So I posted a placeholder topic a long time ago, and while it was holding the place for the review, a bunch of jerks decided to fill it with stupid drama and whiny shit, so I made this here new one.
The Dragonlasers Spartan is different from virtually all other high-powered lasers on the market for a few reasons:
- No safety features
- Small, slim body
- Click on/off tailcap
- Easily removable lens cover that doubles as a protective lens ( See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bToakIj78qo for how the lens cover/protective lens thing works)
That being said, it does bear a striking resemblence to Wickedlasers' Spyder II:
This unit is rated at >300mW, meaning that at all times it will output a minimum of 300mW. Thus far, this has been my experience. The unit is very stable and when I had it tested at a local university, it did very well, peaking at 380mW and averaging about 350. This is with batteries charged that morning, though, I'd expect a slight drop in performance with used batteries. The unit uses LI-ION 18650 batteries, like the Optotronics RPL series.
I have to say, I love this laser. It's very small and fits easily into your pocket, be it your jeans or your jacket you're putting it in. Compared to my friend's Aries-175, it's tiny. Here's a picture to give you an idea of the scale:
Pictured is my WL Fusion, a pen I had nearby, the Spartan and a shitty little 5mW red from the dollar store.
Now, for the fun stuff:
Some of these videos are a little bit shitty, its somewhat hard to tell what's going on in a few due to my camera not being very good.
Match lighting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3yIvOskQ-g
Burning paper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcnIgMAKhTA
Lighting a firecracker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBJIkHRRQn8
Burning through a plastic bag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6npufEmwy8
Melting holes in a jewel case I had lying around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQvh5A5xwwY
For beamshots at night, during the day and otherwise, consult my Photobucket:
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/amnizu/Lasers/Spartan GW 300/?start=all
So far, the unit has modeshifted a little bit, but only when I take it outside. Indoors at room temperature, I haven't had any problems with modeshifting at all. It's sensitive to cold, but seems to like warmth. In fact, in the paper burning video you can see towards the end that I'm moving the laser along the paper more quickly than at the beginning, because as it warms up it gets more powerful. It seems to have an optimum operating temperature that it will warm up to over a period of a minute or so.
All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase, and despite the reputation Dragonlasers has, I feel they sell a quality product and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.
The Dragonlasers Spartan is different from virtually all other high-powered lasers on the market for a few reasons:
- No safety features
- Small, slim body
- Click on/off tailcap
- Easily removable lens cover that doubles as a protective lens ( See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bToakIj78qo for how the lens cover/protective lens thing works)
That being said, it does bear a striking resemblence to Wickedlasers' Spyder II:
This unit is rated at >300mW, meaning that at all times it will output a minimum of 300mW. Thus far, this has been my experience. The unit is very stable and when I had it tested at a local university, it did very well, peaking at 380mW and averaging about 350. This is with batteries charged that morning, though, I'd expect a slight drop in performance with used batteries. The unit uses LI-ION 18650 batteries, like the Optotronics RPL series.
I have to say, I love this laser. It's very small and fits easily into your pocket, be it your jeans or your jacket you're putting it in. Compared to my friend's Aries-175, it's tiny. Here's a picture to give you an idea of the scale:
Pictured is my WL Fusion, a pen I had nearby, the Spartan and a shitty little 5mW red from the dollar store.
Now, for the fun stuff:
Some of these videos are a little bit shitty, its somewhat hard to tell what's going on in a few due to my camera not being very good.
Match lighting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3yIvOskQ-g
Burning paper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcnIgMAKhTA
Lighting a firecracker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBJIkHRRQn8
Burning through a plastic bag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6npufEmwy8
Melting holes in a jewel case I had lying around: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQvh5A5xwwY
For beamshots at night, during the day and otherwise, consult my Photobucket:
http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f138/amnizu/Lasers/Spartan GW 300/?start=all
So far, the unit has modeshifted a little bit, but only when I take it outside. Indoors at room temperature, I haven't had any problems with modeshifting at all. It's sensitive to cold, but seems to like warmth. In fact, in the paper burning video you can see towards the end that I'm moving the laser along the paper more quickly than at the beginning, because as it warms up it gets more powerful. It seems to have an optimum operating temperature that it will warm up to over a period of a minute or so.
All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase, and despite the reputation Dragonlasers has, I feel they sell a quality product and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.