In the market for a green laser: tips and help?

I recently got back from China, where I bought a green laser at a market (for about $20) which claims to be 200mW, but from what ive read online I doubt its that powerful - it cant burn anything, even though the beam is extremely bright and can be seen at night and in low light.

it looks just like this one:
200mW 532nm Green Laser Pointer (Black) $44.7 - Free Shipping


Anyway it got me wondering what a real one would cost, and how it would perform

I'm looking to get the best deal, I have about 100 dollars to spend but want to spend the least possible. I'd love to get something that could burn matches etc. (all the fun stuff). Looking around, is Rayfoss the best bet? and if so, which one?

any help is very appreciated, thanks!

O-like.com and Rayfoss.com are good alternatives. You should take a lokk at these threads:

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/best-150mw-200mw-green-laser-your-cash-42062.html
http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/im-looking-green-laser-150-max-42025.html

hmm, the one khz bought looks exactly like mine... is it possible mine might be stronger than I think? how can I tell?

You would need a Laser Power Meter (LPM) to know the output power of your Laser...
It is the only sure way of knowing..

Jerry

Zinsii said:

hmm, the one khz bought looks exactly like mine... is it possible mine might be stronger than I think? how can I tell?

Click to expand...

Shine one in each eye.. which ever eye goes bad first is the stronger laser... No, don't do that. Go buy some laser safety glasses so you don't ruin your vision with an unlucky reflection.

-Mike

yeah, I wish I had something to compare it to. I was bothered by a bit of a ring around the dot, I knew something was making the light bounce around in there... I extracted a small piece of grass and now its a little better I think... the thing is hella bright though (of course I took the batteries out)

it sounds like china is really ripping the US off though... you can get these things for less than 15 dollars over there

basicly, if you can't burn nothing even without a magnifing glass, it's less than 50mW~

Check the GB (group buy) section.
scopeguy20 is holding a GB for CNI. They make some of the best laser products and if you get it from the GB you can get a huge discount (as compared to what the distributors sell 'em for).

The lasers you will find at Rayfoss and O-like are generic types. They are good if you are on a tight budget, but if you have ever used a good CNI product, you'll know that the cheapies can't compare.

Edit: Oh, check optotronics. They sell pen lasers, but with guaranteed power and overall better quality.