I haven't read much on here and what I did read was sort of middle-of-the-road in terms of other brands. Obviously Nova seems to get all the good reviews around here, but their prices were just a bit too rich for my blood.
Now I've never owned a green laser before so you'll have to take my words with a grain of salt, I'm not as experienced as everyone else on here obviously.
First of all, their shipping, service, communication was all very good. I received the laser within a week from purchasing, and I'm located in Canada. They were even kind enough to ship it as a $30 toy to get past the brokerage and duty fees and border waits which can, sometimes, add an extra 50% to the price of something.
The package arrived packaged well.
The package includes a "waterproof" (Although, I wouldnt want to risk that -- although 100% water resistant I'd say) cigar conatiner. It has a foam packaging inside. Although the packing seems very nice and very durable, the simple fact that it started life as a cigar holder means that the inside foam packaging isnt specifically made for the laser. As a result it can sometimes be a bit difficult to get the laser and its contents inside. For me, personally, this is only a small issue, and not one I'd ever base any sort of decision making on, but some of you might, so I felt it necesary to list it.
The laser comes with 2 small keys for a safety tail-cap. The operation of this safety key tail-cap seems very quality and not flimsy at all. It comes with a shutter for a safety as well as the small wire jack used to complete the circuit. This laser looks and seems to come with everything exactly the same as the Nova alpha series. The laser tube and everything seems 100% the same.
The button clicks on solidly with a 3 second delay. The button does not stay on so you have to manually hold it. I'm not a big fan of this feature personally but it obviously is safer.
As for power outputs, etc...
I don't have anything to measure power outputs. All I can say is that the beam is bright enough to be 'visible' (although barely) during daylight, and look like a light saber at night through the sky. I can visibly see the dot on some lower lying clouds, and far away on radio towers of more than 2kms away quite easily. At night this laser is a lot of fun. I haven't tried burning much with this laser because I don't have a pair of goggles yet and its quite difficult to look at something to burn it, the dot is far too bright. I have however lit matches, burned through some darker paper, burned marks on my black leather wallet, etc. Overall I am quite happy with this laser.
The question you may have to ask as a more experienced reader is, would I be happier with a Nova or something similar? I can't tell you as this is the only high-powered green laser I have purchased. But it hasn't left anythign to be desired, so as my first laser it has fit the bill quite nicely.
I should note that I also purchased this laser when Lucent was having its price break. At the current prices, I may have spent the extra cash for the Nova, simply based on customer reviews that I've read in here. However, at the price of $250, nothing else really came close.
Final say: I would recommend this laser to other beginners for sure. If you have owned other lasers and are more experienced with power outputs, etc, then this laser might not be the one for you.
I would love to see a review from someone more experienced who has put this laser through its paces and has done power testing, etc. If anyone has a link, please post it.
Now I've never owned a green laser before so you'll have to take my words with a grain of salt, I'm not as experienced as everyone else on here obviously.
First of all, their shipping, service, communication was all very good. I received the laser within a week from purchasing, and I'm located in Canada. They were even kind enough to ship it as a $30 toy to get past the brokerage and duty fees and border waits which can, sometimes, add an extra 50% to the price of something.
The package arrived packaged well.
The package includes a "waterproof" (Although, I wouldnt want to risk that -- although 100% water resistant I'd say) cigar conatiner. It has a foam packaging inside. Although the packing seems very nice and very durable, the simple fact that it started life as a cigar holder means that the inside foam packaging isnt specifically made for the laser. As a result it can sometimes be a bit difficult to get the laser and its contents inside. For me, personally, this is only a small issue, and not one I'd ever base any sort of decision making on, but some of you might, so I felt it necesary to list it.
The laser comes with 2 small keys for a safety tail-cap. The operation of this safety key tail-cap seems very quality and not flimsy at all. It comes with a shutter for a safety as well as the small wire jack used to complete the circuit. This laser looks and seems to come with everything exactly the same as the Nova alpha series. The laser tube and everything seems 100% the same.
The button clicks on solidly with a 3 second delay. The button does not stay on so you have to manually hold it. I'm not a big fan of this feature personally but it obviously is safer.
As for power outputs, etc...
I don't have anything to measure power outputs. All I can say is that the beam is bright enough to be 'visible' (although barely) during daylight, and look like a light saber at night through the sky. I can visibly see the dot on some lower lying clouds, and far away on radio towers of more than 2kms away quite easily. At night this laser is a lot of fun. I haven't tried burning much with this laser because I don't have a pair of goggles yet and its quite difficult to look at something to burn it, the dot is far too bright. I have however lit matches, burned through some darker paper, burned marks on my black leather wallet, etc. Overall I am quite happy with this laser.
The question you may have to ask as a more experienced reader is, would I be happier with a Nova or something similar? I can't tell you as this is the only high-powered green laser I have purchased. But it hasn't left anythign to be desired, so as my first laser it has fit the bill quite nicely.
I should note that I also purchased this laser when Lucent was having its price break. At the current prices, I may have spent the extra cash for the Nova, simply based on customer reviews that I've read in here. However, at the price of $250, nothing else really came close.
Final say: I would recommend this laser to other beginners for sure. If you have owned other lasers and are more experienced with power outputs, etc, then this laser might not be the one for you.
I would love to see a review from someone more experienced who has put this laser through its paces and has done power testing, etc. If anyone has a link, please post it.
