Spartan 150mw or Hulk 150mw

Hello, I was wondering if i could get some input from fellow peers on which pointer you think is best for roughly $300USD. I am also open to suggestions of different brands. I would like to be able to see the beam easily and would like it to be pretty durable; burning things is also at the top of the list ;p

Green Handheld Laser --- 532nm Laser ----- Spartan Series Lasers :: Handheld Lasers :: Dragon Lasers
Green Handheld Laser --- 532nm Laser ----- Hulk Series Lasers :: Handheld Lasers :: Dragon Lasers
- Alex

Hi CttCaboose. At 150mw, seeing the beam will not be a problem at all. The beam of the spartan will be slightly more visible, but less "intense" due to a larger diameter. Burning will be easier and more efficient with the hulk due to a smaller beam diameter as indicated on the website. I'm not sure if this is your first laser or not, but a good alternative would be a pen style laser that boasts the same output, such as the 150mw from optotronics. It will come to about half the price of the units you mentioned and you will get good beam characteristics from a usually overspec unit. This will probably be your cheapest option for this amount of power leaving you extra change for a good pair of safety glasses if you don't already have them.

However, the pen style hosts could be considered less durable than the larger RPL style hosts or the spartan style. But, because lasers should be used carefully and kept free from shock and excessive heat, durability doesn't necessarily have to be paramount in my opinion. If you have your heart set on these two units though, I would say decide between the spartan for beam visibility or the hulk for burning. Bear in mind though, they will both be very visible, especially at night. Hope this helps.

I just spoke to Frank at DL and he said they're out of the Hulks and they won't be getting any more anytime soon. They also recently dropped the prices on the analogous Spartans because of that. So go with the Spartan =)

Thank you very much for your help Apparently they are going to be w/o the hulk for 7 months like pnjunction said I looked up what divergance is and how the diamiter affects the beam and recon's post helped alot, but what i don't really understand is how the IR filter effects the beam/dot. Can anyone inform me on how that can effect the beam/dot and what it's really used for?

- Thanks, Alex

From what I understand, an IR filter blocks harmful energy created by the diode that cannot be seen by the human eye. Cheaper greens with no IR filter can be rated with high output, but some of this output is IR counted toward the total visible output, which can be misleading. Units having an IR filter block most of these harmful rays and their mw rating is devoted to almost all nice green output. As far as affecting the beam/dot, a cheaper pointer without an IR filter will be slightly dimmer when an IR filter is applied, and there mw rating at that point, will be lower when metered. The higher quality units with a built in IR filter are more "up to spec" and metered at a specified output without much, if any IR present, thereby giving you a brighter unit without harmful IR. More experienced members can probably clarify this or explain it better. Search the forums and you should find a good amount of information about this. Regards.

I'm not sure it fit IR filtered or not but I have an O-like 150mW for sale...a lot cheaper
check this thread:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/fs-2x-445nm-coin-hs-o-like-150mw-532nm-60000.html:beer: