I need a pointer for under 35 shipped

[Luke]

I've done some searching on this thread over the past few days and haven't found an answer to what I want. I just want a laser with a good range for poking around. I was about to buy a WL core, but I don't know of that's what I want. I don't want a cheapo laser, I want a decent, reliable one.
I don't care what color
I want a good range
Must be under 35 shipped and able to get to the US
I would prefer it take AAA batteries, but am ok if it doesn't
I want it to last me. I will just use it for poking around and having fun, I don't think I'll use it a ton but I will use it.
Sorry in advance if I broke any forum rules

 

[Polonium210]

What do you mean about "poking around"?
I hope your not going to use it to annoy people/ shine in windows etc..

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Laserglow Technologies - Handheld Lasers, Alignment Lasers and Lab / OEM Lasers

Optotronics Product Details

Also... shining a laser at people, should they chose to press the issue, is considered assault... poke one at aircraft, and you could be looking at some jail time too...

 

[Luke]

I know that. I didnt plan On shining it at anyone I just meant messing around.
The one you linked to on LaserGlow is a little expensive, shipping kept in mind. The ones I was looking at were the Wicked Laser's CORE and LaserGlow Libra. The shipping from laserglow is a few dollars cheaper, but before I bought one of those I thought I would look around a little more because they are not very powerful at only 5mW.
I also think it would be cool to have a visible beam, but its not much of a selling point
Also, I just spotted this website on the ads on the top of the page
http://www.warnlaser.com/Laser_pointer/5mw-50mw-200mw-green-laser-pointers-tiger-series-gx
That laser seems good to me, would anybody recommend it? I'll probably look up a couple other reviews too.

 

[steve001]

Try Ebay.
Battery operated handheld lasers will be more than 35 $ if more than 5mw

 

[Luke]

What about lazerer.com? It seems well liked and they've got a few in my price range
Most important feature is probably a decent range. (1/2 mile + maybe)

 

[daawood123]

Lazerer is fine, you can get a 150mw green mini pen for about $30-40 (can't remember exact price) , but you must understand it will be highly dangerous and shining it anyones eyes will result in blindness, which is why goggles are a must.

Also, beam visibilty and range are pretty linked, if you have a dull laser how do you expect it to have a high range?

 

[Luke]

Your probably right.
I come from an airsoft forum where I preached to the newbies daily that a good gun did not mean a lot of power or a high feet per second rating. But I guess there are a lot more variables.
I don't want something super strong, I think the 10-30mW range is around what I want. Maybe even a 5mW

 

[daawood123]

Best to get a ebay "5mw" green pointer then, they are very common, and almost always overspec, meaning you will have a 20-50mw for a good price, it should cost you in the region of $8 incl. postage. HTH

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Start off with a true 5mW laser that you KNOW is safe. The optotronics laser I linked to (second link in my post) is $38 shipped.

Have some fun with it, shine it all over, see what is reflective in your house/apartment, and what isn't. See if lasers are actually even interesting to you.

After that, go up in power.

Edit: The great thing about having a true 5mW laser, is that you can act stupid with it, and shine it at random crap around you, because guess what, you do that with a 30mW laser, a 50mW or more powerful, and catch a reflection... you might just be screwed for life. If you have younger, or dumber, brothers, sister, or other relatives, with a 5mW they are not likely to hurt themselves either (not unless they actually STARE into the laser). Personally I have two <5mW green lasers, and often times I carry around one... the batteries last forever, and if a friend wants to see a laser, I can let him play with it, without having to watch over his every move.

 

[Luke]

Infinitus, thats a pretty good point. So currently I am looking at the 4.99mW from optronics, the 5mW from WL, and another 5mW from LaserGlow. Are there any benefits from getting a green one? At such a low power I dont think seeing the beam is going to happen. The red one from LaserGlow is the cheapest at 32.00 shipped...
Which one would you reccomend? I'm leaning towards the LaserGlow one.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Both laserglow and optotronics are of much better quality than WL.

I would recommend sticking to green, not red. The reason being is the human eye is MUCH more sensitive to green light. If you never used a laser before, even 5mW of 532nm (green) will appear quite bright.

With the green, with some smoke, or fog in the air, and light off, you will also see a beam, which is pretty cool

Personally I think the Anser from LG is the best option. If you don't want to spend that much, stick with the 5mW from optotronics.

 

[Luke]

Any coupon codes for optronics? Couldn't find anything on google.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

You can try LPF10

I'm not sure that it works anymore though.

You can also try PMing: Laser Pointer Forums - Discuss Lasers & Laser Pointers - View Profile: bootleg2go

 

[Luke]

LPF110 didn't work.
I am planning on buying the Optronics one, I also am going to buy a cheapo blue one from ebay for like $1.50 I have like 2 bucks left on my paypal, figured I may as well buy it if I want to open it up and try to learn some more about them!

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Have fun. Just understand, the blue one, even if it doesn't look anywhere as bright as the green one (it won't ) is more powerful, so be much more careful with it.

Most super cheap blue lasers, are actually mislabeled 405nm (purple) and tend to be 30mW-80mW, sometimes higher.