Everyone has heard of a laser pointer before. But when said, the first thing that may pop into their heads is a small gold coloured 1mW red laser pen. The days have gone where those were the only types of portable lasers available. Now the laser community is growing large and at a fast rate. Why you ask? Well because these new types of lasers are not only green but can also melt plastic, burn material, pop balloons and even light a match!
So today we will be looking at a highly powerful portable laser; this is not a toy by any means. The Evolution series is a new series of lasers offered by the well known company Wicked Lasers from www.wickedlasers.com. The Evolution series can be found in many different power outputs which are between 15mW and 125mW. We are lucky to be testing the 125mW Evo as they like to call it in the laser community and the 532nm Green LaserShades which are currently included with every purchase of the Evo range.
About Wicked Lasers:
“With the mission to become the ultimate laser technology provider, Wicked Lasers has been making the world glow since 2003. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Wicked Lasers designs and manufactures a full range of handheld laser products and accessories. Through our focus and drive to create the brightest and most intense handheld lasers, in just over 3 years, Wicked Lasers has become the world’s leading online laser retailer. We strive to push the limits on laser fun and functionality.”
Design – New presentation box
Firstly I will start this review by mentioning that Wicked Lasers have reinvented the box the laser pointer comes in. The old box was small and a bit thin and didn’t protect the laser too well although it did look nice as you can see from below.
The new box however is a lot larger and the reason for the size is because of all the protection it gives the laser it houses, through its firm foam which the laser securely fits into. The box is also more professional looking and has a larger image on the front. It also has two magnets which help close the box. I believe the new box does justice as a place to put your laser.
Wicked Lasers’ Evolution 125mW Specifications
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The Evolution series has an entirely new design, it is made from aircraft grade polished aluminum which means that it is extremely light. In fact when I held it, it felt almost like there was nothing in my hand; it is by far the lightest laser pointer out on the market! It is a little larger then the Pulsar series which Wicked Lasers also sell.
The aluminum finish really gives it a solid look and it feels even better to hold in the palm of your hand, it feels very rock solid and well constructed, almost so that you think you can hit someone with it (not recommended)!
You can also see on the new design the cut along the body of the laser where the company name Wicked Lasers is printed on. This looks very sleek and stylish, better then having the company name written all over the laser as I’ve seen in some companies do in the past. You can also see a line etched out of the circumference of the laser, this too makes it look very sleek and stylish.
The part of the laser where your palm would touch the body has a knurled surface texture to give it an awesome effect and most importantly for better grip. The battery cap has been made so that you can easily screw/unscrew it and it has a neat little pattern on top which I believe to be a dot of a laser. The button to turn on the laser is almost on level with the lasers body making it hard to be pressed if the laser pointer were in your pocket or bag. This is good as you do not want your battery being wasted through the button being pressed unnecessarily. However at the same time it is difficult to hold in the button whilst moving the laser around as your finger may ease off the button due to it being on level with the Evo’s body.
Overall the build quality of the Evolution series is extremely good, made of solid aluminium it is very light but at the same time very tough.
Testing
The Evolution series is specifically made for its burning power which means over the distance the beam will get larger then a beam would of an Executive series. However from the tests you will find out how it performed. So to start off the testing I will tell you the output readings I got from this model and they are as follows: –
Minimum output power: 118mW
Maximum output power: 143mW
Average output power: 129mW
As you can see from the above results the Evolution 125mW stays at a steady output power of 129mW which is more than what you paid for! This goes to show the build quality that goes into this product and also the quality of the crystals used.
I then moved on to test the beam in dark conditions outside, looking over a park to see how far the beam could go and also how visible it was. Well all I can say is for this matter is that the beam went as far as my eye could see, even when I pointed the Evo into the clouds I can clearly see the dot hitting the clouds! Not many lasers can do that! I then attempted to hit some apartments approximately two miles from my location and as you can see from the images below it hit them very easily! This was truly incredible; the laser came to life in the darkness of night. To the naked eye all you can see is a very strong green beam being projected into the air by a small device; it really is mind blowing.
Now moving on to the burning power of this beauty, well all I can say is once I pressed the button and put that poor little balloon in front, all I heard from then on were the cries from the balloon which sounds like POP! The poor balloon had no chance.
Since the balloon popping task was way too easy for this beast I decided to let it take a tougher challenge, to see if it could burn/smoke different things. The first thing I chose to burn/smoke was some black tape that I saw lying around. Once I turned the Evo 125mW on, almost immediately the tape started to smoke, I could even smell the smoke and watch the tape being burned as I stand there with joy holding down the button of this beauty.
The next test for this bad boy was to see if it could light a match without using a lens as many other lasers need them. So I put the match into position and turned on the Evo from about 1 foot away and almost instantly the match ignited into flames. This was by far the most exciting test and the one I had most fun doing.
The goggles came in a very smart, sleek looking case which is actually smaller then the other goggles cases’. It is finished off in black with the Wicked Lasers logo on top; this is very nice as it matches the box which the laser comes in. Note that there is a zip which holds the case together which is almost right around the case; this is a very good feature as It holds the case together firmly and it is built very well and will not come apart as I’ve seen some cheap cases do.
Inside the case are the orange coloured 532nm goggles. As you can see these are a new range of goggles which Wicked Lasers sells for only $39.99. These particular ranges of goggles look more of a lab type and yet it also looks cool at the same time. The arms of the goggles are built so that you can make them longer or shorter depending on your preference which is a neat little thing Wicked Lasers has done. They are comfortable to wear and most of the time you don’t notice that your wearing it apart from you seeing orange everywhere.
Inside the package you also receive a neat little cloth with a lovely pattern to clean your goggles incase they may get dirty somehow. You also get a elastic necklace so that your can fix it to your goggles and then rest it around your neck, preventing you from having to put your goggles down every time you’re not using them.
The reason why these goggles are orange is because they are purposely built to protect our sensitive eyes from light emitting from a green laser. They can protect against 532nm wavelength of light.
The first way in which to test these new goggles was to shine the laser beam directly into them (without wearing them of course). As I did this I could see the laser beam bounce back at an angle which goes to show just how amazingly protective these goggles are. I then wore the goggles whilst shining the laser around and all I could see was a tiny dot from the laser hitting the surface which it shined upon.
I could not believe how much light these goggles actually cut out. From doing that I then thought this is a great opportunity to burn, melt and light matches with from close range. It was perfect as all I can see was a tiny dot of the laser and I can aim at my target perfect at such close range whilst protecting my eyes against the emitting light and any reflections. These particular types of goggles have a panel on the side so it protects against any reflections that may come from any directions.
I think these goggles are excellent, if you’re into burning, melting, popping or lighting then I believe it is essential you have goggles such as these, especially if you value your eyes and want to do those things close up. Paying $39.99 is nothing if you want your eyes protected with a good quality product such as this. If you’re considering buying a green laser pointer from anywhere then I suggest purchasing one of these as well.
Overall all I can say is that I am satisfied with the product and it performs brilliantly, it does everything Wicked Lasers states a laser such as this can do. There is no going wrong with this laser. Its build quality is excellent and its burning power is the best I’ve seen on any laser. If you love your lasers as much as I do then this is a must buy!
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