[ShelledPants]

What is your budget? Gen2 can be found in Canada, but to my knowledge all US made Gen3+ are ITAR restricted and requires expensive paperwork to acquire.

In my opinion, if your nightvision requires an IR illumination (Gen 1/1+), you're better off just using your eyes, and when the time calls for it, white light. You will be a giant lighthouse to anyone with NV of any generation either way, and you'll at least have clarity when you are using white light and bare eyes.

Gen1 / 1+ is notoriously shit. Ask some buddies to try theirs out. It's hard to explain how bad it is, but they are usually not 1x (normally 1.2 - 1.5 / 2x) so your depth perception is shot and even the really nice Gen 1+ devices have a LOT of fisheye compared to Gen3 / 3+.

EDIT: Gen 1/1+ and Gen 2 are marketed to hunters. The reason being, they are not efficient when moving (due to fisheye/magnification/poor resolutions/illuminator required...). If you're sitting still and staring in one direction for 2 hours, they might be worth it, but not for any really movement or combat work.