One of my big Christmas presents this year was one of Nova's X-series 25mW lasers.
Shipping
The laser was packaged very nicely. it came in a solid cardboard box, which was stuffed with bubble wrap. Then inside the bubble wrap was another paper box, in which was the aluminum case. Believe it or not, my lasers average output was listed as 32mW, with a peak of 41mW. So far, so good.
Shipping = 4/5, the shipping could have been faster. And cheaper.
Build
The pen seems to be fairly well built. The one thing I don't like about it is that the black can easily be scratched off. It has survived 2 falls onto a wood floor from waist height ( accidental) and has yet to show any decrease in performance. On the positive side, it is as thin as can be, fits well in your hand and has nicely distributed weight.
Build = 4.5/5, wish it had a focus ring.
Beam and Dot
The beam is extremely visible at night time, but any photos I have taken really do not do it justice. During the day, I can occasionally see the beam indoors, especially in the garage where its nice and dusty :
The dot is almost painful to look at from too close, which is why I built myself some home-made laser goggles. I will soon be posting pics of those in the Safety and Legal section. I have noticed no mode-hopping, or any other problems with my dot or beam.
Beam and Dot = 5/5, considering this is a "25mW" laser.
Diffractions
I had previously owned another laser, which someone unfortunately broke by twisting the top part, disconnecting the diode from the driver. I was too much of a laser n00b to fix this, so sent it in. They said it was unrepairable, but gave my account all kinds of discounts. They also included with my present 2 diffraction gratings ( Free of Charge) - Double Time Tunnel and DG Star Clusters.
They work just great, fit well on the laser even without the warning sticker, and are ever so much fun. Sometimes when its really dark you can see all the beams making the pattern, which looks really cool. However, I looked at their site, and they seem to be way overpriced to actually buy. 22$ as a member price is a bit more than I would personally dish out.
Diffractions=4/5, wish they were cheaper. Great fun for showing friends.
Popping & Burning
A 33mW laser cannot be expected to do extremely much. My laser can pop black balloons ( or black spotted balloons) from about 50cm, with fresh batteries. I have tried tape, just the normal kind you use at school or whatever, and it can kind of get it smoking. Matches = Epic Fail. So the burning capabilities aren't really impressive, but you cant expect more with a laser like this one.
Burning & Popping= 3/5. Not really a burning laser in the first place.
I will post pics soon as I can.
Shipping
The laser was packaged very nicely. it came in a solid cardboard box, which was stuffed with bubble wrap. Then inside the bubble wrap was another paper box, in which was the aluminum case. Believe it or not, my lasers average output was listed as 32mW, with a peak of 41mW. So far, so good.
Shipping = 4/5, the shipping could have been faster. And cheaper.
Build
The pen seems to be fairly well built. The one thing I don't like about it is that the black can easily be scratched off. It has survived 2 falls onto a wood floor from waist height ( accidental) and has yet to show any decrease in performance. On the positive side, it is as thin as can be, fits well in your hand and has nicely distributed weight.
Build = 4.5/5, wish it had a focus ring.
Beam and Dot
The beam is extremely visible at night time, but any photos I have taken really do not do it justice. During the day, I can occasionally see the beam indoors, especially in the garage where its nice and dusty :
The dot is almost painful to look at from too close, which is why I built myself some home-made laser goggles. I will soon be posting pics of those in the Safety and Legal section. I have noticed no mode-hopping, or any other problems with my dot or beam.
Beam and Dot = 5/5, considering this is a "25mW" laser.
Diffractions
I had previously owned another laser, which someone unfortunately broke by twisting the top part, disconnecting the diode from the driver. I was too much of a laser n00b to fix this, so sent it in. They said it was unrepairable, but gave my account all kinds of discounts. They also included with my present 2 diffraction gratings ( Free of Charge) - Double Time Tunnel and DG Star Clusters.
They work just great, fit well on the laser even without the warning sticker, and are ever so much fun. Sometimes when its really dark you can see all the beams making the pattern, which looks really cool. However, I looked at their site, and they seem to be way overpriced to actually buy. 22$ as a member price is a bit more than I would personally dish out.
Diffractions=4/5, wish they were cheaper. Great fun for showing friends.
Popping & Burning
A 33mW laser cannot be expected to do extremely much. My laser can pop black balloons ( or black spotted balloons) from about 50cm, with fresh batteries. I have tried tape, just the normal kind you use at school or whatever, and it can kind of get it smoking. Matches = Epic Fail. So the burning capabilities aren't really impressive, but you cant expect more with a laser like this one.
Burning & Popping= 3/5. Not really a burning laser in the first place.
I will post pics soon as I can.
