So after 7 months of waiting (I ordered it in July), I finally got my much ballyhooed Arctic yesterday.
There's been a lot said about this laser and Wicked Lasers, so I'll keep this brief and to the point: I love it.
The infamous Lightsaber host really is a work of art, and it's a very solid build, it feels not unlike a Maglight. The cool metal texture feels nice in the hand, and while it's about a third too small to use as a lightsaber prop, it's certainly on the large side for a handheld... But being small isn't the point of this laser - if I want a pocket burner I can play with my Yobresal build; this thing is meant to command attention and impress even with the laser off, and that it does.
But most people are in agreement that the host looks cool, what about the functionality? The dreaded "smart switch" had me worried, but after a learning curve of maybe 5 mins I had the thing turned on in just a few seconds. No, its not instant on, but you can get it up and running fast enough.
To be honest, I think the Smart Switch is a good idea - the whole point is that if some idiot finds it laying around or someone grabs it from you they won't be able to turn it on and hurt themselves or anyone else. It really does give peace of mind, since when I took my Yobresal build to work and showed it around, every time someone handled it I was understandably worried about an accident - that won't happen with the Arctic. Ultimately, I think taking 2 seconds to turn it on is a fair trade off for the protection.
Once you have it up and running, the dim green glow of the smart switch and battery indicator really looks cool - a nice touch. And all the buttons and switches feel solid, unlike some cheap builds where the switch sometimes feels loose.
The laser itself is very clean and solid. The beam divergence is excellent (as tight as a focused Yobresal) and the dot is clean and free from dirt/smudges/scratches. I don't know the exact power, but at 20 feet away I could feel it sting my hand within a second.
Oddly enough, despite everyone's desire for more power, my favorite feature of this thing is the ability to switch it to half power with a click of the smart switch. This mode will make me feel more comfortable in handing it over to friends, as an accidental flash will be less likely to cause injury; I can make sure that this thing is only at full power when i'm using it (at half power it took about 5 seconds for my hand to feel it at 20 ft away).
When you pop on the included "training lens" output is further diminished by about half (they say 80% but it looks more like half to me - also note that the threading for the lens and battery compartment are machined very well). With the training lens on and the Arctic in half power mode, the dot is Essenstially equal brightness to a 5mw green, a very handy reference point. In this state, the laser is basically safe and I would have no worries about anyone playing with it (I couldn't feel a sting at all in this mode).
Aside from safety reasons (and preserving battery life), those of you who are into laser lumia shows will really appreciate the ability to run this thing at different power levels; at full power, it's way too bright for lumia, and with all the possibilities of reflection I wouldn't even try it. At half power, its much safer to use for a laser show and still plenty bright - i was able to clearly see lumia patterns on the wall even in daylight with the Arctic at half power! At half power with the training lens, its PERFECT for night time lumia applications. Better still, when the battery has about half an hour of run time, in this mode the color of the beam darkens to a really nice purple that looks almost identical to a 405nm - so its almost like getting two wavelengths in one
Another reason this baby sings for lumia shows is the duty cycle - the Arctic is basically 100%! It doesn't specifically say this in the manual, but after leaving it on for two hours straight, not only was the battery still going but the host was not even warm to the touch. Some may complain about the size of the Arctic, but the size and design of it is part of the reason it handles heat so well.
All I all, clearly I am a happy customer. The Arctic is not the smallest or most powerful laser you can buy, but its not trying to be. Not every laser we own has to fit into the same category; if I want to burn matches or magazines or stick a laser in my pocket I have builds that can do that (although lets all be honest - the burning thing loses it's charm very, very quickly).
I'd say the Arctic is the trophy wife of lasers - its stunning to look at, will make your friends jealous and has a few uses, but she's not going to satisfy your every whim.
At the same time, i doubt any members of this board are LOOKING for just one laser to keep them happy all the time, so any deficiencies of the Arcric are moot.
Some people have complained about their lasers unexpectedly dying, but so far so good; to be honest, the build quality of this thing does inspire confidence, so frankly I'd be surprised if it suddenly just croaked (also note some of the users who have complained about their dead Arctic have also admitted it was after they had taken it apart to see what made it tick or to mod it - sorry folks, but that's YOUR fault, not Wicked's).
The worst I can fault WL is in how long it took to show up. If you're going to buy it and then check every week to see where it is, you're going to end up pissed off, demand a refund and then add your name to the list of people who hate WL. But if you can just order it and forget about it until it unexpectedly shows up, you'll be happy (note that i have yet to hear of a single case where someone either never got their laser or was refused a refund. Not one).
The bottom line is, even if people have qualms about the exact power output of the Arctic, or wish it had this feature or the other, ultimately its hard to argue that the Arctic is a damn cool piece of kit - when you have this thing in your hand you simply don't want to let go.
There's been a lot said about this laser and Wicked Lasers, so I'll keep this brief and to the point: I love it.
The infamous Lightsaber host really is a work of art, and it's a very solid build, it feels not unlike a Maglight. The cool metal texture feels nice in the hand, and while it's about a third too small to use as a lightsaber prop, it's certainly on the large side for a handheld... But being small isn't the point of this laser - if I want a pocket burner I can play with my Yobresal build; this thing is meant to command attention and impress even with the laser off, and that it does.
But most people are in agreement that the host looks cool, what about the functionality? The dreaded "smart switch" had me worried, but after a learning curve of maybe 5 mins I had the thing turned on in just a few seconds. No, its not instant on, but you can get it up and running fast enough.
To be honest, I think the Smart Switch is a good idea - the whole point is that if some idiot finds it laying around or someone grabs it from you they won't be able to turn it on and hurt themselves or anyone else. It really does give peace of mind, since when I took my Yobresal build to work and showed it around, every time someone handled it I was understandably worried about an accident - that won't happen with the Arctic. Ultimately, I think taking 2 seconds to turn it on is a fair trade off for the protection.
Once you have it up and running, the dim green glow of the smart switch and battery indicator really looks cool - a nice touch. And all the buttons and switches feel solid, unlike some cheap builds where the switch sometimes feels loose.
The laser itself is very clean and solid. The beam divergence is excellent (as tight as a focused Yobresal) and the dot is clean and free from dirt/smudges/scratches. I don't know the exact power, but at 20 feet away I could feel it sting my hand within a second.
Oddly enough, despite everyone's desire for more power, my favorite feature of this thing is the ability to switch it to half power with a click of the smart switch. This mode will make me feel more comfortable in handing it over to friends, as an accidental flash will be less likely to cause injury; I can make sure that this thing is only at full power when i'm using it (at half power it took about 5 seconds for my hand to feel it at 20 ft away).
When you pop on the included "training lens" output is further diminished by about half (they say 80% but it looks more like half to me - also note that the threading for the lens and battery compartment are machined very well). With the training lens on and the Arctic in half power mode, the dot is Essenstially equal brightness to a 5mw green, a very handy reference point. In this state, the laser is basically safe and I would have no worries about anyone playing with it (I couldn't feel a sting at all in this mode).
Aside from safety reasons (and preserving battery life), those of you who are into laser lumia shows will really appreciate the ability to run this thing at different power levels; at full power, it's way too bright for lumia, and with all the possibilities of reflection I wouldn't even try it. At half power, its much safer to use for a laser show and still plenty bright - i was able to clearly see lumia patterns on the wall even in daylight with the Arctic at half power! At half power with the training lens, its PERFECT for night time lumia applications. Better still, when the battery has about half an hour of run time, in this mode the color of the beam darkens to a really nice purple that looks almost identical to a 405nm - so its almost like getting two wavelengths in one
Another reason this baby sings for lumia shows is the duty cycle - the Arctic is basically 100%! It doesn't specifically say this in the manual, but after leaving it on for two hours straight, not only was the battery still going but the host was not even warm to the touch. Some may complain about the size of the Arctic, but the size and design of it is part of the reason it handles heat so well.
All I all, clearly I am a happy customer. The Arctic is not the smallest or most powerful laser you can buy, but its not trying to be. Not every laser we own has to fit into the same category; if I want to burn matches or magazines or stick a laser in my pocket I have builds that can do that (although lets all be honest - the burning thing loses it's charm very, very quickly).
I'd say the Arctic is the trophy wife of lasers - its stunning to look at, will make your friends jealous and has a few uses, but she's not going to satisfy your every whim.
At the same time, i doubt any members of this board are LOOKING for just one laser to keep them happy all the time, so any deficiencies of the Arcric are moot.
Some people have complained about their lasers unexpectedly dying, but so far so good; to be honest, the build quality of this thing does inspire confidence, so frankly I'd be surprised if it suddenly just croaked (also note some of the users who have complained about their dead Arctic have also admitted it was after they had taken it apart to see what made it tick or to mod it - sorry folks, but that's YOUR fault, not Wicked's).
The worst I can fault WL is in how long it took to show up. If you're going to buy it and then check every week to see where it is, you're going to end up pissed off, demand a refund and then add your name to the list of people who hate WL. But if you can just order it and forget about it until it unexpectedly shows up, you'll be happy (note that i have yet to hear of a single case where someone either never got their laser or was refused a refund. Not one).
The bottom line is, even if people have qualms about the exact power output of the Arctic, or wish it had this feature or the other, ultimately its hard to argue that the Arctic is a damn cool piece of kit - when you have this thing in your hand you simply don't want to let go.
Last edited:
