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Best laser for under $20

timelessbeing

timelessbeing

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Hello. I want to buy a compact green laser for playing around, and I'm interested in your opinions please. What is the best one you can buy for under 20 bucks?

For example, the 50mW focalprice LP115B seems pretty good. It should be strong enough to see in the daytime, and even smolder little bits of plastic (not that this is my reason for buying it, but it's an indicator). One thing I really like about it is that it can use 2xAA batteries (around 3,000 mAh) which should make it last longer than other similar compacts. The only downside I hear is that the quality varies quite a bit.

Also, are any good group buys happening?
Cheers.
 





Hello and welcome to the forum !!!!!! For $20 your laser will probably be without burning capabilities. Maybe holes in thin black plastic.

Edit: But for $21 this is a good deal http://www.dealextreme.com/p/focusable-100mw-high-power-red-laser-pointer-2-cr2-23993 it can burn and might light matches. Where do you live? They dont ship to the U.S lasers more powerful then 5mw

And by the way wrong section to post this. It goes in General
 
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Thanks for the warm reception and fixing the section, Haloid. I live in Canada (updated my profile), so according to my research, I should be able to import lasers without output >5mW.

The gentleman in this thread was able to burn electrical tape with his L115B. That should be adequate for me. One of the things I want to try is writing on thermal paper with my laser.

The link you gave seems to be a powerful laser indeed. 100mW. Unfortunately, it's red which isn't as visible as green, and with 2x800mAh batteries it won't last as long as the L115B.

I appreciate the feedback so far.
 
Yes green is way brighter than red. But red is less expensive, so it is cheaper to buy one that burns
 
Hello fellow Canuckistani. It's bit more than I wanted to spend, but from the photos it looks like it's built better. Too bad it only takes AAA's. Will take into consideration. Thanks.
 
timelessbeing said:
One thing I really like about it is that it can use 2xAA batteries (around 3,000 mAh) which should make it last longer than other similar compacts.
Click to expand...
Apparently I can't do simple math. 2 AA's would be around 4.6 Ah, and 2 AAA's have 1.7 Ah.
 
Hey there timeless, welcome to the forum, I'm sure you'll find people are quite friendly around here :wave: Anyway, maybe take a look at this one: 150mw 532nm Open-back Green Laser Pointer with Keychain(Ligniting matches) - DinoDirect.com you can fish around on priceangles and dinodirect, DX and other cheap chinese gadget sites if you're just looking for a cheap ~$20 laser. Of course, in many cases, cheaper stuff isn't going to be guaranteed to be what it says it is (in terms of power output). I guess there's the golden rule of you get what you pay for. The one rhd pointed out is a power certified one, which I've heard good things about, or you could take a risk with something that isn't guaranteed, it's all up to you. Also, if you're thinking about playing around with some higher power lasers, look into some safety goggles, there's plenty of information about them on the forum, your eyes are worth more than your wallet, welcome again :yh:
 
Are high power handheld lasers risky, or do they only damage objects at close range and after a long time? For example, if I accidentally aim a 200 mW laser at a black leather chair from across the room, am I going to mark it?
 
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