Advice about buying

I know you guys probably get asked this a lot, but there are so many different lasers out there that people claim are "rated this", "will set this on fire", "carve your name on the moon"... and you get it and it does nothing it said it would.

I am basically wanting a green laser that will pop balloons and light matches, possibly get smoke when you hold it on something? I have watched multiple videos and read multiple things about what mW you need to do different things and everyone seems to have a different opinion.

This site says "Usually 5-30mW is used for pointing around, 31-75mW is used for beam pointing, and 95+mW for burning" yet this guy Green Lasers: What Can Certain mW Do? - YouTube says 35mW can burn through thin plastic and 50mW can pop a balloon.... I have 2 rated at 50mW and neither can do anything that will burn or pop anything, or make anything warm at all..

I basically want somewhere i can buy one from that is relatively cheap but also known to be reliable. If i buy a 100mW, i want a 100mW, not another 50mW.

Hi welcome first of we need the location so that we can assertain, what you can get in your country, second the forum isn't real keen on ppl piping in and asking for help straight away ,without posting a welcome thread I'm such and such and i like this and that tell us a bit about yourself and and then ppl will be more inclined to help read the rules section and it will tell you how we do things around here and give you safety tips moSt important and the basics on lasers and what you need to know ,before going out and looking for a high power lasers which are very dangerous if you don't treat them with respect especially your eyes ...

If you want a green laser that can light matches get a laser in the 55-95 range. If you want the best thread on this topic here it is (its why i joined the forums) A Guide to Buying Your First Green Laser I hope this helps. It is also important to remember that if you wan't a laser that burns and will be stable/legal/quality/etc. You need to sheel out some cash. If i were to put a price range on a burning greenie like you want i'd look in the range of 100-200 USD. The lower the price the more likely it is a scam or a crappy laser that emits tons of infrared light. I have seen countless videos on youtube of people unboxing "<100mW Green laser pointers" that have little experience but to me they look more like a 3 or 5 mW laser. DON'T CUT CORNERS or you'll get burned instead of burning

Ok thanks for the advice, im in the UK by the way, 25 year old male so don't worry about me being a kid looking to mess around, the main reason i want one is for photography.

I have looked through a lot of those sites on that guide and there's just so many it got a bit overwhelming, i want one that will "definitely" give me what i pay for.

I hope this helped. I can't emphasize enough just don't skimp.

Sigh welcome post ....and do your profile country don't just tell us ...

You always get what you pay for
$5 = random anywhere "5mw" green ranging from 1-20mW GREEN the rest is IfraRed.

Anyways expect to pay roughly $1.00-1.50 PER mW for 532 (not including the quality of the host). There is no magic involved a real 100mW is not going to be $20 or $30... Just browse here for the reputable sellers. Know you Country's import/sell/trade laws. And remember to get goggles for eye balls, you can ruin your vision forever in less than a second.... etc... etc...

Another one of 'these' threads. Sigh.

Everyone here is right, generally speaking you get what you pay for, with the exception of a select few laser retailers out there that charge top dollar and ship crap.

If your sole intention is to burn things and destroy property, why not just buy a lighter like your standard vandal? Laser pointers are definitely not toys.

Steady 6 month bump there, nice... Wondered what the hell this was in my email...