New to LASERs

[PCRYJ]

Hi, I recently discovered the "world" of lasers.  Since I'm a beginner, I am thinking about getting a fairly powerful laser. - 15mW? So could someone who has experience with many different brands of lasers please recommend a green laser that is able to pop a balloon at the least, and is under $150.  I've heard some things about certain brands, like WickedLasers being disreputable, and Nova being good.  Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!  

 

[Amnizu]

15mW is not very powerful. It would be under $150, but it wouldn't pop any balloon or light any match.

As for recommendations, check out http://www.novalasers.com and http://www.laserglow.com and http://www.optotronics.com as they are widely thought of as the best retailers to buy from. I would personally buy a Nova X-series pen-style laser if you're looking for a good cheap laser.

Unfortunately, it's very, very likely that if you want a balloon-popping, match-lighting, plastic-burning laser, you'll have to shell out more than $150.

If you could get $280, you could get yourself a 125mW X-series, which would do everything you want to do with it, like burning things and popping things.

To give you an idea of what you'll get at each power level, reference this chart:

 

[PCRYJ]

I think I would be satisfied, for now, with a 50mW laser pointer. The Nova X-series looks good!
- By the way, thanks for the help!

 

[Amnizu]

Once you've seen what 50 can do, you'll be after 150, 250, and shortly after, 350. It's an unfortunate side effect of this hobby. I'm happy to help out.