Lazerer LZSK 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Review

EDIT (2/8/2013): Max did eventually replace the battery tailcap to this piece (as is typical it came the very last day before I would have to escalate the claim on paypal). I can see this time he made a point to send me one with smooth threads as this one is not even in the same realm as the original. This happened about 1.5 weeks ago.

Anyways I finally got around to soldering it together last night (I've been busy lately). The reborn laser works pretty well. It's definitely 109mW as Max rated it as its pretty hard to notice the difference between it and my 131mW optotronics pen. The adjustable focus on the LZSK host is actually an excellent feature considering the price range of this laser.

Ultimately it's a good laser. Probably most of lazerer's products will arrive just fine with no issues but I think it's something worth taking into consideration when you buy this laser that you might get a dud. Ultimately the nearly tripled price tag on the optotronics of the same power is basically just for peace of mind and quality customer service (at least for those of us in the USA).

Spoiler Alert: At the moment this review is strongly negative in the most ludicrous of ways.

I placed an order on December 27th for the LAZERER LZSK - Stick 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer. Ordered with the $20 expedited EMS shipping.

Payment was made on December 28th.

LAZERER claims to have shipped on Jan 4th. For some reason Hong Kong Post says Jan 5th? I get the feeling Hong Kong Post screwed up here.

Hong Kong Post Tracking says laser left chine Jan 6th.

Laser arrives in the US and at my door on Jan 8th.

AND NOW FOR THE REVIEW:

Form said it tested at 109 mW with 11mW of IR on the LaserBee 2.5W USB Laser Power Meter. So according to Max, over spec -- great!

Charged up my Li-ion 18650 that I ordered and fired up the laser. Laser was very bright and the beam diameter seemed really thin -- cool.

Filled up a balloon and popped it with the laser, so regardless of what the piece of paper says it's got at least 50 mW of power behind it. All seems well.

Since the laser doesn't have a key safety lock, I decided after fooling around with it that I would remove the battery. After removing the battery I went to screw on the battery cap back to the laser. At this point the battery cap became indefinitely stuck on the laser.

Deep breath.

I'm a 23 year old guy. I'm pretty damn strong. This thing is not budging. I have tried using pliers and even tried heating the outer section of the battery cap and then turning in an attempt to get the outer portion to expand. Probably the best way to remove this thing now would be a good grinder or a band saw.

I dont think I've ever had any machined metal product break in such a poorly manufactured manner ever before in my life like this one has?

I've heard Max is usually a pleasure to work with when it comes to problems like this so I'm leaving myself open to changing this review to positive if Max replaces the laser in a reasonable amount of time. I've sent an e-mail to him and I'll keep this thread updated.

Until then, I'm f***ing pissed off.

-Keith

Been there. Bang it on something like a wood surface, and spin the laser 10 degrees before every hit. Only hit the tailcap on the surface, and only hard enough to jiggle it free a bit

Liked the 10 degrees idea... gave it a whirl, but it didn't work.

thx anyways though.

Sounds like you cross-threaded the tail-cap. My tail-cap on mine is so freakin smooth. Sucks man, hope you get it sorted out.

Just bought a 120mW pen from Optotronics in the meantime... I've lost a significant amount of trust towards low-cost Chinese manufacturers of lasers through this experience.

This time it should be coming from Colorado. If this laser has any issues then I think my foray into lasers will be just about over.

You got one of these right?

http://laserpointerforums.com/f52/lazerer-stick-50mw-tiny-100mw-review-73483.html

The silver band in the middle, covers another spot where two pieces are threaded together. You should be able to unscrew it, applying some force.

Just be VERY careful because it's basically over the driver... you won't want to end up accidently moving the driver and breaking the connecting solder points.

After that, Max can probably just send you a replacement piece. He is good when it comes to support, but you will have to be very patient.

Threading on cheap lasers tends to be very hit and miss. It's a good idea with lasers, and flashlights to clean the threads, and apply a bit of lubricant to avoid this.

You should be quite happy with the Opto laser.

The Opto should be here friday or saturday.. gotta love that domestic shipping speed.

I think Max is going to send me a new tail piece and I'll give my best attempt to solder a connection (now I have to go pick up a soldering iron since I don't keep one in my apartment in the city, but at least they're pretty cheap). I've already applied WD-40 to the threads on the adjustable focus to be safe. That will be my new policy going forward; WD-40.

If I do get it working again then I'll stop bothering Max and give an honest update to the review, though frankly, the experience has made me a bit hesitant to work with him in the future.

What will be nice is to compare this "109 mW" laser to the +120mW laser I'll be getting soon from Optotronics. Going to avoid making speculation here, but I'm looking forward to it.

I will say that I do enjoy the heft and feel to Max's laser. Would be nice to have it working again.

To be fair, there is also a bit of a price difference between the opto and the lazerer...

I don't understand what connection you need to solder though. Did you get the tailcap off, and is it broken?

If you broke off the driver from the module... that's basically the end of it.

Obviously there's a price difference, and I won't be comparing the quality of the finished product. Just the intensity of the beam at night. And yes, the opto is supposed to be 20mW or so more powerful by advertised power so I will take that into account of course.

As per the soldering, he wants me to resolder the connection between the battery casings negative lead and the wire coming of the driver.

The solder between the negative lead on the driver and the wire leading out is still intact, and the driver and diode are still together to my knowledge (you can't even open that part up without ripping out the driver).

Huh. Well, good luck to you... Hope you can get it working.

The beam diameter on the sticks I reviewed was about 1.5mm... it's likely the opto will have much nicer beam specs, and a thinner beam, which will make it appear even brighter.