Trevor
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Reviewed: Wicked Lasers Spyder III Arctic
Well, here goes. At the time of writing, I've had this laser for about a month and a half. The first thing we'll start with is an analysis of the specifications. My comments are below in orange.
Name: S3 Series
Not arguing with that.
FDA Accession No.: 0920211-000
This is a case number, not a guarantee to receive a laser, sadly. Nowadays when you buy something from Wicked Lasers, you pay for a chance to receive it. Much like a raffle.
Size: 228mm x 35.8mm
Not arguing with that.
Weight: 378g
Never weighed it; don't care.
Wavelength: 445nm
It likely shifts up with heat, but who's counting?
Laser Body: 6061-T6 Aircraft-Grade Aluminum
Skeptical.
Laser Finish: Mil-Spec Type III hard anodized in black
Wicked Lasers has actually lied in the past about one of their green lasers being used in a video of a military operation. The video in question was shot using night vision; the laser in it was an infrared laser not made by Wicked Lasers. I am now always skeptical when they throw around the term "mil-spec."
Transverse Mode: TEM00
False.
Max Power: 1000mW
True.
Min Power: 500mW
Not if you're in low-power mode?
Beam Divergence: 1.5mRad
I never measured, though I hear it's about that.
Beam Diameter: 5.0 mm
The beam is not circular and cannot have a diameter.
NOHD: 149 meters
This is prettymuch the only accurate safety spec. They calculated this using my website.
Beam Distance 0.25 Lux: 6856 meters
Probably derived from the above calculation. Also, who cares? This number just indicates the distance at which this laser stops being annoying.
Required Eyewear O.D.: 3.0+
Per Sperian's (a U.S. manufacturer of safety eyewear) recommendations, 381mW is the mark at which OD 3.0 is the bare minimum. At 1W of (theoretical) maximum power, you should have on OD 3.41+ goggles.
Power Consumption: 3.7V @ 1A
I'm pretty sure one of the diodes we use couldn't possibly be outputting ~1W if all it was drawing from an 18650 was 1A. I did not run this test, so I will not make any real conjectures here.
Power supply: Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery Type 18650
Not arguing with that.
Battery Lifetime: 120 mins
This depends entirely on the battery capacity.
Switch: Push Button Constant On / Off, Lock-Out Tail Cap, Electronic Mode switch
Not entirely accurate for either model, but this doesn't really matter.
Mode: Low and High Power modes, Pulsed and Constant Wave modes, Secure Lock/Unlock modes
When a laser is "pulsed," it usually refers to high peak power with pulse widths measuring in the nanoseconds or microseconds. A more accurate term would be "blink."
Duty Cycle: Continuous
Not arguing with that, though I never ran it more than a few minutes.
Expected lifetime: >5,000 hours
Depending on how well the build holds up, the diode itself will last much longer. One of the cheap Chinese circuits inside will die long before the diode ever thinks about giving out at the current these are driven at. I would worry about catastrophic optical damage from reflections rather than the diode dying from degradation from normal usage.
Warranty: One Year
...only useful if you can get it there and back without customs noticing. Functionally irrelevant.
Arrival
It came in a thin plastic envelope. I was immediately apprehensive that it might be damaged.
Inside was the laser box and the other stuff wrapped in a layer of bubble wrap. I was unimpressed.
What's inside?
First, out came the goggles, charger, and the laser itself.
Let it be noted that I received one of the explosion-happy batteries (long after they "switched" battery types).
I just set the stock battery and charger aside. I started opening stuff up; out came the lens pen and the goggles.
The goggles were marked with WL's logo, and looked pretty good.
Unfortunately, though, I received the OD <1.0 goggles.
I liked the case that the goggles came in. I actually use the case for my sunglasses now though. :angel:
The last thing, of course, that was in the box was the laser itself. Unfortunately, due to the packaging, it was crushed on one corner. That's not visible in this picture.
The Box
Upon opening the box, I saw the laser wrapped in plastic, a couple extra labels, a manual of other WL products, and a flyer about legal stuff.
The poster kind of annoys me. It puts heavy emphasis on why not to do this stuff in the framework of keeping lasers legal. It instructs people to do the right thing, just doesn't send the right message between the lines. Next, out came the laser itself.
After removing the plastic, the first thing I noticed was how nice looking it was and how solid it felt.
The Host
It feels great. Whoever made the host itself did an awesome job; the threads on the tailcap are great. The host also seems to suck up and dissipate heat quite well (probably an unintended consequence of all the extra surface area created when making the host look nice). Please note that "The Host" does not include the tips. More on those later.
The Goggles
They do nothing. Fortunately I had another pair that blocked 445. Mine actually measured OD ~0.74. If you choose to use the included goggles made with this light orange polymer, please only use them against dust or sparks or something.
Newer Arctics are shipping with goggles made with the standard red polymer of Chinese laser safety goggles. These are fine.
Output
Mine output 720mW with the stock lens. More on this in the next section.
The Collimating Lens
I feel like this deserves a section to itself. It should be noted that if WL had decided to use a shorter focal length lens, the laser would out out a little under a watt. However, they used a longer focal length lens. This allowed the beam to expand further before being collimated, allowing for a lower overall divergence. However, in doing this, a large amount of output is allowed to hit the side of the module and be wasted. This is why adding a shorter focal length lens like a 405-G-1 will increase output so much - but make divergence so much worse. This explains the Spartan's performance also.
My Gripes
Overall, I like it. The "caps" could have been better executed, and WL should not repeat their marketing campaign. Ever. They should use something other than a flashlight driver marketed as a "safety feature" to ensure that their lasers are used safely. If they would fire whoever chose that lens and hire someone with knowledge of basic math, they could further improve their products.
That being said, they should keep working with whatever company made the host, and continue producing good-looking hosts. It's a great (on Chinese standards) laser turned into a slightly above-average Chinese laser because of the initial advertisement, manufacture, subsequent marketing, and so-called selling points (like what I mentioned above) being all poorly handled. I would definitely recommend acquiring one, but I'd be wary of throwing money at WL and encouraging their business practices. If they'd clean up their act, they've got a lot of potential.
Overall, I'd give the Arctic a C+.
Pew pew.
-Trevor
Well, here goes. At the time of writing, I've had this laser for about a month and a half. The first thing we'll start with is an analysis of the specifications. My comments are below in orange.
Name: S3 Series
Not arguing with that.
FDA Accession No.: 0920211-000
This is a case number, not a guarantee to receive a laser, sadly. Nowadays when you buy something from Wicked Lasers, you pay for a chance to receive it. Much like a raffle.
Size: 228mm x 35.8mm
Not arguing with that.
Weight: 378g
Never weighed it; don't care.
Wavelength: 445nm
It likely shifts up with heat, but who's counting?
Laser Body: 6061-T6 Aircraft-Grade Aluminum
Skeptical.
Laser Finish: Mil-Spec Type III hard anodized in black
Wicked Lasers has actually lied in the past about one of their green lasers being used in a video of a military operation. The video in question was shot using night vision; the laser in it was an infrared laser not made by Wicked Lasers. I am now always skeptical when they throw around the term "mil-spec."
Transverse Mode: TEM00
False.
Max Power: 1000mW
True.
Min Power: 500mW
Not if you're in low-power mode?
Beam Divergence: 1.5mRad
I never measured, though I hear it's about that.
Beam Diameter: 5.0 mm
The beam is not circular and cannot have a diameter.
NOHD: 149 meters
This is prettymuch the only accurate safety spec. They calculated this using my website.
Beam Distance 0.25 Lux: 6856 meters
Probably derived from the above calculation. Also, who cares? This number just indicates the distance at which this laser stops being annoying.
Required Eyewear O.D.: 3.0+
Per Sperian's (a U.S. manufacturer of safety eyewear) recommendations, 381mW is the mark at which OD 3.0 is the bare minimum. At 1W of (theoretical) maximum power, you should have on OD 3.41+ goggles.
Power Consumption: 3.7V @ 1A
I'm pretty sure one of the diodes we use couldn't possibly be outputting ~1W if all it was drawing from an 18650 was 1A. I did not run this test, so I will not make any real conjectures here.
Power supply: Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery Type 18650
Not arguing with that.
Battery Lifetime: 120 mins
This depends entirely on the battery capacity.
Switch: Push Button Constant On / Off, Lock-Out Tail Cap, Electronic Mode switch
Not entirely accurate for either model, but this doesn't really matter.
Mode: Low and High Power modes, Pulsed and Constant Wave modes, Secure Lock/Unlock modes
When a laser is "pulsed," it usually refers to high peak power with pulse widths measuring in the nanoseconds or microseconds. A more accurate term would be "blink."
Duty Cycle: Continuous
Not arguing with that, though I never ran it more than a few minutes.
Expected lifetime: >5,000 hours
Depending on how well the build holds up, the diode itself will last much longer. One of the cheap Chinese circuits inside will die long before the diode ever thinks about giving out at the current these are driven at. I would worry about catastrophic optical damage from reflections rather than the diode dying from degradation from normal usage.
Warranty: One Year
...only useful if you can get it there and back without customs noticing. Functionally irrelevant.
Arrival
It came in a thin plastic envelope. I was immediately apprehensive that it might be damaged.
Inside was the laser box and the other stuff wrapped in a layer of bubble wrap. I was unimpressed.
What's inside?
First, out came the goggles, charger, and the laser itself.
Let it be noted that I received one of the explosion-happy batteries (long after they "switched" battery types).
I just set the stock battery and charger aside. I started opening stuff up; out came the lens pen and the goggles.
The goggles were marked with WL's logo, and looked pretty good.
Unfortunately, though, I received the OD <1.0 goggles.
I liked the case that the goggles came in. I actually use the case for my sunglasses now though. :angel:
The last thing, of course, that was in the box was the laser itself. Unfortunately, due to the packaging, it was crushed on one corner. That's not visible in this picture.
The Box
Upon opening the box, I saw the laser wrapped in plastic, a couple extra labels, a manual of other WL products, and a flyer about legal stuff.
The poster kind of annoys me. It puts heavy emphasis on why not to do this stuff in the framework of keeping lasers legal. It instructs people to do the right thing, just doesn't send the right message between the lines. Next, out came the laser itself.
After removing the plastic, the first thing I noticed was how nice looking it was and how solid it felt.
The Host
It feels great. Whoever made the host itself did an awesome job; the threads on the tailcap are great. The host also seems to suck up and dissipate heat quite well (probably an unintended consequence of all the extra surface area created when making the host look nice). Please note that "The Host" does not include the tips. More on those later.
The Goggles
They do nothing. Fortunately I had another pair that blocked 445. Mine actually measured OD ~0.74. If you choose to use the included goggles made with this light orange polymer, please only use them against dust or sparks or something.
Newer Arctics are shipping with goggles made with the standard red polymer of Chinese laser safety goggles. These are fine.
Output
Mine output 720mW with the stock lens. More on this in the next section.
The Collimating Lens
I feel like this deserves a section to itself. It should be noted that if WL had decided to use a shorter focal length lens, the laser would out out a little under a watt. However, they used a longer focal length lens. This allowed the beam to expand further before being collimated, allowing for a lower overall divergence. However, in doing this, a large amount of output is allowed to hit the side of the module and be wasted. This is why adding a shorter focal length lens like a 405-G-1 will increase output so much - but make divergence so much worse. This explains the Spartan's performance also.
My Gripes
- The Smart Switch - Yes, I had no problem with letting people hold the laser who did not know the combination. However, I could see the combination being a problem for first time users who enter it and then wave it around and possibly look into the aperture wondering why the laser isn't coming on. Please note that this is likely an LED flashlight driver, and was never intended to be a "safety" feature.
- The "Caps" - They were, all in all, rather useful (especially the low power cap - I could take beamshots on low power mode next to <5mW lasers). However, they were obviously not made by whatever company machined the hosts. They are below average, even for Chinese crap. With mine, the threads were all rough. The full power lens was marred and thus added significant splash to my laser's output. The "floodlight" tip was far too small for the host (by several millimeters), and actually wouldn't thread on at all. The optic in the flashlight ('torch?') tip was loose.
- Wicked Lasers - This laser genuinely unnerves me. I never let anyone else use it. The way in which Wicked Lasers marketed it garnered them an audience that knew nothing about lasers and only wanted an interesting gadget. This shows that they don't really care about the legality of lasers or the health of our hobby - they just want to use their sham "safety" flyers as yet another way to look good and get more business. This is why many of us have a very decided distaste for WL.
Overall, I like it. The "caps" could have been better executed, and WL should not repeat their marketing campaign. Ever. They should use something other than a flashlight driver marketed as a "safety feature" to ensure that their lasers are used safely. If they would fire whoever chose that lens and hire someone with knowledge of basic math, they could further improve their products.
That being said, they should keep working with whatever company made the host, and continue producing good-looking hosts. It's a great (on Chinese standards) laser turned into a slightly above-average Chinese laser because of the initial advertisement, manufacture, subsequent marketing, and so-called selling points (like what I mentioned above) being all poorly handled. I would definitely recommend acquiring one, but I'd be wary of throwing money at WL and encouraging their business practices. If they'd clean up their act, they've got a lot of potential.
Overall, I'd give the Arctic a C+.
Pew pew.
-Trevor
Last edited:
