Best Video Borescope?

[SHall]

What is the best video borecam without haveing to rob a bank? I have an old Hawkeye that I have used for years. My LR benchrest friend is looking into buying a borescope, he is older, I told him a video borecam may work better for him for a lot less money. I have looked at the LYMAN and the TESLONG. Which is the better scope, or is there something else better for close to the same price? These are less than $180. Thanks, Samuel Hall

 

[ronemus]

Teslong is the way to go - much higher resolution, available in several forms to meet the needs of the user, and rock-bottom pricing.

 

[rwj]

I have an original version of the Lyman and will say that screen resolution is not good. I‘m also not a fan of the rod whose length is less than most rifle barrels. If the Teslong was available then, I would have bought it instead.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Teslong for sure. I have the wifi version with the rigid rod. Very similar in design to the Lyman but much better resolution. The new Teslong models are as good as a Hawkeye in my opinion. I also have the first Gen Lyman screen and the Teslong is definitely a step up from the Lyman.

 

[jpx2rk]

I recently purchased another Teslong with the 5" monitor , I like it better than the previous version I used with a laptop. The connector cable on the first one went bad, and I was tired of fighting the chrome laptop, so I opted for the 5" monitor version this time. MO better IMO. True the screen is no where near the size of a small laptop, but much easier to use, etc. Picture quality /resolution of the Teslong is much better than the Lyman as well.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I recently purchased another Teslong with the 5" monitor , I like it better than the previous version I used with a laptop. The connector cable on the first one went bad, and I was tired of fighting the chrome laptop, so I opted for the 5" monitor version this time. MO better IMO. True the screen is no where near the size of a small laptop, but much easier to use, etc. Picture quality /resolution of the Teslong is much better than the Lyman as well.

Is yours the flexible or rigid type?
I have the original flexible type and also not a fan of an old laptop, and didn’t know if the 5 inch monitor type would have a quality picture.

 

[jpx2rk]

I have the flexible type.
IMO, the 5" monitor serves me well. I can see everything "I" need or want to see, such as carbon/copper streaks, defects or rough spots in the bore/lands/grooves, etc. I can see the start of a carbon ring forming in my Vudoo , even a minor (?) rough spot or defect in the name brand barrel. I can EASILY see all the defects in a Savage factory barrel , and the minor defects in 2 other aftermarket CF barrels. The quality of the smaller but "enlarged/centered" portion of the picture where the mirror part of the borescope is shown is just as good as on the laptop. Just need to focus the mirror part as with any monitor. I can see carbon/copper streaks on the monitor just by running the scope down the bore at a slow but decent speed, when you want to do a quick look to see whether you need to do some serious cleaning, or it can wait another range trip or 2.

It's also much more portable so if you want/need to take it to a buddy's house, or to the range, everything fits in the included case for easy transport or storage. I'm still using the "old" flexible mirror cable portion as the other end of my original setup stopped working (broken wire inside the covering) since I had modded the mirror head to fit inside 20 cal bores. I haven't used the additional 3 mirror attachments yet. LOL

 

[Red Dawg 34]

What is the best video borecam without haveing to rob a bank? I have an old Hawkeye that I have used for years. My LR benchrest friend is looking into buying a borescope, he is older, I told him a video borecam may work better for him for a lot less money. I have looked at the LYMAN and the TESLONG. Which is the better scope, or is there something else better for close to the same price? These are less than $180. Thanks, Samuel Hall

I would avoid the Lyman Borecam, particularly the wireless. I’ve owned 3. The first was the wired type and it worked good but the light went out and it was only 20” of useable rod. They don’t make that anymore so they sold me the wireless version for the same price. It had a 24 inch rod and worked twice and then the lamp had a short and went out. Months later I received a replacement and that one will not hold the WIFI signal so you have to keep reinitiating the WIFI connection and if I’m lucky, I can see the bore for 30 seconds to a minute. I would not recommend the Lyman.

 

[LiveFire]

I bought the teslong rigid with its own screen. I was hesitant due to the low cost compared to other options. I was and still am pleasantly surprised with the video quality. My only dislike is all the cleaning ive been doing since it arrived. Some of my barrels were embarrassingly dirty.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I stopped using my teslong. It simply does not have the resolution and detail of the Hawkeye. Id let him try your Haweye and see if he is ok using it. I usually check before buying something but simply forgot when I bought the teslong, its made in china. I try pretty hard to avoid buying china.