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Green Laser Pointer from Wicked Lasers - Evolution Pro Series
I got my Evo a few days ago, and have been testing it thouroughly. Here is my unbiased review
Note:
This is not the place to question the decision to let me review a laser, or to bash my reviewing methods unnecessarily. If this happens, you are a removed.
The Package
I received the package, delivered by UPS. I paid £17.89 in tax, which is extortionate considering that the value on the customs form was $30, which is £18.44, so I paid over %100 in taxes. This is irrelevant, as I would have paid a lot more than that for a lasers like this.
The laser came in the standard Wicked Lasers black box filled with pink foamy things. The box was slightly damaged, but the foamy bits absorbed the impact, so the actual laser case was not damaged. Buried in the foamy stuff was a nice solid cardboard case, with a magnetic latch on it. Inside the box, was a laser, a power sticker (<140mW) and the power output graph that it came with.
The Laser:
Build quality
The other high quality laser that I have owned was a DL95. The Evolution feels more like a Romisen L-030 than a DL95. It feels solid in the hand, and the batteries don’t rattle around at all. I would be confident that this would survive a drop from a few feet, something that killed my DL95. I’m not a huge fan of the button though – it is too easy to press, and doesn’t make the satisfying click sound of other lasers. The threads are also not that smooth, and could be improved for the final version of the laser.
The laser is quite long, but the perfect width for my smallish hands. The AA battery form is not common, but it combines relative compactness with power – the batteries can put out a lot more current that AAA batteries for a lot longer
Looks
You cannot deny it. You can hate wicked for whatever (mostly) crapy reason you have, but you cannot deny that they make some smexy lasers. The Evolution Pro is no exception. You can see for yourself.
The Green Goodness
Put simply, This laser is a beast. When I received it, the dot was perfect – there was no modehopping, and the divergence was very small. I will test this later when my goggles arrive ( expect a review.) The beam diameter is ridiculously small, and normally when handheld lasers have a small beam diameter, the divergeance suffers. With this laser, it is not the case, as both seem to be good. Again, measures of this will come when my goggles arrive.
The graph gives an average of 149mW, and a peak of 158mW. The test is taken over 30s, and at the end of the test, the laser is extremely stable. When tested with my laserbee, the laser went straight up to 168mW and stayed there for 4 minutes with energizer lithium batteries. The laser burns batches up in an instant, and can smoke black paper as well.
I accidently put the laser in my pocket the wrong was this morning, and the dot is now a little dirty, but I have ordered a lenspen that should sort it out.
The FDA features
The selling point of the new PRO series is the FDA compliancy. Here I must say that I cannot guarantee that the lasers are compliant – I can only run on what I’ve been told by Steve at wicked, although rival companies seem eager to disprove this (wonder why!)
The plug doesn’t get in the way at all, and is quite useful – when I stow the laser away in the box, I take the plug out so the laser isn’t turned on accidently. (I accidently my laser) This wouldn’t be necessary if the button was more difficult to depress, but it solves a problem.
The LED indicator isn’t really necessary, as you notice the big laser beam before the indicator – in fact it took me a day to notice the indicator at all!
The Price
I won’t go on here, as many people have different opinions on price, most of which seem sensible, but I shall leave you with this – the only other FDA approved laser I have seen for sale is the LAserglow Aries.The 125mW version is $589 + shipping. The 130mW Wicked lasers Evolution is likely to be $547, according to the site
Conclusion
This is a well made laser, with a higher build quality than my Dragon lasers 95, and the condensed FDA features make it a very tempting prospect. I’m in the UK (hell yeah) so the FDA stuff doesn’t matter to me, but I’m sure that some of you will like these features
PROS
Looks smexy
FDA features
Beam diameter
Divergeance
AA battery form
Stable output
CONS
Rough threading
Button too easy to press
Long (but it is a worthy sacrificefor the AA batteries, so not really a huge con)
Stay tuned for my next reviews – some goggles and hopefully a Spyder
Rob
Pics to be added later
If there is anything special you want to ask, or for me to take a picture of (Don't even try Niko) just ask
I got my Evo a few days ago, and have been testing it thouroughly. Here is my unbiased review
Note:
This is not the place to question the decision to let me review a laser, or to bash my reviewing methods unnecessarily. If this happens, you are a removed.
The Package
I received the package, delivered by UPS. I paid £17.89 in tax, which is extortionate considering that the value on the customs form was $30, which is £18.44, so I paid over %100 in taxes. This is irrelevant, as I would have paid a lot more than that for a lasers like this.
The laser came in the standard Wicked Lasers black box filled with pink foamy things. The box was slightly damaged, but the foamy bits absorbed the impact, so the actual laser case was not damaged. Buried in the foamy stuff was a nice solid cardboard case, with a magnetic latch on it. Inside the box, was a laser, a power sticker (<140mW) and the power output graph that it came with.
The Laser:
Build quality
The other high quality laser that I have owned was a DL95. The Evolution feels more like a Romisen L-030 than a DL95. It feels solid in the hand, and the batteries don’t rattle around at all. I would be confident that this would survive a drop from a few feet, something that killed my DL95. I’m not a huge fan of the button though – it is too easy to press, and doesn’t make the satisfying click sound of other lasers. The threads are also not that smooth, and could be improved for the final version of the laser.
The laser is quite long, but the perfect width for my smallish hands. The AA battery form is not common, but it combines relative compactness with power – the batteries can put out a lot more current that AAA batteries for a lot longer
Looks
You cannot deny it. You can hate wicked for whatever (mostly) crapy reason you have, but you cannot deny that they make some smexy lasers. The Evolution Pro is no exception. You can see for yourself.
The Green Goodness
Put simply, This laser is a beast. When I received it, the dot was perfect – there was no modehopping, and the divergence was very small. I will test this later when my goggles arrive ( expect a review.) The beam diameter is ridiculously small, and normally when handheld lasers have a small beam diameter, the divergeance suffers. With this laser, it is not the case, as both seem to be good. Again, measures of this will come when my goggles arrive.
The graph gives an average of 149mW, and a peak of 158mW. The test is taken over 30s, and at the end of the test, the laser is extremely stable. When tested with my laserbee, the laser went straight up to 168mW and stayed there for 4 minutes with energizer lithium batteries. The laser burns batches up in an instant, and can smoke black paper as well.
I accidently put the laser in my pocket the wrong was this morning, and the dot is now a little dirty, but I have ordered a lenspen that should sort it out.
The FDA features
The selling point of the new PRO series is the FDA compliancy. Here I must say that I cannot guarantee that the lasers are compliant – I can only run on what I’ve been told by Steve at wicked, although rival companies seem eager to disprove this (wonder why!)
The plug doesn’t get in the way at all, and is quite useful – when I stow the laser away in the box, I take the plug out so the laser isn’t turned on accidently. (I accidently my laser) This wouldn’t be necessary if the button was more difficult to depress, but it solves a problem.
The LED indicator isn’t really necessary, as you notice the big laser beam before the indicator – in fact it took me a day to notice the indicator at all!
The Price
I won’t go on here, as many people have different opinions on price, most of which seem sensible, but I shall leave you with this – the only other FDA approved laser I have seen for sale is the LAserglow Aries.The 125mW version is $589 + shipping. The 130mW Wicked lasers Evolution is likely to be $547, according to the site
Conclusion
This is a well made laser, with a higher build quality than my Dragon lasers 95, and the condensed FDA features make it a very tempting prospect. I’m in the UK (hell yeah) so the FDA stuff doesn’t matter to me, but I’m sure that some of you will like these features
PROS
Looks smexy
FDA features
Beam diameter
Divergeance
AA battery form
Stable output
CONS
Rough threading
Button too easy to press
Long (but it is a worthy sacrificefor the AA batteries, so not really a huge con)
Stay tuned for my next reviews – some goggles and hopefully a Spyder
Rob
Pics to be added later
If there is anything special you want to ask, or for me to take a picture of (Don't even try Niko) just ask
