465nm 3.5W Pl-E Pro 3.5 stars

[Frozenferrari]

Hello laser folks!
Quick video or text review of the JetLasers PLE-Pro 3.5W 465nm laser, and comparison to another 3W laser I own, which I previously doubted the spec of, but now I find it more legit. (link at bottom for that review)

Overall personal rating: 3.5/5. WOULD recommend this laser to the experienced laser user who has money to spend.

Review:
SHIPPING: This laser took about 8 days to show up on my doorstep from the time I placed the order. It was shipped via FedEx for the standard $38 that everyone knows about already. It came well padded, tightly packed in a cardboard box, and wrapped in anti static bags. Seems pretty safe from product damages in shipment.

CASE: This laser does not come with a carrying case, and will only fit in it's supplied cardboard box when disassembled. A case can be bought from JetLasers for extra cost.

UNIT: This unit is of rugged design and construction, quite heavy, and VERY large. It's comparable to the largest MagLite's Ive seen. Its almost like a laser baton. It begins to get warm after about a minute of use, and has a reccomended duty cycle of 120s on / 30s off. The focusing mechanism is marked, which is nice, but far too easy to spin and can bump out of focus by just setting the laser down on something. The primary continuous on button is nice feeling, but the momentary on button has a somewhat cheap feeling click, and is quite loose in the host - it wont fall out, but it wiggles freely. Another thing to note is the third LED in the indication lights seems to be 50% outside of its intended position. Considering JL are praised for providing the highest quality hosts on the market, the little details of this host fell a little short of expectations. I personally find this unit far heavier and bulkier than it needs to be for what power is available compared to other hosts on the market. This is not a very portable laser in assembled form.

BATTERY: The laser can be ran on all three of the commonly used battery types, and came with two sleeve adaptors for using batteries smaller than the recommended 26650 size. The really nice thing, though, is that it can be hooked up to A/C power provided one has the correct travel-adaptor plug. It shipped to me with a Euro plug style and could not be used without a quick trip to target. Rural living consumers beware. Furthermore, using the laser with the A/C adaptor does not change the short duty cycle AND circumvents the safety key lock mechanism on the tailcap.

PERFORMANCE: The 465nm wavelength is very pretty, and this unit produces a nice solid beam for quite some distance. However divergence is quite bad without the use of the beam expander, which was an additional $99 that I chose not to spend. At approximately 100ft the "dot" is actually a line about 1 foot in length and half an inch thick, which is a bit let down for a $290 shipped unit. The Sage 3W has nowhere near the level of divergence that the PLE-Pro does, so I know its not just "a blue laser thing". Burn characteristics are as follows:

- it WILL burn through neat white paper in about 1 second, and set the paper on fire within 2-3 seconds.
- it WILL cut electrical tape in about 2-3 seconds and one stroke across
- it WILL set a brown mcdonalds bag on fire in about 1 second.
- it DOES produce a nice solid beam of 465, which is beautiful! Not very visible in daylit rooms and barely/not outside, but highly visible in dim or dark.
- it WILL produce a much more defined beam in dark light, and similar beam to the 3W 445 Sage laser (link for that below).

CONCLUSION: This is a really nice unit, but for the price and power level is far too expensive unless you make bank, and far too large compared to other hosts on the market offering similar power.

See my other review of the "Sage 3W" laser I would recommend instead for new hobbyists interested in owning a solid beam or burning laser. https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/bestlaserpointers-com-3w-review-5stars.104221/

 

[paul1598419]

Yes, a 465nm laser will look much brighter than a 445nm laser of equal power. They should both burn about the same, though. You will never know exactly what power each is giving you until you can measure their output powers with a calibrated laser power meter.

I personally prefer to build my own lasers as I can control the heat sinking on them and, thus, the run time. For the money, I can build a laser that is more powerful and has a longer duty cycle, as well.

 

[cistercian]

I got one on sale for 199. I did not get the adapter, I use 26650 cells. Mine meters over 3.8 watts
Via laserbee. The fast axis/slow axis characteristics make long range use ugly...it makes a line.
The beam expander helps but the 520 nm 1 watt 520nm green PLE-Pro does much better.

I use my 465nm PLE-Pro for burning...which it excels at. Build quality on mine is flawless.
I have 2 of the 520nm green ones and your laser is just like one of those...floppy button. I did
not talk to Gray when I ordered that one either. The 2 I bought when I talked to Gray came overspec
and perfect. My perfect 520 nm does 1240mw+. The other one is 998mw.
Gray warned me on the 465nm it probably would not reach 3.5 watts, that it would be less.
The one I got is 3.8+ which was a very pleasant surprise! The beam characteristics are limited
by the diode...big blues are ugly in that regard.

I rate my 2 perfect ones as 5 out of 5 and the lesser (but still sweet) 520 as a 4. I like the heatsinking
the giant host provides! My 2 perfect ones both have clicky tail caps as well, as I requested.

Thank you for the review! I think you did a great job!

 

[Frozenferrari]

For what its worth I was able to create a somewhat more collimated line with this laser after getting used to that focus knob. It seems to have a bit of travel play before the meachnism imparts the lateral motion on the lens to change the focus.
Sometimes you can twist it about 1/16 revolution and nothing will happen, and then beyond that the focus starts to change. I can slightly wiggle that focus ring back and forth, and the focus will not actually change. Sometimes, but not always the case.
I would knock this aspect for quality as well, but since it helped me achieve a better line with some practice, I think its a null point to change my initial review anymore. Im also being hypercritical at that point, im a perfectionist is all.

 

[_xXx_MLG_PiNgU_69420_xXx_]

The Sage 3W has nowhere near the level of divergence that the PLE-Pro does, so I know its not just "a blue laser thing".

Sorry for the necropost, but actually it is. A 3W 445nm diode (NDB7875) has about half the divergence of a 3-4W 465nm diode (NUBM08). This is just how the diode works, not the fault of JetLasers at all.