 for certain uses but when I'll be using them with no need to remove a -14, I'm always concerned with accidentally hitting the release button and dropping a PVS-14, so I modded the springs to make them harder to release. The $575 D-14 isn't the lightest and I've been eyeing the $350 lightweight D-14 or the way more expensive RQE ($1k plus after all is said & done). The NPBM-D sounded like the better mount with a better price.
It showed up a couple of days later and I really liked what I saw. First of all, it's very light, weighing 3 oz on a postal scale. Compared to the D-14 (5.1 oz on same scale) it's noticeably lighter. Later that night I mounted it up to my two PVS-14's. Right away I liked how the rings kept each -14 pointed straight. The articulating arms are very stiff, which I like, so that once you set each device in position they stay there. The bridge is skeletonized with slotted openings that work great for attaching helmet bungee loops. The image alignment was spot on. What I mean by that, is that they were lined up evenly with my eyes. With the D-14 when I'm mounting the -14's, I always have to leave the camera thread screws loose in order to get them in position on my head before tightening. This is because it uses just the arm with screw to hold the -14's and they can move quite a lot side-to-side at an angle. Like the D-14, the NPBM uses flat head screws with large slots that accept a quarter coin. This is the best tool to use in my experience and stores best in your pocket!
This is the mount I'm picking when I'll be using my duals without the need to separate them. I'll still be using the D-14 for nights when I need to quickly remove a -14 to stick on a camera or iPhone for vids/pics. I trust the non-QD feature of the NPBM over the D-14 and the image will stay aligned with the rings.
This is a great mount for dual PVS-14's. Regardless if TNVC is one of your go-to vendors or not, it's a great mount worth looking into if you are thinking of dual mounting. I'm always excited to see new low cost accessories enter the market for night vision users. I did a review video you can watch below - enjoy!