O-Like and Lazerer 635nm Lasers Side by Side (Pic Heavy)

Hi Guys,

Been meaning to get this up for a little while. I'll add more details when I have time and not falling asleep

So without further ado:




Links:

200mW 635nm Waterproof Red Laser Torch /Bright
RIFLE 638nm - Full 300mW Bright Orangish Red Laser Pointer

Shipping:

O-Like;

• Payment Sent November 1st.
• Laser Shipped November 24th.
• Notice Left December 5th.
• Picked Up December 7th.

Lazerer;

• Payment Sent November 25th.
• Laser Shipped November 30th.
• Notice Left December 9th.
• Picked Up December 10th.

Packaging/Contents;

Both lasers came well packed, and in envelopes. Inside the envelopes was a second layer of packaging.

Inside the second layer the O-Like laser was wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap, and the bubble wrap was taped shut.

For the Lazerer laser, inside the second layer it was inside a black foam padded "Laser Pointer" box.

Both lasers came with diffraction tips. These cost extra with both companies. O-Like offers give diffraction tips, while lazerer only offers four.

The O-Like laser also came with an unprotected Ultrafire 18650 battery and single battery charger, and a rather nice belt holster.

LPM Results;

The O-Like 635nm peaks at 220mW and is stable outputting 210-220mW on the fully charged supplied battery.

The Lazerer 635nm peaks at 323mW and is stable around 300mW.

Hosts;

O-Like;




Lazerer;



Additional Observations About The Hosts;

The Lazerer 635nm laser uses version 2 of their "Rifle" host design. The difference between the original and the V2 consist of the following;
-Much better looking, possibly thicker finish. It appears more lustrous and darker then the original. It is a rather subtle difference though.
-Presence of the "RIFLEseries" logo on two of of the surfaces.
-Black tail cap switch.

There are a ton of reviews on other lasers with this same host so I won't go into details.



(Please note they are identical in size. Same picture as above except from a different angle)

The O-Like 635nm laser uses a host which is new to me personally. It is their "Power Rock" host. Last I checked they were using this host with 405nm, 445nm, 532nm, 635nm and 660nm diodes. Internally these laser may be different, so please bear that in mind.
-The laser is focused by twisting the top portion. The lens is inside this top portion, and the tension is provided by a set of well oiled double o-rings.
-There is a second waterproofing lens in the top portion. (This is a very nice touch IMO.)
-The heatsink is brass, and rather small. Even by chinese standards.
-The driver is not supported in any way except with the solder joints to the diode.
-There is a spring leading from both the driver and the tailcap.

View of the focus knob, separate from the laser, from the top:


View of the focus knob, separate from the laser, from the inside:


View of the diode/heatsink inside the laser from the top:


View of the inside of the laser, from the bottom:


More General Information About The Lasers;

The O-Like is case negative. The Lazerer is case positive.

Both of them use the same diode and as such have the same crappy divergence. Please see Lazeerer's thread here about the diodes: http://laserpointerforums.com/f50/here-300mw-635nm-mitsubishi-66942.html

Lazerer recently update the description of the laser... apparently it performs better with two 3.7v batteries. I only tested based on the original description with one 18650 battery.

Can They Burn?

The answer is yes, but not well at all.

The shape of the dot reduces power density quite a bit. The fact that wavelength is high also doesn't help.

Together this means that you will have a much easier time burning with even a 150mW green vs a 300mW 638nm.

If you're looking for a red burner. Don't look at these, and get yourself a 200mW+ 660nm. Being single mode the 660nm lasers will burn MUCH better.

Conclusion;

I'll leave that up to you guys since I'm tired:can::tired:

Nice detailed Review. Hmm. Why would lazerer.com perform better with 2 cells. I guess the driver they are using cannot supply the full currant off one cells. No Big-E. I like 2 cell better then 1.

These can easily be turned up if you desirer to do so. However a driver swap might be a good idea.

They both are good looking host. I like teh New Logo ont he side of the Riffle. It mkes the host look more mean.LOL

IOU a + since i cant give you one now.

Pretty nice review, and lot's of pictures :gj:

lazeerer said:

Nice detailed Review. Hmm. Why would lazerer.com perform better with 2 cells. I guess the driver they are using cannot supply the full currant off one cells. No Big-E. I like 2 cell better then 1.

These can easily be turned up if you desirer to do so. However a driver swap might be a good idea.

They both are good looking host. I like teh New Logo ont he side of the Riffle. It mkes the host look more mean.LOL

IOU a + since i cant give you one now.

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To be honest I think both of these are just begging for a driver and lens upgrade at least. The O-Like is a great host, but it also needs a larger heatsink. Not sure there is any way to get the diode out of the brass though

Flaminpyro said:

Pretty nice review, and lot's of pictures :gj:

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Thanks I tried to keep it as objective as possible. Shipping time aside, it's hard very hard to choose between these two. So I got both

Last night I FINALLY got the sdhc card I was waiting for, for my new camera, so I went a little picture crazy There are a whole lot more if anyone wants to see something.

Pretty nice review ! I like both hosts also, but i dont know about the rock's heatsink:thinking:
Now go get some sleep

Jim

InfinitusEquitas said:

To be honest I think both of these are just begging for a driver and lens upgrade at least. The O-Like is a great host, but it also needs a larger heatsink. Not sure there is any way to get the diode out of the brass though

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Well im sure someone can work something out.

Anti-static duct tape? Good review!

Nice job on the review :kewlpics: , I would like to get a 635 sometime, but maybe when they get really cheap. +1

jimdt7 said:

Pretty nice review ! I like both hosts also, but i dont know about the rock's heatsink:thinking:
Now go get some sleep

Jim

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Sleep is for the weak. Went to bed at 4, was up at 7. Have a looong day ahead of me

lazeerer said:

Well im sure someone can work something out.

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PM definitely incoming after the holidays and my bank account recovers a bit

Drew said:

Anti-static duct tape? Good review!

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Well, my work/gaming desk was about an inch lower then the desk right next to it. So I ended up cutting a piece of wood to fit exactly to basically create one very long but narrow desk. Going through having it polished and a finish put on it seemed like too much hassle, so I took the lazy way out and just wrapped the thing in plastic. Unfortunately the plastic had a tendecy to shift which can be quite annoying. So one night I juder laid down a layer of duct tape around the immediate area where I work I think the current layer is the 4rth at this point. Time to buy some more duct tape

geekypyro21 said:

Nice job on the review :kewlpics: , I would like to get a 635 sometime, but maybe when they get really cheap. +1

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Thanks and glad you like it.

635nm lasers are absolutely great at night outside. Unlike the ~300mW 660nm lasers that are common place, the 635's do produce a visible, if faint beam.

Personally I can't wait until the 500mW or even the 1W 635nm diodes become available... will need to invest in a darth vader light saber replica for a host at that time:eg:

Can you tell if they are using a AR coated Acrylic lenses.?

The O-Like appears to be using one but i cant tell on the lazerer.com one.

You should see a blue'ish reflection to it.

What cell is that you re using in the last picture.? The orange looks cool.

Nice review, +1 I personally like the O-like host a little better. I know most people like the Rifle host, but I just dont know...


EDit: gotta spread the rep before giving you more

I have been looking at the Laserer 635 for a while now, nice power and host.

Nice review. I'm guessing no beam shots because the 635 gives a dirty looking beam?

lazeerer said:

Can you tell if they are using a AR coated Acrylic lenses.?

The O-Like appears to be using one but i cant tell on the lazerer.com one.

You should see a blue'ish reflection to it.

What cell is that you re using in the last picture.? The orange looks cool.

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I'm 99% certain that the lens in both is an acrylic. I mean I'm 100% sure about the o-like, but I haven't taken apart the lazerer one... the dot profile is exactly identical.

It might be the same as the one you used for a recent 635nm build of yours.

The cell is an unprotected MNKE ICR-18650, MH46698 ROHS CE. I picked it up from a mutual friend of ours who happens to be very much into guns. Actually haven't talked to him in forever. Need to see what he's been up to

Haloid95 said:

Nice review, +1 I personally like the O-like host a little better. I know most people like the Rifle host, but I just dont know...

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It's a hard call. That's why I didn't include a conclusion or the winner.

On shipping, and service, lazerer is the clear winner. On price o-like is much better.

As far as the hosts go, I like them both a lot, but the rifle host does have a much more solid feel to it. On the other hand the o-like is waterproof.

Unfortunately there is really no way to waterproof the rifle without losing the ability to focus. I mean I suppose it's possible, but it would mean a complete redesign of the laser as opposed to minor changes.

gecko991 said:

I have been looking at the Laserer 635 for a while now, nice power and host.

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Yes it is. I've been meaning to PM Max to see what the story is with him changing the description on the batteries, but even with one 18650 the laser is exactly on spec.

Polonium210 said:

Nice review. I'm guessing no beam shots because the 635 gives a dirty looking beam?

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The beam is amazing with smoke, or when it's completely dark and humid outside. I definitely wouldn't call it dirty.

No beam shots because I'm lazy, and it would require me having to clean up

Check out some of lazeerer's thread, he recently posted some 1W 635nm beamshots, and they are jaw dropping imo.

I agree Lazerer excels in almost everything, I think Lazerer's price and O-likes prices are both good. Because You pay for what you get for.

Added a "Can They Burn?" portion, since the question just came up in another thread.

Imo... no they can't, at least not nearly as well as the 405nm, 445nm, 532nm and 660nm lasers of the same power that we see on here regularly.

The 660nm is a bit of a surprise since one would assume 638nm would be absorbed better by most materials, but bear in mind that the 660nm lasers are single mode... nice round dot... whereas the 638nm produces a rather large line, so the power is spread out.