Hello folks!
A lot of people have been asking for this, and I thought it would help a lot of new members, so I decided to write this guide.
It is by no means complete, and this should be considered a community effort.
So if you have any more information, or reviews you'd like me to link, please do comment. :beer:
Let's begin with the baddies. If you want to hear about good companies, I suggest you skip this section.
IMPORTANT!
Do not buy from any of the following companies.
If you want to see good companies, skip this section.
The following companies will send you defective lasers, refuse to accept returns when they break, vastly overestimate their power, steal your money, and/or kill your dog.
LaserPointerPro
SITE: Laser Pointers - Green, Red, Blue Lasers at Laserpointerpro.com
This company is guilty of... a lot of things.
See this?
This is at maximum, a 2W laser, worth $100 or so. Yet they set its initial price at a ludicrous $7999, "SAVE 93%!", overprice it by 500%, and then claim it's 10 watts. A 10W 445nm diode does not even exist as of July 2016.
So this company is a clear scam.
They also put out some pretty ridiculous videos.
World's Coolest Lasers
SITE: The World's Coolest Lasers
This company is a known scam.
See this?
This is a 301 laser. It goes for $8 on eBay.
This guy wants to sell it to you for $40. Scam!
He also used a forum member's images, without his permission, and claimed that they were of his own product.
When I contacted him, he admitted to using for his products images he found on Google.
Here's a thread about this scam:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f41/laser-opinions-97899.html
WarnLaser, Insanity Laser, LazerPoint, LuckLaser, HTPOW, Tacticult
SITE: laserpointer 500mw|Ir Laser|Green Laser|High power Lasers pointer: WarnLaser.com
SITE: https://insanitylaser.com/xpro
SITE: Green Lasers
SITE: High power laser pointer store, LuckLaser focus on laser pointers.
SITE: http://www.htpow.com/
SITE: https://tacticult.com/
SITE: http://widelasers.com/
These sites are all selling LaserPointerPro type junk. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!
LaserGlow
LaserGlow used to be a great company (a CNI reseller), but their prices have slowly risen over the years.
Now they are completely unreasonable, and lie about their lasers ($1100 for 1.2W 445nm "most powerful laser in the world"? I don't think so.)
They have stopped shipping >5mW lasers to the US, but international users beware. Better prices can be found almost anywhere!
Wicked Lasers
Wicked Lasers is old news now, but I thought I'd add them too.
Products are overpriced and they lie A LOT. I've also a lot of horror stories from WL customers, including WL batteries exploding.
The Arctic IS NOT, NEVER WAS, AND NEVER WILL BE the world's most powerful handheld laser.
Now, on to the companies that are worth your time.
GOOD COMPANIES
Sanwu Lasers
ADVANTAGES: Great host quality, lots of options, high power available
DISADVANTAGES: Some lasers won't fit protected batteries
BEST PRICES ON: High-power lasers, especially 405nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks with fixed shipping, <1 week with express
SITE: https://www.sanwulasers.org/
Sanwu is a great laser company, owned by a member of this very forum (Podo.) It's one of the first companies I recommend to new members who want high-powered lasers.
They have very nice hosts, and lots of options. They even have multi-mode drivers with code locks!
I've also heard good things about Podo's customer service.
In general, I would say that Sanwu is the single best company for high-powered lasers. Their prices are reasonable and their products are top-notch.
Here's an example (the Spiker series):
And a few reviews:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/thanks-podo-sanwu-challenger-96148.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/sanwu-pocket-445nm-laser-500mw-g7-lens-review-95848.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/sanwu-silver-series-3w-laser-review-w-3x-97337.html
JetLasers
ADVANTAGES: Best host quality available, readily available beam expander
DISADVANTAGES: High prices
BEST PRICES ON: 473nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
SITE: JETLASERS.ORG
In terms of quality, JetLasers can't be beat. They are renowned on this forum for their beautiful PL-E Pro host:
I've heard reports that they have practically unlimited duty cycle!
They also have the ability to add a code switch (or a key switch) to their lasers, which is nice.
A few reviews:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/new-big-boy-toy-jetlasers-pl-e-pro-300mw-532nm-review-94723.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/jetlasers-pl-e-pro-445nm-2w-review-95008.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/r...-1w-532nm-handheld-new-host-design-93257.html
DragonLasers
ADVANTAGES: Good host quality, CNI products, readily available beam expander
DISADVANTAGES: High prices, occasionally sends underspec lasers
BEST PRICES ON: 589nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4 days!
SITE: Buy laser and Optics Online :: Dragon Lasers
DragonLasers is a reseller of CNI lasers (CNI no longer ships to the US.)
DragonLasers are known around here for being the main trustworthy seller of yellow DPSS lasers.
I would say that my DragonLasers Spartan 589nm is probably the single best laser that I have in my collection.
Here is an example of one of their products (the Spartan series)
And a few reviews!
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dragonlasers-spartan-50mw-589nm-91535.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/s-been-almost-year-time-my-dl-589-spartan-review-96846.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dragonlasers-spartan-200mw-532nm-90mw-637nm-review-91873.html
Optotronics
ADVANTAGES: Excellent customer service, high quality, US-based
DISADVANTAGES: Very high prices
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2 days!!
SITE: http://www.optotronics.com/
Optotronics is a US-based company, and from what I've heard, have some of the highest-quality lasers available anywhere.
They also have excellent customer service - I have heard reports that the owner will even talk on the phone!
XPL
We strongly recommend that you avoid this company for the time being. There has been a severe drop in quality as of late.
SITE: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1722148
XPL has been a relatively controversial company recently. I brought it to light a few months ago after purchasing 2 lasers from them.
The owner, Peng, is extremely fast with customer service, and offers a 15% discount to LPF members *IF* you contact him before purchasing and inform him you're an LPF member.
The best thing about this company, in my opinion, is the extremely high-power 532nm lasers. It's the only company I've ever seen with a 1.5W or 2W 532 in a handheld.
The company also offers beam-combining RG:Y and RB:M lasers which are unavailable anywhere else.
However, the construction of some of the lasers is not the best. My 635nm 600mW had a shaking lens (which, mind you, was easily corrected with thread tape.)
Review:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/video-review-500mw-532nm-600mw-635nm-lasers-xpl-97453.html
O-Like
ADVANTAGES: Great prices on entry-level lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Quality isn't the best
BEST PRICES ON: Entry-level lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
SITE: Welcome to O-like,the source of good quality laser products at unbeatable price and perfect service !
I'd say O-like is the best substitute for the typical Chinese/eBay type lasers.
They're slightly more expensive but their quality is much greater than your usual eBay laser.
If you want a starter laser, here's your place.
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
Gearbest
ADVANTAGES: Best prices on starter lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Poor quality, slow shipping
BEST PRICES ON: Starter lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
SITE: GearBest: Online Shopping - Best Gear at Best Prices
Gearbest sells the standard eBay lasers (the ones sold by LaserPointerPro and the like) at non-inflated prices.
A nice place to get a starter laser. My two Gearbest 532s are still up and running after 2 years!
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
Lazerer
ADVANTAGES: Good prices on entry-level lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Slow shipping, quality could be better
BEST PRICES ON: Entry-level lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
SITE: http://lazerer.com/
Lazerer sells fairly generic lasers, but not at inflated prices like those of LaserPointerPro.
Another good choice for a starting laser.
Review:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/lazerer-638nm-200mw-single-mode-laser-pointer-review-97517.html
ATTENTION!
Please post your shipping times (entire time, from purchase to arrival) if you've bought from any of the companies listed.
I want to create a reliable estimate for the shipping time of each company. Thanks!
Well, that's about it for now. More companies will be added later.
Again, if you've got any reviews for me to use, or any information to add, please post a comment!
Edit: stickied, yay
A lot of people have been asking for this, and I thought it would help a lot of new members, so I decided to write this guide.
It is by no means complete, and this should be considered a community effort.
So if you have any more information, or reviews you'd like me to link, please do comment. :beer:
Let's begin with the baddies. If you want to hear about good companies, I suggest you skip this section.
IMPORTANT!
Do not buy from any of the following companies.
If you want to see good companies, skip this section.
The following companies will send you defective lasers, refuse to accept returns when they break, vastly overestimate their power, steal your money, and/or kill your dog.
LaserPointerPro
SITE: Laser Pointers - Green, Red, Blue Lasers at Laserpointerpro.com
This company is guilty of... a lot of things.
See this?
This is at maximum, a 2W laser, worth $100 or so. Yet they set its initial price at a ludicrous $7999, "SAVE 93%!", overprice it by 500%, and then claim it's 10 watts. A 10W 445nm diode does not even exist as of July 2016.
So this company is a clear scam.
They also put out some pretty ridiculous videos.
World's Coolest Lasers
SITE: The World's Coolest Lasers
This company is a known scam.
See this?
This is a 301 laser. It goes for $8 on eBay.
This guy wants to sell it to you for $40. Scam!
He also used a forum member's images, without his permission, and claimed that they were of his own product.
When I contacted him, he admitted to using for his products images he found on Google.
Here's a thread about this scam:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f41/laser-opinions-97899.html
WarnLaser, Insanity Laser, LazerPoint, LuckLaser, HTPOW, Tacticult
SITE: laserpointer 500mw|Ir Laser|Green Laser|High power Lasers pointer: WarnLaser.com
SITE: https://insanitylaser.com/xpro
SITE: Green Lasers
SITE: High power laser pointer store, LuckLaser focus on laser pointers.
SITE: http://www.htpow.com/
SITE: https://tacticult.com/
SITE: http://widelasers.com/
These sites are all selling LaserPointerPro type junk. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!
LaserGlow
LaserGlow used to be a great company (a CNI reseller), but their prices have slowly risen over the years.
Now they are completely unreasonable, and lie about their lasers ($1100 for 1.2W 445nm "most powerful laser in the world"? I don't think so.)
They have stopped shipping >5mW lasers to the US, but international users beware. Better prices can be found almost anywhere!
Wicked Lasers
Wicked Lasers is old news now, but I thought I'd add them too.
Products are overpriced and they lie A LOT. I've also a lot of horror stories from WL customers, including WL batteries exploding.
The Arctic IS NOT, NEVER WAS, AND NEVER WILL BE the world's most powerful handheld laser.
Now, on to the companies that are worth your time.
GOOD COMPANIES
Sanwu Lasers
ADVANTAGES: Great host quality, lots of options, high power available
DISADVANTAGES: Some lasers won't fit protected batteries
BEST PRICES ON: High-power lasers, especially 405nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks with fixed shipping, <1 week with express
SITE: https://www.sanwulasers.org/
Sanwu is a great laser company, owned by a member of this very forum (Podo.) It's one of the first companies I recommend to new members who want high-powered lasers.
They have very nice hosts, and lots of options. They even have multi-mode drivers with code locks!
I've also heard good things about Podo's customer service.
In general, I would say that Sanwu is the single best company for high-powered lasers. Their prices are reasonable and their products are top-notch.
Here's an example (the Spiker series):
And a few reviews:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/thanks-podo-sanwu-challenger-96148.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/sanwu-pocket-445nm-laser-500mw-g7-lens-review-95848.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/sanwu-silver-series-3w-laser-review-w-3x-97337.html
JetLasers
ADVANTAGES: Best host quality available, readily available beam expander
DISADVANTAGES: High prices
BEST PRICES ON: 473nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
SITE: JETLASERS.ORG
In terms of quality, JetLasers can't be beat. They are renowned on this forum for their beautiful PL-E Pro host:
I've heard reports that they have practically unlimited duty cycle!
They also have the ability to add a code switch (or a key switch) to their lasers, which is nice.
A few reviews:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/new-big-boy-toy-jetlasers-pl-e-pro-300mw-532nm-review-94723.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/jetlasers-pl-e-pro-445nm-2w-review-95008.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/r...-1w-532nm-handheld-new-host-design-93257.html
DragonLasers
ADVANTAGES: Good host quality, CNI products, readily available beam expander
DISADVANTAGES: High prices, occasionally sends underspec lasers
BEST PRICES ON: 589nm
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4 days!
SITE: Buy laser and Optics Online :: Dragon Lasers
DragonLasers is a reseller of CNI lasers (CNI no longer ships to the US.)
DragonLasers are known around here for being the main trustworthy seller of yellow DPSS lasers.
I would say that my DragonLasers Spartan 589nm is probably the single best laser that I have in my collection.
Here is an example of one of their products (the Spartan series)
And a few reviews!
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dragonlasers-spartan-50mw-589nm-91535.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/s-been-almost-year-time-my-dl-589-spartan-review-96846.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/dragonlasers-spartan-200mw-532nm-90mw-637nm-review-91873.html
Optotronics
ADVANTAGES: Excellent customer service, high quality, US-based
DISADVANTAGES: Very high prices
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2 days!!
SITE: http://www.optotronics.com/
Optotronics is a US-based company, and from what I've heard, have some of the highest-quality lasers available anywhere.
They also have excellent customer service - I have heard reports that the owner will even talk on the phone!
XPL
We strongly recommend that you avoid this company for the time being. There has been a severe drop in quality as of late.
SITE: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1722148
XPL has been a relatively controversial company recently. I brought it to light a few months ago after purchasing 2 lasers from them.
The owner, Peng, is extremely fast with customer service, and offers a 15% discount to LPF members *IF* you contact him before purchasing and inform him you're an LPF member.
The best thing about this company, in my opinion, is the extremely high-power 532nm lasers. It's the only company I've ever seen with a 1.5W or 2W 532 in a handheld.
The company also offers beam-combining RG:Y and RB:M lasers which are unavailable anywhere else.
However, the construction of some of the lasers is not the best. My 635nm 600mW had a shaking lens (which, mind you, was easily corrected with thread tape.)
Review:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/video-review-500mw-532nm-600mw-635nm-lasers-xpl-97453.html
O-Like
ADVANTAGES: Great prices on entry-level lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Quality isn't the best
BEST PRICES ON: Entry-level lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
SITE: Welcome to O-like,the source of good quality laser products at unbeatable price and perfect service !
I'd say O-like is the best substitute for the typical Chinese/eBay type lasers.
They're slightly more expensive but their quality is much greater than your usual eBay laser.
If you want a starter laser, here's your place.
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 2-3 weeks
Gearbest
ADVANTAGES: Best prices on starter lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Poor quality, slow shipping
BEST PRICES ON: Starter lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
SITE: GearBest: Online Shopping - Best Gear at Best Prices
Gearbest sells the standard eBay lasers (the ones sold by LaserPointerPro and the like) at non-inflated prices.
A nice place to get a starter laser. My two Gearbest 532s are still up and running after 2 years!
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
Lazerer
ADVANTAGES: Good prices on entry-level lasers
DISADVANTAGES: Slow shipping, quality could be better
BEST PRICES ON: Entry-level lasers
MEDIAN SHIPPING TIME: 4-5 weeks
SITE: http://lazerer.com/
Lazerer sells fairly generic lasers, but not at inflated prices like those of LaserPointerPro.
Another good choice for a starting laser.
Review:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/lazerer-638nm-200mw-single-mode-laser-pointer-review-97517.html
ATTENTION!
Please post your shipping times (entire time, from purchase to arrival) if you've bought from any of the companies listed.
I want to create a reliable estimate for the shipping time of each company. Thanks!
Well, that's about it for now. More companies will be added later.
Again, if you've got any reviews for me to use, or any information to add, please post a comment!
Edit: stickied, yay
Last edited: