Looking into purchasing a 1W+ blue laser

So, I will admit that I was lured in by Wicked Lasers Arctic Spyder III lasers, which, design-wise, look all nice and cool and nice and such, but after reading through the forums here a bit I have come to recognize the reputation for having under-powered, over-priced lasers, plus you gotta wait up to several months to get what you order; I really hate waiting. So, I have come here for advice as to which lasers are reputably the best for 1W+. I would like to know how other lasers would specifically compare to the standard Wicked Lasers Spyder 3, as a reference point. Burn power is mostly what I am after, visibility being second priority but still somewhat important. I have seen that Jetlasers is supposedly reliable, and I am currently researching warnlaser, but I would really like to hear from some people who have experience with these lasers.

BTW I am new to the community, but I am experienced with lower-powered lasers (up to about 150mw) and have done plenty of research to prepare myself for the required safety precautions.

Hey, so let me help you out with that....

You can't go wrong with jetlaser. I haven't seen one bad thing about them. Best customer service of any company ever (not just lasers). You should also check out the sellers around here. Blord and thejoker301 both offer quality builds at a good price.

I obviously have a WL as stated by my signature, and I'll be the first to tell you it is a great laser no doubt! Only problem is it is clearly outmatched by Jetlasers. In fact I'm thinking about selling my Arctic to buy a 4.5W FOCUSABLE 445nm from JL. For about the same price as a 2W WL. Please don't waste your money on WL, as you will soon find out that although a great quality and amusing laser, it isn't the most bang for your buck. I highly recommend Jetlasers, even if you're looking for lower wattage like 1W. It'll easily be half the price of WL and you'll receive it sooner, have better accessories, MANY MANY incredible features and modes. The only thing I wish the JL had was the comfort in knowing that nobody can just pick it up and turn it on like my WL has. It has a safety code on the power button, JL DOES NOT! So don't let your friends pick it up lol.

I regret buying the WL after discovering that it was easily the most overpriced laser on the market. I would also recommend Rick Trent on mostpowerfullasers.com, but he has very different hosts and his website is unavailable at the moment. I'm waiting to see what he has changed or updated because he has very reliable lasers as well at very affordable prices.

Anyways, if you want a 1W or even 2W PL-E Pro from JL, it will have many amazing features and be half the price of WL. Quite literally. I checked, it's only $279 for 2W. WL has a 2W for $600. You will regret buying WL, trust me.

I was very similar to you're situation, only the WL was my first laser. But preparing yourself is very easy for high power lasers, just treat it like a gun that could fire at any moment and you'll be ok. And also, JL has nearly an identical host to WL, and I REEEEALLLY like the silver color you can get whereas WL is only black. That's about it, if you have any questions you can contact me

So Jetlaser seems to be the best bang for the buck I am assuming. I am curious about what kind of batteries it uses though. It says they take lithium batteries, but are they just like standard rechargeable batteries or are they special in any way? Not sure I want to shell out 20 bucks or so for 2 batteries I could get for much cheaper. The safety glasses also seem to add an additional $40+ to the cost and was wondering if there would be a better place to come across a pair of glasses for much cheaper.

Just trying to reduce cost to afford the 2W Pl-E Pro series one if at all possible.

revnedjw said:

So Jetlaser seems to be the best bang for the buck I am assuming. I am curious about what kind of batteries it uses though. It says they take lithium batteries, but are they just like standard rechargeable batteries or are they special in any way? Not sure I want to shell out 20 bucks or so for 2 batteries I could get for much cheaper. The safety glasses also seem to add an additional $40+ to the cost and was wondering if there would be a better place to come across a pair of glasses for much cheaper.

Just trying to reduce cost to afford the 2W Pl-E Pro series one if at all possible.

Click to expand...

They run on many types of batts, when you buy one it comes with an extension if you want to use larger batteries like 18650's ( I am ). They list on their site the kinds you can use "The PL-E Pro series 445nm Blue laser takes 2X16340 or RCR123A(3.6V) by default. With extension, it can also run on two 26650/18650 lithium batts, one of which needs to be in button top, so as to keep two batts in good contact."

I bought 2 Tenergy 18650's 2600mAh on amazon.com for use with my WL Arctic for about $8 usd. As for keeping the costs down, you can buy safety goggles from Eagle Pair, usually about $20usd and are pretty much considered the best you can buy. You could also, if you were willing to sacrifice the awesome features of the PL-E pro, get the equality series. Same power output, but lacks some of the cooler things. Still internally focusable though, which will drastically increase your burning capabilities.

Talk to Gray at Jetlasers and he can and WILL answer your questions. Really great guy.

Thanks a ton!

No problem! I'm actually looking to sell my Arctic to get more than half the money I need for the 4.5W focusable PL-E Pro because its SO much better!

Munk said:

As for keeping the costs down, you can buy safety goggles from Eagle Pair, usually about $20usd and are pretty much considered the best you can buy.

Click to expand...

Where did you find eagle pair glasses for $20? You might find that on ebay, but the cheapest I've seen is survivallaserusa.com, and they have them from $40 and up.

This is not an area to save money on.

I would also invest in good batts. AW IMR, and the newer Panasonic are the best because they have low internal resistance and high current drain. I've seen with my own eyes how type of batt can effect laser output. Crap batts can make a 1W laser output <800mW.

It's always better to get good quality stuff right away, than to regret not doing so later.

I did just buy a couple pairs of glasses through ebay, they seemed to be reputable, but fairly cheap as well. I figured, just to get started with something, but I did do the research into the right pairs to get and I am looking into the eagle pair glasses as well for more "stylish"-looking pairs. I'm just going to go with the batteries from jetlasers.

Just placed my order. Anyone know how long it takes them to ship into the US?

easily the most overpriced laser on the market

Click to expand...

you think the arctic is bad (it is, but crown for most overpriced goes to...):

Laserglow Technologies

Hey op, why not just build one yourself for under $150?