Dragon Laser (CNI) Viper 95mW Demonstration and Review

[connorD]

Hey guys,

I know DL V95mW reviews are out there but I just wanted to make my own because it's my first high quality laser and I just love this thing.


Video Demonstration Link ---> My Dragon Laser Viper 95mW 532nm Video Demonstration <--- Video Demonstration Link

Pros:

Great balanced burner and very bright, it hurts to look at ( I had a staring contest with it and it doesn't hurt to look at anymore. jk )

It's capable of cutting through electrical tape, popping balloons, lighting matches, burning through red party cups, burning skin, and melting your cornea and/or retina. Very easy and very fast burning.

The beams visibility is good in a dimly lit room, and fantastic at night. The beams divergence is also very tight and good.

Standard CNI laser housing (Gold / Black) with a great tail cap and clip. Also it has a heavy weight to it making it feel like it's built well.

The rubber button is also very nice. Another thing I like is you have to use a medium pressure to press down the momentary switch. It's not too easily pressed down, but it's not too hard either. ( please don't place 5000kg on the momentary switch )

The cost was $217.99 plus $6.47 as an "International Transaction Fee" (god bless Bank Of America for extra charges) so a grand total of $224.46. ( I have seen CNI group buys on the forum and I realized I could of got it cheaper but oh well) Overall the cost is reasonable.

Battery life is great. I use Duracell Rechargeable 1000mAh and they last forever. They are 1.2V though instead of most 1.5V alkaline / lithium AAA batteries but... I don't notice and decrease in power visually with the dot, beam, or burning abilities.

Cons:

USPS and their crap tracking system <--- :banghead: ( thats all I have to say about that ) Took about 15 days to be delivered.

The white CNI box it comes in isn't the best for carrying. ( So I bought a WL Dragon Case and that works great! )

Overall:

I'm very pleased with my DL (CNI) Viper 95mW 532nm laser! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. It appears to be over-spec but I don't have a LPM to confirm this unfortunately. The companies customer service was also very good.

Please use Safety glasses with this laser!

Have Safe and Fun Lasering!
connorD

 

[kevinmassey]

It didn't come with a piece of paper that had a power graph on it? Awesome laser btw must have pretty good divergence.

 

[connorD]

It didn't come with a piece of paper that had a power graph on it? Awesome laser btw must have pretty good divergence.

Thanks! And no it didn't come with a paper power graph unfortunately I really wish I had a LPM to test it.

 

[Mik]

If you really want to find out the output, many people with LPM's will run your lasers for you. By the video I would also agree that it is likely over spec, and or has a very narrow beam as mentioned above. It's pretty quick on the balloon. Glad you got something nice.

 

[connorD]

Alright cool thanks Mik. Yeah I'm glad I got a good laser. After I ordered it I found the forums and read a lot about how DL isn't always up to spec and people usually recommend NovaLasers X-105, it freaked me out a little lol. I also noticed that most of thoes reviews for this laser are from like 2-4 years ago so I figured DL has changed since then. Apparently they have.

 

[kevinmassey]

Where did you read about DL being underspec alot? From what I've read they've always been a high end company selling CNI products.

 

[connorD]

Where did you read about DL being underspec alot? From what I've read they've always been a high end company selling CNI products.

Your right Kevinmassey, underspec is probably the wrong word to use. I read post like this and assumed the worst. http://laserpointerforums.com/f41/dragonlasers-defamation-dragonlasers-26148.html It's not really underspec but this test shows that it his laser doesn't hold a consistent output and thats what worried me.
That thread is also for a 125mW Viper, but when I first read it I just though the same thing would apply for my laser as well. But then again that thread is from 2007. Sorry about the confusion, when I was researching I just typed stuff like Dragonlasers in the search bar.

 

[oikos]

how much was it?

 

[brando132]

Dragon lasers are very nice, I love the quality of CNI.

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

I bought a DL95 about 3 years ago. $300+ back then :-(
I have carried it every day in my shirt pocket and I've dropped it on pavement once. The paint is wearing off down to the brass.
I have more powerful toys now but the DL95 always works. I just tested it with used cells and it's running between 100 and 108 mW. I do have to blow lint out of the front occasionally!

HMike

 

[brando132]

how much was it?

The cost was $217.99 plus $6.47 as an "International Transaction Fee" (god bless Bank Of America for extra charges) so a grand total of $224.46.

5char

 

[kevinmassey]

300$ for a laser that lasts over 3 years sounds totally worth it to me. That just proves that you get what you pay for. Do you use it pretty much everyday?

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

I use it to scare birds and I did the baloon trick yesterday for someone -- HoHum.
It always works.

HMike

 

[kingdave2357]

Where did you read about DL being underspec alot? From what I've read they've always been a high end company selling CNI products.

DL is the best, always top notch 'cherry picked' overspec lasers. Check my sig, 125mW rated viper almost a 200mW peak, and a few times when the temp was just right, that baby went up to around 214mW
They even have an account with LPF!

 

[electron]

You've got a really nice Laser there, Con Grats! You did a nice job on the video, it popped those 8 balloons very fast, probably putting out more than the rated 95mw's and a nice tight beam.

Thanks for sharing

 

[polo]

Hi there, I'm planning on getting the DL95 and was wondering whether the dot has scattered light around it, I'm a bit of a noob and want to upgrade from a DX 100mw (so called) and that has huge scatters of light around the dot and terrible focus the beam is 2 inches across at about 50 ft. Does the DL95 stay focused well with a nice clean dot?