My 1 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic from Wicked Lasers has Arrived. Woot !
Monday, September 13, 2010
And, I have to start off with
FINALLY
I ordered this beast back in the beginning of July from wicked lasers. It took exactly 68 days to get to my eagerly awaiting hands. Was it worth the wait? So far... Hellz yeah, it is sick. Let me break it down for you.
CONSTRUCTION
The construction of the Spyder Arctic itself is VERY sturdy feeling. Both screw ends, battery and lens, screw in nice and snug. So when you move the laser around, it is silent (no clanking) and has a great weight to it. Plus, it looks more like a tactical flashlight than that of a light saber, in my humble opinion.
LASER VERSION
The version of the laser I received was the G1 and not the G2. As some of you know the G1 is without the safety "smart switch" that makes you press a button 16 times (cycling through modes) in order to get to the high-powered version of the laser. I prefer a laser that you just turn on and out comes laser, but regardless of a switch, this thing is powerful and dangerous. Treat it as such.
SAFETY GOGGLES
Now, the goggles that came with the laser. You can see by this side-by-side that there is an instant visual difference between these goggles. The one seen on the left is from Dragon Lasers, and they are designed for class 4 lasers and offer MUCH more protection than the ones shipped with the Arctic. Sadly, the Wicked Laser goggles on the right are rated (assumed) for a class 3 laser.
THE BATTERY
The battery shipped, seen below as the blue one still in the charger is (from what they say) not a good battery. I somehow got an orange battery included in the charger when it was shipped. Free spare battery (even if it's not great)!
Sadly, there have been several problems with the battery underpowered or even blowing up (only happened to ONE battery, so I am not that concerned).
Mainly, the battery has absolutely zero protection on it. So, if the power gets to high or too low, it may damage the laser diode. I order aTenergy battery that will fit the laser and offers a more stable output with PCB technology that wont melt my face off it it explodes. ;)
TEH BEAM
Here is a video of the laser in action, this is directly from the Wicked Lasers site itself.
As you may see, that is ONE crazy bright beam. It seems to tip into super-bright white/blue. Now, the reality of the beam itself is that it is more of a blue blue. In a dark room or outside at night the beam looks amazing, but don't be fooled, it does not look like this video. If you shine it though smoke or fog, the beam approaches what you see in this video.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The whole ordeal of working with Wicked Lasers DEFINITELY left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. Their customer service was terrible, people ranting on forums, a few busted lasers on delivery, phone numbers that went directly to voicemails and on and on. I admit, I often had to tell myself "this isn't a scam... it can't be." ... just to make it through the day. Now, as I brandish this massive pew pew device like an ADHD child loaded on cocaine on christmas, I am willing to let it all go. Water under the bridge.
Either way, it is impressive as all hell. So, tonight I will try to get myself a few pics to show you more of the beam and maybe burninate a few things around the house. For now, I am excited to have this LAZOR in my mits. It finally arrived. It actually finally arrived.
Reader Comments (10)
I'm kinda dumb regarding laser usages (among many, many things). Besides being awesome to burn shit, what would the use of this laser be? I mean, is there any at-home research scientist stuff it might be used for?
the safety goggle is looking pretty cool, and it's really a very useful way to protect eyes from the powerful laser pointer. this article is very informative.
Please, for the love of god POINT IT AT SOME MEAT.
After all the health and safety warning I've read about this thing I'm dying to see what it actually does to organic tissue.
Just so you know... I attempted to get pics, but iphone camera just sucks on trying to capture the laser beams. So, my regular camera battery is charging up and will see how much better that works out.
and.. btw..
I really like the meat idea.
I will see what I can do ;)
Can't wait for the meat video! Steak or some poor bastard passed out at a party whatevs as long as it's not permanent.
I ordered one in June and I STILL haven't received mine. >_<
Sorry about the wait on more videos... this month is CRAZY busy... SOON.
And.. TOVETTE.. sorry man.. i see that a lot of people are still waiting from that time frame..
I assume you opted for a G2 of the laser right?
As I opted for a G1..
If I was going for the G2 I would still be waiting as well. There have been times when I can see where the safety switch CAN be very handy. Mainly it is for the assholes you call your friends that want to "hold" you laser.
I opt to not let them touch it unless the battery is removed.
Most humans are god damn stupid when it comes to lasers....
SO.. let me know when you get yours ! and which version you ended up getting.
I ordered mine (G2) on June 17th... and I'm still waiting too. I'm at least a little bit relieved to see that the things actually EXIST. It's been so long, I was beginning to thing the whole thing was a scam. I'm hoping I can be burning stuff soon too... (sigh) ... but I'm not holding my breath at this point...
Just going to point out that the warning label says that even the slightest contact with skin can possibly give you cancer.
Just curious if the people that were waiting for their Arctics ever got them... I finally did, but in pieces... and... uh... *8 months* later - some a55h@t had ripped the actual laser off (USPS dude??), but was kind enough to leave everything else. I actually had FORGOTTEN about the order until a mutilated package showed up... minus the laser. Lame. I've contacted WL and they are supposed to be sending a replacement, so we'll see how long THAT takes... assuming I ever get it (courtesy of your postal service)... garg.
In regards to the skin cancer thing... eek. Luckily that's only the blue wavelengths... actually, the UV portion of the blue wavelengths, but yeah, scary.