HacknMod Review: Blue and Green Laser Pointers

Occasionally, companies such as Warn Laser and SkyLasers will send us their products to review on the site.  Last fall, for example, we reviewed the massive 150mW LaserGlow Aries which is the size of a flashlight.  While these lasers aren’t nearly as powerful, they are more economical for the average laser enthusiast.

• You can buy 5mW green lasers for $21.99 in our store.

WarnLaser: Blue-Voilet

Typically post laser pointers come in green or red.  This time, we got our hands on a low power blue-voilet laser pointer from WarnLaser.  While it’s only 5mw, it produces a nice violet beam on most surfaces and light blue beam on solid white surfaces. It also came with a second lens which diffracted the laser into a square dot pattern.  I’m not sure what you would ever need it for, but it’s a nice addition nonetheless.  The beam is extremely difficult to see in a dark room – The photos above where taken with smoke present.

Both lasers from WarnLaser came with pretty sturdy cases.  Unlike some companies, WarnLaser ships their lasers with these quality, velvet covered cases which fits the laser and batteries perfectly.  Definitely a nice touch.

WarnLaser: Green

While very similar in form factor to the blue-violet version, this green WarnLaser is significantly more powerful.  Since green is the color our eyes pick up the easiest, it’s beam is slightly more visible in a dark room.  While it may take a while to pop a balloon or burn through electrical tape, the price isn’t too incredibly steep for your standard green laser pointer.

The only complaints I have about the Warn lasers is the battery connectivity and threading on the battery terminals.  I literally had to carve off some outer “skin” of a battery to create the electrical connection to the back part of the laser.  Also, the threads on the cap which hold the batteries in the laser are rather poor quality and a pain to screw/unscrew.

SkyLasers: Green

Finally, we have another 50mW green laser pointer from SkyLasers.  It’s priced at $100 which is a bit on the expensive side, but it does pop balloons, burn through electrical tape, etc.  The beam was more visible than I expected within a dark room and can be seen for quite a distance.  On the back of the laser, there is a safety key mechanism which allows you to switch from off to low power to high power for various uses of the laser.  The only issue I had with the laser is that you have to remove the back-end of the pointer before placing it back into it’s case.  Also, the case isn’t quite as fancy as others I’ve seen in the past, but regardless of these two minor issues, it’s a pretty sturdy laser overall.

So, what can you do with these laser pointers you ask?  Check out some of our laser projects below for inspiration:

Top Laser Projects:

• Create Techno with a Laser Harp
• DIY Laser Build: 12X Blu-ray Star Trek Phaser!
• Powerful Mini Green Laser Build

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