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- Oct 18, 2013
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My next review is of a laser from the somewhat controversial Wicked Lasers. I didn't purchase this laser from Wicked Lasers, instead I got it second hand from the Buy/Sell subforum.
**This laser was NOT purchased from Wicked Lasers and as such my review omits the purchasing experience**
Maker: Wicked Lasers
Model: Fusion 532 nm
So this is one of my more odd lasers. I've never been a particular fan of Wicked Lasers, and I've never directly ordered from them and I feel that its unlikely I ever will. I don't dislike them, I just think theres better out there for less.
Anyways though, I bought this laser from the user DJNY who I believe sold off all his lasers. He sold this to me for a mere 15$ owing mainly to the fact that the beam had a large amount of divergence and splash. However I found that simply cleaning the lens aperture with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol completely eliminated the lens splash and revealed the divergence wasn't as bad as I had thought.
The laser is solidly built. Its a pen style host but has a reassuring heft to it. As far as I'm aware Wicked Lasers has generally good build quality. The body is made of brass with a hard black coating (I'm unsure of the material, probably plastic). When I got the laser the endcap and endcap threads were highly corroded and prevented the laser from operating, however some steel wool and silvo metal polish removed the corrosion and allowed for good electrical contact. The body has a larger diameter than the AAA batteries it takes, but has a plastic sleeve inside to prevent the batteries from rattling around inside.
The beam with the optics cleaned is clear, with no splash at all. This laser uses the DPSS process for producing 532 nm light, and the dot is almost perfectly round. As noted above, the divergence is rather poor on this laser, which is odd for a DPSS. I'm uncertain if this model has poor divergence in general, if this particular laser is defective, or if the optics were somehow changed during its life. I should also note that this laser DOES include an IR filter in its optics, which is an important addition with any DPSS as it prevents stray IR from leaking out of the laser.
I believe this laser was advertised as being in the 125 mW range, but only measures as 80 mW on my meter. This could be due to issues with the optics as mentioned above.
For its long term durability, I cannot fully comment as this laser is second hand and arrived to me in a fairly rough state. As stated earlier, the laser is made of brass with a black coating. The black coating seems to be some sort of plastic and isn't particularly durable. Even in storage, it has acquired more chips and scratches and I imagine if this laser lives long enough it will eventually be left as bare brass.
The power button and ends are especially susceptible to damage.
Laser functionality: 4/5
Laser Build Quality: 5/5
Laser durability: 3/5
Beam Quality: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Overall its a decent laser, but its lack of durability, poor divergence, and rather high upfront cost (I believe this laser went for somewhere in the 200$ range when it was released) means I probably wouldn't recommend this laser if it was still in production.
**This laser was NOT purchased from Wicked Lasers and as such my review omits the purchasing experience**
Maker: Wicked Lasers
Model: Fusion 532 nm
So this is one of my more odd lasers. I've never been a particular fan of Wicked Lasers, and I've never directly ordered from them and I feel that its unlikely I ever will. I don't dislike them, I just think theres better out there for less.
Anyways though, I bought this laser from the user DJNY who I believe sold off all his lasers. He sold this to me for a mere 15$ owing mainly to the fact that the beam had a large amount of divergence and splash. However I found that simply cleaning the lens aperture with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol completely eliminated the lens splash and revealed the divergence wasn't as bad as I had thought.
The laser is solidly built. Its a pen style host but has a reassuring heft to it. As far as I'm aware Wicked Lasers has generally good build quality. The body is made of brass with a hard black coating (I'm unsure of the material, probably plastic). When I got the laser the endcap and endcap threads were highly corroded and prevented the laser from operating, however some steel wool and silvo metal polish removed the corrosion and allowed for good electrical contact. The body has a larger diameter than the AAA batteries it takes, but has a plastic sleeve inside to prevent the batteries from rattling around inside.
The beam with the optics cleaned is clear, with no splash at all. This laser uses the DPSS process for producing 532 nm light, and the dot is almost perfectly round. As noted above, the divergence is rather poor on this laser, which is odd for a DPSS. I'm uncertain if this model has poor divergence in general, if this particular laser is defective, or if the optics were somehow changed during its life. I should also note that this laser DOES include an IR filter in its optics, which is an important addition with any DPSS as it prevents stray IR from leaking out of the laser.
I believe this laser was advertised as being in the 125 mW range, but only measures as 80 mW on my meter. This could be due to issues with the optics as mentioned above.
For its long term durability, I cannot fully comment as this laser is second hand and arrived to me in a fairly rough state. As stated earlier, the laser is made of brass with a black coating. The black coating seems to be some sort of plastic and isn't particularly durable. Even in storage, it has acquired more chips and scratches and I imagine if this laser lives long enough it will eventually be left as bare brass.
The power button and ends are especially susceptible to damage.
Laser functionality: 4/5
Laser Build Quality: 5/5
Laser durability: 3/5
Beam Quality: 3/5
Value: 3/5
Overall its a decent laser, but its lack of durability, poor divergence, and rather high upfront cost (I believe this laser went for somewhere in the 200$ range when it was released) means I probably wouldn't recommend this laser if it was still in production.
