125mW Viper from Dragonlaser

So one of my friends ordered a 125mW Viper.
Its very bright and it can pop balloons, if they are close.
But according to DL's website they should be able to light matches and melt tape, no chance, we have tried like 15 different matches with different colors and marked with a black marker.
We have only used normal AAA batteries, Im guessing this is the problem, but what batteries are best?
Can I damage the laser by using other batteries?

the best batteries to use are energiser e2 lithiums, but seeing as those are around $5 a battery i use rechargeables.
one of the problems that i had with my laser is that i never held it still enough to burn, try resting it on some books or something and pkoing the match into something to keep it steady.