BFG 100mw

Hi guys, im new to this community but so far i am sure that you guys have the knowledge to tell me which laser to get.
I've compared a few lasers so far (basicly anything i could find on the web) and i am close to my decision (i guess).

What i am looking for is a nice green laser which is capable of popping balloons, cutting black tape, lighting matches and has a nice visible beam to it.
The price range for about 100mw goes from 150$ up to 280$ ... if anyone knows a good vlaue please don't hesitate to let me know about it.
The only problem i've got is that i live in Germany and the shipping costs and customs might be an additional money eating aspect.

Maybe anyone in here is manufactoring lasers or could give me hint where to buy a bargain.
I am pretty close to buy one of the BFG homepage as i got some friends here who are interested in them too.

Would anyone recommend BFG or is there anything similar on the market for about the same price.

Thanks alot
Stephan

PM sent...

Welcome to the forums!!!!

Lots of great people and good information!!!

LarryQ

there is probably a lot of debate over if a BFG is good or not. at first, they were being sold as 150mW lasers, and the first few sold were that powerful. then, after lots of people got *way* underspecced ones (like 100mW), and complained lots, and the seller tried to bs his way out of any responsibility, he finally changed the page to sell the same lasers as 100mW ones. and actually, if you look closely, it says "+/- 10mW" so you're only getting a guarantee of 90mW. so i mean, personally that doesn't inpire trust in me. if i were you, i'd get a nova X series laser - the X-85 (usually 90-95mW) is only $151-170 with the discount they give to LPF members (depending on if you want the metal box n the reward points n nova membership or just the laser on it's own), and the X-105 (usually 110-120mW) would be $199-$218. and welcome to LPF!

WOW ... you guys are pretty quick replying to posts.
Thanks alot !!

Do the ones from nova have a nice visible beam as well ... daylight and stuff ... looking at the x-series the casing doens't look very nice .... the alpha-series looks way better !!

On Nova there is just one serious issue ... the international shipping charges are 60$ and on top of that i have to pay custom fees as well ... that would kick me uo to around 320$ at least for a laser that costs me 229$ (x105 e.g.)

Well owning both the Alpha and the X-Series models I have to say I do prefer the Alpha and if you can live with it having a 3 second delay (you do get used to it, well I did). It is a bit less portable than the X-series though as the X-series will go in a shirt pocket or a jeans pocket with a dragon case to protect it, having said that the Alpha I have had in my pocket too but it is a bit big for it and you have to be careful of the jack plug that goes in the end to make the connection but that can be bypassed (;

If you ask Nova they will lower the value of the package to get past customs but the downside to that would be IF it did go missing it would only be insured to that amount, but if you speak to Nova they will be able to go into that in more detail.

Generally the beams are only visable in the dark, with 100mW inside a room not in direct sunlight it might be visable a bit but not much no where near how visable it would be in the dark.

Which country do you live in?

one thing is, a 100mW green laser is a 100mW green laser - assuming they don't have a screwed up horrible beam, one 100mW green laser will have a beam just as bright and visible as another. and even the difference in brightness between my 90mW and my 112mW is very slight (pretty much unnoticable unless you put them side by side).

Hi.

just sorting out the last few things with magdalena so i am going to order my x105 very soon
Oh i'm getting excited ;D

excellent choice. I want one of those some day!
And welcome to the forums. Seems like I'm saying that a lot lately.

Kingdingeling said:

Hi.

just sorting out the last few things with magdalena so i am going to order my x105 very soon
Oh i'm getting excited ;D

Click to expand...

i'm sure you'll love it i think i need to get some fancy optics from nova, like diffraction gratings...

DECISION MADE ....

I'm defenalty gonna go with a X105 .... now that i've read enough reviews and watched videos making my eyes edgy i'm just gonna wait til next week has gone so i can see whats left over moneywise and then go for the offer with or without the case and stuff.

Does anyone recommend some glasses for the IR thing or will my eyesight be fine without them?

a good quality green laser should emit very little IR (about 1% or so). however, you should get goggles for the green light, nova sells them too.

Congrats on your decision! I have the equivalent to the X-105 and it is amazing! I know you won't be disappointed with it. I can't wait to hear the specs on it, someone should start a stickied topic with all of our Nova stats on it.