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After receiving my 1W laser from Laserbtb/SkyLasers a little more than a week ago, I am finally able to make a review! I will try to be as detailed as I can but please note that I do not own an LPM or any other laser equipment besides laser glasses.
Shipping
I made the order on the LFP-445 1000 via Hong Kong post on the 10th of September and it was shipped out on the 16th.
The tracking number didn't work on any site I used until it arrived in the U.S. on the 29th.
From previous experience, once your product from China arrives in your home country, it only takes around a week or less to arrive.
And so finally, the laser arrives at my door (or, rather shoved in my mail box) on the 6th of October, making a lovely 33 day total wait. I didn't go for DHL Express Shipping (for $35) as I thought Hong Kong post was expensive enough as it was. ($20)
I know it has taken a number of weeks for orders to arrive for many other members, and it seems my order was one of the few that took over a month.
But I am still just happy it made it through the dreaded customs!
Packaging
The box I received was small enough to be shoved in my mail box and had minimal protection. I opened up the grey plastic bag that held a thin, ripped up cardboard box with the black laser case in a white sleeve (along with a few crumpled up Chinese newspaper balls.) The box appeared to be completely cut open across the top with a knife of some sort and had cardboard flaps and pieces sitting around inside the plastic bag that magically held it all together.
Here is the laser and the box put together as best as I could without using tape.
(Did not add plastic bag in picture. Had my personal information and address all over it.)
I was not too happy with how well it was packaged compared to what some other forum member's lasers came in, but it looks as if the black leather case protected the laser well enough.
Though I have to say, the leather case is very stiff and feels high quality itself. I plan on making it a permanent home for my laser due to the good protection.
Customer Service
Honestly, I never actually sent Laserbtb any emails or questions or anything during the shipping process and so I can't say how well their customer service was. No interaction with the company whatsoever.
Laser Features
For those of you who are not too familiar with the LFP or HL lasers, I will go over the basic features.
The LFP laser has 2 safety features including a key switch and a twistable shutter on the front. Located right in front of the key switch lies a translucent power button with an LED light right above it. When the key is turned, the LED light turns red along with the button glowing the same color. (I've always wanted a laser with a glowing button
)
When pressed, the laser activates and the glowing red button turns blue.
(1/4th second exposure)
The button is fairly bright when activated (Light Blue) and overrides the intensity of the beam itself at night. So sometimes I have to keep my thumb on the button as it tends to ruin my night vision.
First press of button = Low power mode
Second press = High power mode
Third press = Pulse Mode (beam flashing on and off)
Fourth press = Off once again. (Glowing red button)
As for the focus wheel, when tightened counter clockwise all the way (laser pointing away from user), the beam is set at infinity. (The opposite for clockwise)
On the back of the laser, I was expecting a safety pin of some sort like I have seen in just about everyone's reviews. But instead, there is a small black button that acts as a power off button to reset the laser. (so you don't have to press the power button 3 times switching modes to turn off the beam).
And here are the dimensions:
Length of host = 7 3/8 inches :: 187mm
Diameter/width = 15/16 inch :: 23mm
Aluminum host thickness = ~2mm
Length of battery compartment = 72mm (not including spring)
Laser
The laser felt very heavy, as expected for a thick aluminum host.
When it arrived, it seemed a lot smaller than I thought. It is small enough to carry around in my pocket. And I am glad it came with a key switch cause that button is easy to press.
The laser is also very well balanced in weight when the batteries are installed.
On the label is a blue and black "Danger" sticker on it. The label claimed its wavelength to be 405-450nm. Also, I have to note that the "Danger" label has no power claim on it at all (mW). And because I have no LPM, I won't be able to tell if its a true 1W laser.
Have to note as well, that after reading a couple reviews on flimsy plastic buttons on HL hosts, I started to get a little hesitant about buying this $135 device.
I made the order anyway and to my surprise, the button feels very nice and has a slightly rounded top. Not flimsy one bit.
The twistable On and Off shutter was rather lose on the other hand. I was expecting something a little more stiff to hold the shutter in On or Off but the shutter will turn itself at times. It will flip to the On and Off positions a lot if you shake it or put it on your pocket.
So I tend to not rely on the shutter for protecting me/others from accidental power button presses while holding it.
Next, after not being able to find any 16340 batteries by big trusted companies like Sony, I ended up picking up a couple Nitecore 3.7v RCR123A protected batteries off EBay along with an i2 charger to go with it. They barely fit in the host (spring coil at the bottom almost flattened) but at least it prevents any rattling inside.
Both batteries go in positive end facing away from the emitter.
I have not tested how long the battery will last but I might do so in small timed increments if there are enough people wanting to know the exact battery life. So far I have only had to recharge it once every 3 days or so. (around 5-10 minutes total usage a day).
While talking about the batteries and laser, I might as well add in the glasses I bought. I ordered 2 LSG02 glasses from Dragon Lasers for $20 each after doing some research and trying to find the cheapest protection that would still save my seeing balls.
I ordered them on September 9th and they arrived on the 25th.
The funny part is, I finally received my tracking number THE DAY AFTER the glasses arrived. And then USPS kept sending me emails saying that there was no one home to receive the package and thus let me know the package was waiting for me at the facility. I never went cause I already had it
They come with a fancy zipper case, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and detachable straps and ear supports. I prefer using the stretchy adjustable straps as they keep the glasses nice and snug on my face :yh:
The glasses feel like they are made from cheaper end plastic but they seem to do their job well, blocking out the terribly bright blue dot. They are fairly comfortable and not a pain to wear at all. And the dot from my laser appears to be dim yellow through the red shades, though I cannot do any tests to prove how reliable they are due to limited equipment :undecided:
Back on topic,
after firing up the laser in my garage, I measured the beam diameter ~5 inches from the aperture and ended up with a 5mm wide dot.
When shined at the wall exactly 10 feet away from the laser, the dot comes to be 8mm wide when looking through laser glasses.
I don't know if this is above or below the norm for blue lasers from Laserbtb, but this seems to have pretty bad divergence.
I can't tell how big the dot is when pointing at fences/trees from a distance but I wouldn't dare point it right in front of me so I guess the bad divergence doesn't matter all that much.
(1/4th second exposure)
I have noticed that the laser excels at focusing into a microscopic little point. I have no idea why I would need a magnifying glass to get the dot any smaller that it can be. When I am focusing to burn things, I can get the dot to be smaller than half a mm enabling me to burn a hole through a black CD case in 1-3 seconds.
The beam is very bright even when there is some day light out. And the dot is clearly visible on sunny days at long distances. It is bright enough, in fact, that I don't have to use a long 4-8 second exposure to capture the beam even when using my compact Fujifilm Point-and-Shoot camera.
(1/4th second exposure)
I have noticed one defect with the diode positioning recently. When looking down the host, I found the laser emits the beam at a slight angle being rather crooked.
It is not that big of a deal but it does tend to annoy me with the fact that it doesn't emit the beam perfectly straight.
When it comes to the duty cycle, the sticker on the host proposes 5-10 minutes on and one minute off. (many suggest it may not be accurate)
I have been going by short bursts of laser on along with short cool down times just to be safe. (10-60 seconds on and 10-30 seconds off).
So far, it only gets slightly warm and hardly heats up at all. It makes me wonder if the heat sink doesn't have very good contact with the diode and thus not heating up the outside host very much.
But it could just be a very nice heat sink as well.
All in all, the laser seems to be of decent quality and is very fun to use!
I hope this review has helped and please let me know of any details I could add or might be missing!
Update: 10 months from receiving this laser and it still runs strong. Though, recently I have only been using it to baffle friends who have never seen a powerful laser before.
Shipping
I made the order on the LFP-445 1000 via Hong Kong post on the 10th of September and it was shipped out on the 16th.
The tracking number didn't work on any site I used until it arrived in the U.S. on the 29th.
From previous experience, once your product from China arrives in your home country, it only takes around a week or less to arrive.
And so finally, the laser arrives at my door (or, rather shoved in my mail box) on the 6th of October, making a lovely 33 day total wait. I didn't go for DHL Express Shipping (for $35) as I thought Hong Kong post was expensive enough as it was. ($20)
I know it has taken a number of weeks for orders to arrive for many other members, and it seems my order was one of the few that took over a month.
But I am still just happy it made it through the dreaded customs!
Packaging
The box I received was small enough to be shoved in my mail box and had minimal protection. I opened up the grey plastic bag that held a thin, ripped up cardboard box with the black laser case in a white sleeve (along with a few crumpled up Chinese newspaper balls.) The box appeared to be completely cut open across the top with a knife of some sort and had cardboard flaps and pieces sitting around inside the plastic bag that magically held it all together.
Here is the laser and the box put together as best as I could without using tape.
(Did not add plastic bag in picture. Had my personal information and address all over it.)
I was not too happy with how well it was packaged compared to what some other forum member's lasers came in, but it looks as if the black leather case protected the laser well enough.
Though I have to say, the leather case is very stiff and feels high quality itself. I plan on making it a permanent home for my laser due to the good protection.
Customer Service
Honestly, I never actually sent Laserbtb any emails or questions or anything during the shipping process and so I can't say how well their customer service was. No interaction with the company whatsoever.
Laser Features
For those of you who are not too familiar with the LFP or HL lasers, I will go over the basic features.
The LFP laser has 2 safety features including a key switch and a twistable shutter on the front. Located right in front of the key switch lies a translucent power button with an LED light right above it. When the key is turned, the LED light turns red along with the button glowing the same color. (I've always wanted a laser with a glowing button
)When pressed, the laser activates and the glowing red button turns blue.
(1/4th second exposure)
The button is fairly bright when activated (Light Blue) and overrides the intensity of the beam itself at night. So sometimes I have to keep my thumb on the button as it tends to ruin my night vision.
First press of button = Low power mode
Second press = High power mode
Third press = Pulse Mode (beam flashing on and off)
Fourth press = Off once again. (Glowing red button)
As for the focus wheel, when tightened counter clockwise all the way (laser pointing away from user), the beam is set at infinity. (The opposite for clockwise)
On the back of the laser, I was expecting a safety pin of some sort like I have seen in just about everyone's reviews. But instead, there is a small black button that acts as a power off button to reset the laser. (so you don't have to press the power button 3 times switching modes to turn off the beam).
And here are the dimensions:
Length of host = 7 3/8 inches :: 187mm
Diameter/width = 15/16 inch :: 23mm
Aluminum host thickness = ~2mm
Length of battery compartment = 72mm (not including spring)
Laser
The laser felt very heavy, as expected for a thick aluminum host.
When it arrived, it seemed a lot smaller than I thought. It is small enough to carry around in my pocket. And I am glad it came with a key switch cause that button is easy to press.
The laser is also very well balanced in weight when the batteries are installed.
On the label is a blue and black "Danger" sticker on it. The label claimed its wavelength to be 405-450nm. Also, I have to note that the "Danger" label has no power claim on it at all (mW). And because I have no LPM, I won't be able to tell if its a true 1W laser.
Have to note as well, that after reading a couple reviews on flimsy plastic buttons on HL hosts, I started to get a little hesitant about buying this $135 device.
I made the order anyway and to my surprise, the button feels very nice and has a slightly rounded top. Not flimsy one bit.
The twistable On and Off shutter was rather lose on the other hand. I was expecting something a little more stiff to hold the shutter in On or Off but the shutter will turn itself at times. It will flip to the On and Off positions a lot if you shake it or put it on your pocket.
So I tend to not rely on the shutter for protecting me/others from accidental power button presses while holding it.
Next, after not being able to find any 16340 batteries by big trusted companies like Sony, I ended up picking up a couple Nitecore 3.7v RCR123A protected batteries off EBay along with an i2 charger to go with it. They barely fit in the host (spring coil at the bottom almost flattened) but at least it prevents any rattling inside.
Both batteries go in positive end facing away from the emitter.
I have not tested how long the battery will last but I might do so in small timed increments if there are enough people wanting to know the exact battery life. So far I have only had to recharge it once every 3 days or so. (around 5-10 minutes total usage a day).
While talking about the batteries and laser, I might as well add in the glasses I bought. I ordered 2 LSG02 glasses from Dragon Lasers for $20 each after doing some research and trying to find the cheapest protection that would still save my seeing balls.
I ordered them on September 9th and they arrived on the 25th.
The funny part is, I finally received my tracking number THE DAY AFTER the glasses arrived. And then USPS kept sending me emails saying that there was no one home to receive the package and thus let me know the package was waiting for me at the facility. I never went cause I already had it
They come with a fancy zipper case, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and detachable straps and ear supports. I prefer using the stretchy adjustable straps as they keep the glasses nice and snug on my face :yh:
The glasses feel like they are made from cheaper end plastic but they seem to do their job well, blocking out the terribly bright blue dot. They are fairly comfortable and not a pain to wear at all. And the dot from my laser appears to be dim yellow through the red shades, though I cannot do any tests to prove how reliable they are due to limited equipment :undecided:
Back on topic,
after firing up the laser in my garage, I measured the beam diameter ~5 inches from the aperture and ended up with a 5mm wide dot.
When shined at the wall exactly 10 feet away from the laser, the dot comes to be 8mm wide when looking through laser glasses.
I don't know if this is above or below the norm for blue lasers from Laserbtb, but this seems to have pretty bad divergence.
I can't tell how big the dot is when pointing at fences/trees from a distance but I wouldn't dare point it right in front of me so I guess the bad divergence doesn't matter all that much.
(1/4th second exposure)
I have noticed that the laser excels at focusing into a microscopic little point. I have no idea why I would need a magnifying glass to get the dot any smaller that it can be. When I am focusing to burn things, I can get the dot to be smaller than half a mm enabling me to burn a hole through a black CD case in 1-3 seconds.
The beam is very bright even when there is some day light out. And the dot is clearly visible on sunny days at long distances. It is bright enough, in fact, that I don't have to use a long 4-8 second exposure to capture the beam even when using my compact Fujifilm Point-and-Shoot camera.
(1/4th second exposure)
I have noticed one defect with the diode positioning recently. When looking down the host, I found the laser emits the beam at a slight angle being rather crooked.
It is not that big of a deal but it does tend to annoy me with the fact that it doesn't emit the beam perfectly straight.
When it comes to the duty cycle, the sticker on the host proposes 5-10 minutes on and one minute off. (many suggest it may not be accurate)
I have been going by short bursts of laser on along with short cool down times just to be safe. (10-60 seconds on and 10-30 seconds off).
So far, it only gets slightly warm and hardly heats up at all. It makes me wonder if the heat sink doesn't have very good contact with the diode and thus not heating up the outside host very much.
But it could just be a very nice heat sink as well.
All in all, the laser seems to be of decent quality and is very fun to use!
I hope this review has helped and please let me know of any details I could add or might be missing!
Update: 10 months from receiving this laser and it still runs strong. Though, recently I have only been using it to baffle friends who have never seen a powerful laser before.
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