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JetLasers PL-E Pro 1.6W 445nm Full Review with Pictures & Video

FuzzyPancake

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Mar 4, 2020
Messages
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18
This is the first high powered laser I’ve ever owned or had any personal experience with, so understand that this is not a comparative review. This is my experience with the product and JetLasers as a seller. I have zero affiliations with JetLasers. I chose to buy from them because of the high praise the LPF veterans give them. My expectations were high as I was led to believe JetLasers is among the very best places to buy a reasonably priced enthusiast handheld laser.

Price

I paid $150 USD for the laser itself, $35 for “a pair” of goggles from the laser’s product page (more on that later), and $38 for shipping.

Shipping Time

My order was placed February 14th, 2020 and it arrived March 11th, 2020. At the time, COVID-19 kept the company from functioning fully due to mandatory quarantines, so my shipping time was not typical and I do not hold the delays against them whatsoever. Once the order had shipped and I was subsequently given a tracking number, and it took just 3 days for the laser to arrive from China on my doorstep in rural Ohio via Fedex. The goggles I ordered with it were shipped separately 2-3 days after the laser arrived, and the goggles arrived at my house a total of 6 days after the laser. Note that I was fully expecting the goggles to arrive with the laser and only after emailing customer service thinking they forgot them was I informed that they would arrive separately.

As far as all the customs seizing bullshit you occasionally hear about... I dealt with none of that whatsoever .

Customer Service

I exchanged many emails with the company’s excellent customer service rep, Mr. Gray. While it is apparent to me that English is not his first language, he was courteous, knowledgeable and replied quickly - within hours usually.

What’s in the Box

All the laser components were superbly wrapped and secured. If I chucked that box out of a second story window on concrete I’d trust everything in it to be fine.

All Box Contents:

  • The laser itself (business end and dual battery extensions were wrapped separately)
  • Short lanyard with key ring that oddly could not be attached to the laser’s lens cap
  • Microfiber cloth
  • Two small magnets for placement between batteries with flat tops (I need them)
  • 18650 compatibility sleeves (also handy if you choose to use 18650’s instead of 26650’s like me)
  • Quality Assurance Card

Again, the goggles were shipped separately. They arrived in a little box with bubble wrap inside of another nice little padded glasses case wrapped in cellophane with a microfiber cloth. Despite Mr. Gray having said via email that I would be receiving “OD3” goggles, what I actually read on the goggles themselves was “OD5+” which I was pleasantly surprised by. They make the dot look harmless even on a white wall and I have zero concerns about my eye’s safety while wearing them. If I took a direct hit to the eyes with these goggles on I’m certain my eyes would be alright.

Craftsmanship

The (steel?) host is a work of art. The machining and finish are top notch. What you see in the pictures is what you get. All the threads for all the components (lens cap, tail cap, battery extensions) operate smoothly. Maybe they could have incorporated some rubber grommets in the design to make the final turns feel tighter and reduce risk of damaging the threads from overturning, but I’m getting into nit-picks here.

The rubberized tail power activation switch is tactile and stiff - an A+. The metal momentary on/off and toggle buttons are... utilitarian. They can spin around in their housings and can wiggle around just a little when you rub your finger over them. The momentary switch audibly and visibly slides out when the laser is tilted upside down, but of course does not fall out or anything. It's somewhat jarring in comparison to the rest of the device’s rigidness. The underlying switches beneath these buttons fortunately are superb and provide a satisfying, audible, and very tactile click when pressed and depressed. To reiterate, the switches under the buttons function well and feel good to press but the button “covers” aren’t great.

The rotating focus mechanism is, as others have said, a little too easy to rotate. I once heard another guy say in his video review for the PL-E Pro that he could probably “blow it” out of focus which is absolutely NOT true (for mine anyway), but it could certainly do with having a bit more resistance. It’s a very functional focusing mechanism that allows for the tiniest of adjustments an I doubt I’ll ever have issues with it being easy to rotate. I think it goes without saying, but it does allow you to focus the beam to the tiniest little slit - perfect for burning.

Using the included 18650 battery sleeves (with 18650’s inserted), there is a little of what I call “battery wobbling” inside the device you can feel and barely hear hear if you shake it, but it is only noticeable if you shake the device and nobody should be shaking this thing under normal use.

The plastic goggles do their job well as I said. They are made with a quality plastic that has a nice amount of flex that should keep them from snapping from minor mishandling. I am fortunately able to wear my wayfarer seeing glasses in front of the goggles due to how very close the goggles are to my face. It’s not exactly comfortable, but not a hassle either.

Performance

The power graph below provided by Mr. Gray per my request shows the laser’s output graphed in mW over seconds. Looks like it’s about 1650mw, so it’s a little over-spec which is welcome and consistent with what I’ve read around here. Beam divergence is… well I don’t have anything to compare it to and I don’t really care enough to measure it, frankly. The laser doesn't output a culminated circular beam but rather a solid rectangular beam. I understand this is totally normal for direct diode lasers. There isn’t a distracting amount of beam “splash”. From what I’ve seen around the web and in comparison to my two <5mW lasers, my device has an exceptionally clean "dot", I assume due to clean and high quality optics.

Mr. Gray informed me via email that the laser’s duty cycle is 3 minutes on and 1 minute off. I was hoping for something like 10 minutes on and 1 minute off given all the space this thing has for a heat sink. I'm not impressed in this regard. The 3W 445nm Sanwu Challenger II at less than half the weight and nearly double the output has an unlimited duty cycle (granted it does cost $90 more right now).

lpm-graph.png

Form Factor

While it should not come as a surprise to any purchaser as it's expressed on the store page, this thing is beyond long (relative to most other hosts from other sellers) at 14.5 inches and very wide at 1.5 inches. I find the device’s incredible mass to be endearing, but some may find it excessive.

Final Thoughts

The JetLasers PL-E Pro 1.6W 445nm is a high quality handheld laser with a lot of functionality for a very reasonable price.

JetLasers as a seller has proven that they sell what they advertise, and that their customer service knows how to take care of buyers. For anybody like me that gets anxious about buying from Chinese companies, rest assured these guys are legit.

Have questions?

I'll gladly answer any questions I can about the device or my experience with JetLasers as a seller. I don't mind if this post is years old by the time you ask.

Video

A quick demonstration of the laser on a foggy morning. Please forgive my horrendous camera. I upped the exposure because the original video was pretty dark. As a result the beam does appear brighter than it was in reality, but it was still very visible.

Pictures

laser vs tape 33.jpg

This was taken later in the morning than the video and was not edited in any way beyond lowering the resolution.
IMG_20200325_071927 25.jpg

goggles 33.jpg
 
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Snecho

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Awesome review! I really do enjoy reading a writeup of one the best known companies here.

I sure do hope the button covers being loose is more apparent on your particular unit as that's something that would drive me absolutely nuts let me tell you :p
 

BowtieGuy

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Very nice review and pics, Fuzzypancake! :)

Glad to see that you're satisfied with your new J/L purchase; now you can see firsthand why so many people like their Jetlasers products; their quality is top notch, and their service the best in the business IMO.

If you have any issues that you think aren't quite right, contact J/L and I'm sure they will take care of you; you can't beat Gray and the J/L service team.

You may want to check out Survival laser for some high quality safety goggles/glasses, they have some of the best affordable high quality goggles around; they also give a discount to LPF members; the discount code is LPF445 for a 10% discount.
 
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Snecho

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You may want to check out Survival laser for some high quality safety goggles/glasses, they have some of the best affordable high quality goggles around; they also give a discount to LPF members.
That's some solid advice, however the goggles FP pictured already are SL's EaglePair It seems.
 

BowtieGuy

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You're right, they do look like SL glasses/case. I just assumed that he was speaking of the glasses that he mentioned buying from J/L's site in his "PRICE" description; maybe J/L is using SL glasses, that would be nice, but the $35 price seems too low to be SL's.
 

Snecho

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2019
Messages
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You're right, they do look like SL glasses/case. I just assumed that he was speaking of the glasses that he mentioned buying from J/L's site in his "PRICE" description; maybe J/L is using SL glasses, that would be nice, but the $35 price seems too low to be SL's.
I think the pictured glasses are the ones he's talking about in the "Price" section. I paid $40 for mine. $35 seems realistic as if I recall, SL doesn't manufacture EaglePair, only resells. So it could be J/L buys them in bulk to offer with their lasers. Good idea IMO.
 

FuzzyPancake

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2020
Messages
48
Points
18
I sure do hope the button covers being loose is more apparent on your particular unit as that's something that would drive me absolutely nuts let me tell you :p
From what I've seen in the few other other video reviews out there, this is to be expected. It's really not an issue though. It's just that I am used to tight and rigid button covers on smartphones, e-cigarettes, and other electronics.
You're right, they do look like SL glasses/case. I just assumed that he was speaking of the glasses that he mentioned buying from J/L's site in his "PRICE" description; maybe J/L is using SL glasses, that would be nice, but the $35 price seems too low to be SL's.
To further clarify - the goggles/cloth/case pictured are what I received from JL from selecting the "a pair" option in the laser's add-on options. They may happen to be the Eagles that SurvivalLaser also sells. I wouldn't know.
 
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Thank you, Andy, for the excellent review and pics.

I was happy to hear you had no shipping problems and it was, considering the current issues, typically fast. 72 hours is the common average,, BUT we do get them quickly, in part' due to the time difference--- so sending back to JL is always a day longer, and what day the lasers were posted can make a difference of a day or two, same with the long China Holidays.
JL does not really shut down during these but the shippers do. Two factors were considered when Gray made his choice.

The most important is NOT speed of delivery, instead, the most important is the safe and untouched items. I have never seen a package (out of 15+ boxes) that looked like it was opened and inspected and ,of course, never seized. When the item was shipped on the first day or two of the week there is less delay. Weekends often cause a slight delay.
While the eye protection is good quality for the price you can buy the same ones from a few LPF USA sellers for less. Because of the increased possibility of damage the laser is sent by itself. I do not suggest getting batteries with any laser that is imported. (crosses borders)
You sure do not want some Customs agent turn on the laser when inspecting. And I doubt they even know that there IS a duty/rest cycle needed.

BTW I am sure that the cycle suggested by Gray was an intentional error on the safe side. And so it is less duty and more rest that you really need. No need to chance damage due to overheat. The ambient temp is a factor-- like in the winter the laser cools down faster and does not get as hot as it would in a warn environment.

ABOUT overspec.
JLs are always overspec because JL would like to to always be overspec or spec even after years of use.

In 10 GBs I have handled (more than 130 JLs) and all were overspec. IIRC the most overspec I metered (by %) was a PL-C 532 250mW-- 'arynthna' was the lucky member to get the highest overspec with a metering of 440mW.

That PL-C was the most popular JL Laser -- one 13 pc. order was 9 532/250 units. ( I assigned them by random and only metered & inspected them after that.) My personal PL-C 532/250 was slightly below 310mW.
I knew the PL-Es were longer, but until I saw one 'in person' I did know really know how huge they are. Hardly an EDC laser. I thought about Croc Dundee's knife when he showed it to a 'mugger' with a much smaller knife...."you call that a knife??? THIS is a knife !''
'You call that a LASER??? THIS is a LASER'

With the BE attached the whole thing is about the length of our forearms. The camo caso JL offers is too short unless you remove the BE.
About Gray's English-- it is better than mine! and I have a degree in journalism!!
Gary's major in college was English not Lasers.
I think that was a consideration in JL's hiring of Li (his 'real first' name) He soon became a real laser expert...

His kindness over-whelms me. He has personally helped many members who where experiencing bad problems-- like a flood that carried a member entire house's contents away.

He was especially kind to our now passed and beloved LPF staff member Rob Banas ( pheonix ) AFAIK most vets here will agree that when a free laser is sent for review (w/ no return asked or expected) it should never be sold under most situations.. Gray invited Rob to feel free to sell the many lasers he was sent for 'review' Rob and his wife were very ill and had bills and a mortgage to cover. Don't think Rob kept any or many. Lots of members chipped in $$ to help LPF, but Gray was, 'by far' the most kind.

And Rob was kind to sell them way below list price. Vets here will tell you that Rob was a 'army of one' when it came to donations to help LPF. He was a huge help to LPF and 'COld'.

Rob is missed but never forgotten--RIP Rob.

Only a very few lasers are ever returned to China. AND when that must happen I offer to add anything to the next box going back to JL for about $8 --so that is a savings of $30.
All the CONUS GBuyers get their lasers sent to me and I re-ship them at actual cost PLUS the USPS forms that one must fill out are a big 'PITA'. How the forms are filled out can have a big effect on the shipping-- like the value $ description of the item sent. I declare them as 'LED Lights for repair' and a value of $12 or so.
I do not insure them as the low value declared would make little sense with $250+ of insurance. Gray asks that items going back to China are sent by USPS and China Mail/EMS. (not FedX or DHL)
Group Buy #11 may happen in the next month or two. I need buyers for 10 or more lasers &/or BEs. I send our $$ via bank transfer (more forms that are no fun , an error once cost me $40 (--it had to be sent twice )--

Once the $$ clears JLs Bank Gray ships them quickly. He sends me the tracking #s and I send that to each buyer by PM or email (NEVER put your tracking info in the open forum-(that can be a bad idea)
The next BG will be mostly Mini PL-Es-- atm not sure about the discount--it MAY be like the $15 off coupon offered last year plus the savings for shipping... we each pay a share of the China to Texas ship cost plus the cost to reship. I ALWAYS include a few 'extras' when I reship.


I get 18650s 'almost' free and you may need them someday even if they do not fit your JL Lasers from the GB. That is why my favs are lasers that use one or two 18650s. The Camo case has two pockets that hold 4pcs 18650s--so ......with two in the laser you have two sets for back-up. And if the laser uses only one 18650 you have 4 for back-up.

ATM JL does not offer a 473nm Mini PL-E-- they made only a few and these had some issues.
You can order anything JL sells but the best deal will be on the Mini PL-E.

Go to jetlasers.org to see what JL offers.


PM me if you have questions--thanks to all but especially to Andy.

hak/Len
 
Joined
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Very good review for your first laser. Glad you got the Eagle goggles. Now, it's time to look at what you want to get next. ;)
 




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