Jul 9 2009PEW PEW REVIEW: 125mW Green Laser
The folks over at SKYlaser Laser Pointers sent me a 125mW powerful green laser to review. So that's what I did. And let me tell you: there was plenty of pews to be had. That picture I actually made writing with the laser on an 8-foot privacy fence, I just edited the pic of the unit in. Now hit the jump for the pew pew review.
Lasers, provided they're not being wielded by robots, are fundamentally awesome. So I was pretty excited to get my hands on something more powerful than a 1mW red laser pointer. I got the 125mW green model, and let me tell you -- ZOMG. You just can't believe how awesome a powerful laser is until you're playing with one. And by playing with I mean lasers are not a toy. Not for kids anyway. They're an adult toy. Just not as big and floppy as the one on your nightstand.
Things I did:
- burned through electrical tape
- etched one of my leather sandals
- made my skin tingle
- made other people's skin tingle
- burnt a black trash bag
- pretended it was a lightsaber
- Lasik eye surgeried my brother
- pew pew pew'ed!
By far the awesomest thing to do is just swing the beam around in the sky at night (NOT AT AIRPLANES). I tried to get some pictures (none of them turned out) BUT THE BEAM LOOKS LIKE IT GOES OFF TO INFINITY. You actually see the whole beam too. It's amazing. I know several people that read Geekologie got to play with it too so feel free to chime in if you want. I can't express how cool it feels to hold. It really is like a giant green penis lightsaber. Back me up here, guys.
This is obviously Photoshopped, but it's not far from the truth (at least not with the 125mW).
The laser itself:
Wavelength 532 nm (Green)
Dimensions 13mm x 171mm
Beam Diameter < 1.2 mm
Duty Cycle 100 seconds on, 30 seconds off
Power Source 2 x AAA batteries (not included)
Operating Temperature 0C ~ 40C
Battery Lifetime 45 min
Expected Diode Lifetime >5000 hours
Warranty 6 months
One of the cool things about this particular model is the adjustable strength beam. It can be set on high power (for serious pews, this is the only setting I used after making sure low worked) or low power (for use as presentation laser pointer, etc) with the turn of a key that inserts into the rear of the unit.
Laser in the smoke of a fire. Suck it, cavemen, you don't know what you were missing!
I could go on and on about how fun a laser is. It's one of those things that you don't know how you lived without once you actually have one. I seriously refer to my life now in terms of pre and post-laser. Now the unit I got is on special now for $200, and I know, that's expensive. But you really do need a laser in your life. So I emailed my contact at the company to see if the lower powered lasers were equally as fun at night. Per his response:
Yes, the weaker models do emit a visible laser beam, however, it will not be as bright as the 125mW green laser pointer. The 5mW green laser pointer emits only a faintly visible beam, while it can be seen at night, it is quite dim. Starting at 15mW, the laser beam becomes quite clear and as you increase in power, the brightness also increases.Bottom line: go get a powerful laser. Look around, do your research, figure out what you want/can afford, and then start pewing. You owe it to yourself. And remember: when the robots rise, will you be able to burn their eyes out?
SAFETY NOTICE: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE LASER OR AT THE DOT IF IT IS ANYWHERE NEAR YOU OR ON A REFLECTIVE SURFACE. LASER SAFETY GOGGLES ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. GEEKOLOGIE IS IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR BLINDNESS OR SEVERED LIMBS. USE LASER WITH GOOD JUDGMENT (NO POINTING AT AIRPLANES, DRIVERS, ROOMMATES, STRANGERS OR PETS). DON'T BE A JACKASS, AND HAVE FUN.
Reader Comments
1. Buh - July 9, 2009 8:30 PM
Looks pretty cool, I thought the text said: "Geekologie loves loserz" for ages though.
2. Zman - July 9, 2009 8:32 PM
FIRST
3. Twiztid - July 9, 2009 8:35 PM
Damn, I wish i could afford a super lazer. I'd definitely use this as my weapon of choice when robots attack.
4. pewvag - July 9, 2009 8:39 PM
geekologie does love losers?
5. Question-man - July 9, 2009 8:40 PM
there are no questions here! the One AND ONLY question is where can I buy it??
pure pewpewness
6. Duran - July 9, 2009 8:41 PM
wow that was actually informative, I've been wanting to get one for the longest time, maybe I'll look into that 15mW laser since I'm cheap.
7. James - July 9, 2009 8:41 PM
So who's going to do the finger print scans on that hand and find out where those houses are. I need to know who the geekologie writer is..!
8. NotARobot - July 9, 2009 8:42 PM
As a normal meatbag, I'd like to know if it can be attached to robots *boop* So I know what to fear, of course *beboop* And can it be set to burn through us squishy humans? *beep*
9. ehhh - July 9, 2009 8:45 PM
send me your GW I'll suck your lightsaber :]
10. Watch-303 - July 9, 2009 8:48 PM
I want one of these lasers!
11. gizmoduck - July 9, 2009 8:50 PM
thats my fire smoke, give it back!
12. weston - July 9, 2009 8:56 PM
last!
13. Tennist0 - July 9, 2009 9:04 PM
You can probably pull a McGuyver at radioshack for half the price
14. Tennist0 - July 9, 2009 9:05 PM
lol@ 8
12 = fail
15. Beastman AIDS - July 9, 2009 9:22 PM
If I was still a teenager i'd probably be lasering vaginas shut left right and center but does it have any practical use or is it just a (really cool) novelty item?
16. awesome+cool+pew= geekologie - July 9, 2009 9:39 PM
nice publisity stuck..
17. Austin James - July 9, 2009 10:02 PM
aww how nice of you ,you used my pew pew review title
18. naas had in & out burger today, fǖcking utopia I tell ya - July 9, 2009 10:10 PM
☻☻☻affordable, ordered & anxiously awaiting pewdelivery☺☺☺
19. Cassidy Grae - July 9, 2009 10:22 PM
I want one that cuts through people. TAKE THAT OU DAMN DIRTY HIPPIES! PEW PEW!
(no hippies were killed in the making of this post)
20. Daisy - July 9, 2009 10:39 PM
FAKE!!!!
This is a complete photoshop job. You can tell its a fake because the shadow's are all wrong.
This is exactly like that scene in the movie Never Back Down where Max was drinking beer with a bunch of nicaraguans, They kept telling him how great it was in nicaragua, and he finally said You guys sure seem to love Nicaragua except for the part where you risked your lives not to live there any more.
21. Dnalel - July 9, 2009 10:59 PM
me and my friends take military grade 500mW lasers into laser tag and melt the sensor vests.
22. pez dispenser - July 9, 2009 11:06 PM
I want one
23. Chris - July 9, 2009 11:09 PM
First!
These lasers are awesome. Got mine from them about three weeks ago when I first saw that wicked had some better priced competitors and since dealxtreme still won't sell nice lasers to US customers.
24. Heather - July 9, 2009 11:51 PM
Nice! DO WANT.
25. guy - July 10, 2009 12:39 AM
geekologie <3 losers, haha!
26. STOMPY - July 10, 2009 12:39 AM
@2
making your way through interwebz these days takes everything ya got
runing around pretending to be... everything ur not.............
wouldn't you like to get away.....
Where everybody thinks your lame....
And they also think your gay...
you wanna be where ppl see, visions of you when ur dead
you wanna be where everybody wants ur head....
.
.
.
(norm!.... what are you up to norm.... my ideal weight if i were 7'4" tall....)
27. Laser Nerd. - July 10, 2009 12:46 AM
Warning: You can permanently add blind spots to your vision with a 125mw green laser. It takes only milliseconds.
I have a 110mw Green Laser pointer. It will pop balloons and melt holes in garbage bags.
My Big laser(only weighs a few ounces) is a 3,000mw continuous 808nm IR laser module. It will do 6,000mw bursts. You can't see the beam at all. It will catch just about anything on fire instantaneously. I melted a hole in 50 layers of black garbage bags in a fraction of a second. Without specially made protective glasses you can blind yourself just by the reflection off of objects. Even a Cinder Block or the reflection off a window.
28. STOMPY - July 10, 2009 1:00 AM
@27
Blah blah blah blah something about you having to finger bang yo mama blah blah blah.....
oh wait.... mom.... wtf are you doing there...u stupid little whore.... go finger bang yourself!!!!!
29. Robot - July 10, 2009 1:06 AM
this looks so badass I need to get one for my boyfriend so he'll love me forever.
@ notArobot you seem like my kind of person.....if you infact are one!....which I hope isn't true.
30. STOMPY - July 10, 2009 1:07 AM
@Heather
I hope you are hot.... and not in that GFS porkchop bridgeman sandwhich kinda hot... I'm still waiting in that damn broom closet... its getting kinda claustraphobic in here with GW an GFS and naas and (dare i say FAH-Q to watch and Ollie to film...).... Golaiths drinks stirrer's are not going to stand erect forever..
31. McCracken - July 10, 2009 1:24 AM
My roommate's boyfriend has one, it's really cool. I want one. All he does is play with it (mainly with the cats)
32. timmy the frisky virus - July 10, 2009 2:47 AM
Just give it a couple of years, those things will be in the dollar stores.
33. John - July 10, 2009 3:19 AM
Be very careful with these lasers. Shine them as much as you want any where except at any type of Aircraft. This year during spring break, a buddy of mine and I were testing how far my laser would shine, apparently pretty far as a St. John's Emergency Life Helicopter didn't like it, and called the police. Needless to say, within an hour, 2 patrol cars pulled up to my house.
Lucky for me, I talked with the pilot and got the charges dropped.
In Springfield MO, its punishable by up to $1,000.00 fine and/or 180 days in jail. Its also against the Homeland Security Act, and the Patriot Act.
-John
34. Bruno - July 10, 2009 4:57 AM
"Power Source 2 x AAA batteries (not included)"
There are two in the box.
Do you say you bought the box
with battery's after?
35. nicky - July 10, 2009 5:52 AM
Michael Jackson Memorial
Michael Jackson Memorial
36. nicky - July 10, 2009 5:53 AM
http://www.aj2u.com/ Michael Jackson Memorial
http://www.dunk2u.com/ Michael Jackson Memorial
37. kreebilicus - July 10, 2009 6:01 AM
@36 i didn't even need to watch it to find out how shit it was. he's not even dead. he's living with elvis and tupac in a castle in peru.
38. kuikes - July 10, 2009 6:54 AM
I would buy one of those if they weren't that expensive =(
39. ciao - July 10, 2009 7:21 AM
indeed everyone should have a lazah in their life. You can get small cheap ones from the good old dollar tree. Though they should make one that is a handy coffee warmer. 'pew pew' coffee is once again tasty hot!
ThinkGeek.com has some other fun lazah products (decently priced) many folks will dig.
40. Captain Enormous - July 10, 2009 7:23 AM
GW, you wear sandals? Seriously lame dude, seriously lame.
41. Pinkerton - July 10, 2009 8:04 AM
Ripoff!
For you losers that don't live in the (no freedom) USofA, you can get better lasers for less than half the price at DealExtreme.
Just think... 200mW green lasers for $60!?! Wow! Delivered anywhere in the world EXCEPT the USA.
42. MechanicalApe - July 10, 2009 8:38 AM
geekologie writer, you said insert in rear! lulz
43. blp - July 10, 2009 8:39 AM
Lucky! I've eanted one for ages but can't justify spending hat much money for pew pews yet.
I sold some 5mw lasers on ebay recently (in UK) and when listing them it says"we don't generally allow the sale of lasers stronger than 1mw unless they are rave type lasers." Probably because of all the dipshits who point them at planes. I sold them anyway, but apparently they're technically illegal over 1mw in this country!
44. St Joseph - July 10, 2009 8:46 AM
Geez you sure got some shacky hands lay off the crack
45. jaja - July 10, 2009 9:09 AM
I want one of the lasers they use to take down incoming missiles (wether mounted to a fighter jet or ground based). That'd be so awesome...
46. Matthew - July 10, 2009 9:16 AM
GW, I'm glad you could earn some extra dough.
47. Jimbo - July 10, 2009 9:20 AM
I'm surprised they didn't send you some laser glasses too. A laser that powerful can blind you before you can blink.
48. ffffffffffffffff - July 10, 2009 9:24 AM
@1 i thought the same thing and when i realized it said lasers i felt bad
49. STOMPY - July 10, 2009 9:37 AM
ahhhh.... just here reviewing my late night drunken rampage comments i left.... man o man, methinks I need some advil.....
50. Matty - July 10, 2009 9:45 AM
yeah for a while it became the cool thing in Australia to shine laser pointers at airplanes.. they started cracking down on those suckers.. people would get in groups and shine them into the cockpit of planes as they landed..
reminds me of when i used to shoot my bow and arrow at crop dusters when they'd wake me up in the morning..
51. Gordon "Fücking" Shumway - July 10, 2009 9:48 AM
@49
Don't you be so crude and a feckless
You been drinking brew for breakfast
STOMPY can't fail
52. Freddy K - July 10, 2009 10:07 AM
Stompy Hilarious. Love your drunken posts.
Naas, #18 - welcome to Cali.
Also... want. But mostly because cats LOVE lasers. And its awesome to make them freak out and chase light. Esp when it means crawling up peoples legs etc. and by crawling, I mean shredding.
53. DrNecropolis - July 10, 2009 10:56 AM
125mW huh? Call me when they have a 125gW one, then we can get to pew pewing the solar system
54. Gabe to the power of PEW! - July 10, 2009 10:59 AM
Someday I'd like to have the ability to PEW!
I guess that day is today!!
I figure I'll buy this laser and perform LASIK on people, I could then save them a few grand!
Any takers?
Come on i'll do two for one specials???
55. blp - July 10, 2009 11:17 AM
If I fired one of these lasers up my jap's eye (racist term, yes. But funniest for a pee pee hole) would I not be able to have children? If yes, the laser is better value than I thought. PEW PEW IN DA PEE PEE, YOU WON' HAVE NO BABY! They can have that slogan for free.
56. Nikki - July 10, 2009 12:50 PM
is that realy your hand? *strokes it* MmmmMmmm :3
57. RK - July 10, 2009 1:08 PM
(projected) On your 8 foot privacy fence?!? You must mean on your cell wall...
58. msjessiemeghan - July 10, 2009 2:34 PM
I want one right now. Oh the garbage bags I would melt holes in...
Hey will someone buy this for me? I will totally send you pictures of me burning holes in plastic bags (naked).
Come on!
59. msjessiemeghan - July 10, 2009 2:45 PM
Oh and Daisy is totally right about the photoshopping...
Never Back Down.
60. redleader - July 10, 2009 4:01 PM
this is a photo of one of those being used for star gazing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randymetcalf/3277641640/
61. JFreezy - July 10, 2009 6:41 PM
@39,
I checked ThinkGeek.com also, but all of their lasers (including their $799. blue laser) are powered <5mW. LAME!!
@All of STOMPY'S drunken comments,
I think you best not get this 125mW laser lol! All your orgy participants would be blinded and what fun would that be to watch.......... on second thought ........... what is you mailing address? I will buy you 3!
62. JFreezy - July 10, 2009 7:04 PM
I just looked at the Sky Lasers website and they have 400mW portable lasers (not laser pointers)! Why didn't they let you review one of those bad boys? @41,
And why would these 400mW lasers be legal in the US and not the 200mW ones from over seas? Probably just because they haven't been inspected by the FDC, huh? Look at that, I think I just answered my own question!
63. John - July 11, 2009 7:27 AM
Military: Use our laser pointers to send warning signals to enemy units miles away.
....I lol'd
64. Raul - July 11, 2009 4:24 PM
damn you americans, you and your more powerfull and awsome lasers!
they allow 5mw max lasers in europe:(
I have an 5mw green laser and i can see the beam only when its really dark or foggy.
65. Peter - July 11, 2009 5:14 PM
thats so cool they just send you shit like that.
66. Chainsaw - July 12, 2009 1:29 PM
If you DO happen to hit an airplane (whether you can see it or not) or even worse, a military satellite - expect some SERIOUSLY PISSED authority figures to show up at your door sooner or later. Blinding an airline pilot will likely get you charged with terrorism until, and maybe even after, you plead stupidity... sounds like Australia was unusually tolerant.
67. Darth - July 13, 2009 10:23 AM
Just try to hit the eyes/pupils.It's just to convince us it's real.
68. BuddyGoodness - July 14, 2009 1:45 AM
I bought one of these lasers from a company called Nova Lasers about two years ago. These lasers are fun and are worth it if you have money to burn (though I really don't but I talked myself into buying one) It was 125mW but it came out to be about 131mW. I was never able to burn anything with it though. I just tried again with a black garbage bag. Maybe you are supposed to focus the beam somehow to get it to do stuff like that but I have never had any luck. Still they are great for parties and people who are on hallucinogens and children love it.
69. Hawk - July 15, 2009 1:13 PM
Can I play that old '80s song? SKYPagers? er, lasers... oh, never mind!
70. Your Face - July 16, 2009 2:45 PM
I"M PLAYING WITH ONE RIGHT NOW!!!! PEW PEW PEW! O damn I missed your face....
71. 6437z - July 21, 2009 10:53 PM
Have you used the laser to smoke a bowl. I would. That would be awesome.
72. thelaserpointer - September 1, 2009 10:05 AM
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73. 700mW green laser pointer - October 16, 2009 1:09 PM
This laser pointer may be cool, but kinda put into shadow before my 200mw waterproof red laser - focusable from http://www.laserpointerpen.net. It lights, burns stuff easily and the beam is more fascinating. So many green laser beams every day.
74. green laser pointers - November 16, 2009 1:07 PM
Wow awesome pictures. Cool.
75. Orion - December 4, 2009 6:50 PM
well done..
and for anyone still wondering.. SKYlasers are the sheeeeeeiit!! lol
i find it interesting that i can pop a balloon with my 15 mw green laser from SKYlasers, yet others seem to not be able to, even with higher mw? hmm....
p.s... if you know the right spot to point it in Orion......
you just may get a "response" lol ;)
76. green lase - August 3, 2010 2:13 AM
How beautiful!
I found one of these lasers on a website (YOTANG.COM).
77. cheap phantom of the opera tickets - August 3, 2010 9:01 AM
I just looked at the Sky Lasers website and they have 400mW portable lasers (not laser pointers)! Why didn't they let you review one of those bad boys? @41,
And why would these 400mW lasers be legal in the US and not the 200mW ones from over seas? Probably just because they haven't been inspected by the FDC, huh? Look at that, I think I just answered my own question!
78. Green Laser - August 5, 2010 9:58 PM
why would these 400mW [url=http://www.yotang.com]laser pointer[/url] be legal in the US and not the 200mW ones from over seas?
79. green laser pointer - August 19, 2010 10:11 PM
125mW green laser, so powerful! last week i bought 200mW green laser from GadgetTown.com.