There are lasers and then there are lasers. The Spyder II GX is a crazy 200-300mW green laser that can burn through paper, balloons, and skin and generally blind you if you’re not careful. How much does all this fun cost? $1,699 including a pair of absolutely essential shades that will keep you from blinding yourself.
I had used WickedLasers before but those models were mere laser pointers compared to this monster. It comes in a Mil-Spec Type III hard anodized case with rubber washers on all the joints and includes two lithium ion batteries that last 60 minutes on one charge. Note that these batteries take a long time to charge, so be prepared to wait.
The first time I tried the laser I was actually able to light a candle. Subsequent tries resulted in lots of smoke but no fire. However, it can easily burn through black paper – just draw a dot with a Sharpie and you can get a hole in a few seconds – and burned dark tissue paper on contact.
Photo Gallery by Picturesurf
This is not a toy. Seriously. Using it without glasses results in lots of after-glare and you could seriously damage your eyes. Another note: The laser is “water resistant” but not waterproof. Don’t put it in water.
From WickedLasers:
Unfortunately submerging the product under water is considered miss use of product. It was never intended to be used under water. While it can operate in rain and seasonal elements, the Spyder IIGX, is made for a variety of demographics, however under water operations is not one of them.
I tried this laser under water and found water in the front filter. It didn’t touch the laser, so I expect it will just dry out, but since you can’t really disassemble it easily it’s something to think about when using this outdoors. It still works but it’s a bit disconcerting to get water inside your laser.
Here’s the bad news: This laser costs $1,699. That’s right. Almost $2,000 freaking dollars. There are some rumors that they use this beast over in Iraq to mess with insurgents, and I wouldn’t be surprised. It shoots a straight, bright beam for what seems like miles – I was able to hit the Verrazano Bridge from 96th Street in Bay Ridge, which is about a mile away.
I did a few tests, one trying to recreate my candle test and another basically shooting holes in paper. The results were immediate and dramatic. This laser is great for stargazing and educational experimentation but please, please don’t play around with it. It’s more a weapon than a laser pointer, but it’s totally amazing.
this is quite a dangerous toy. I guess we should expect more fires in California this summer.
Someone in my city has been shining a similar laser into the cockpits of low flying commercial passenger planes (not as hard as you might think).
These should be illegal to own without a license. Unfortunately the stupid people ruin it for everyone else.
I thought this site was about entrepreneurship, startups, VCs, etc. Now you are posting gadgets? Sad.
Crunchgear. CrunchGEAR. Say it with me now…
If I wanted to read about gadgets/gear, I would type crunchgear.com in the address bar, not techcrunch.com.
It is stupid to have these on Techcrunch.
Basar’s clicking button is broken.
you’re an idiot
you know it!
Wicked Music!
so could people start a fire through a shop window with this?
Not really. It’s hot enough to melt stuff but not burn it outright. I got lucky with the candle.
you can burst balloons with the dvd burner laser. There are a few videos online in that. So you don’t need a $1700 laser to do some of these. Just take a part a dvd burner.
you can also buy a $1700 laser.
U dont look at the camera when you do your review. Are you slow?
Yes.
Amazon sales of this product must have gone high this afternoon…
Great – now I can buy a $2000 toy to burn holes in tissue paper and maybe light a candle.
Did you burn ants with a magnifying glass as a kid? Do you still do it? Is the laser quicker?
yes
LOL :-)
Um… not sure this fits into the “consumer electronics” category. Though it is cool, I wonder about the idea of reviewing items that are more weapons than gadgets. Why not just completely cross over and review knives and guns? Just because it’s battery operated doesn’t mean it needs to be reviewed.
It fits very well…
Now you can have a laser pointer that doubles as a “burn your audience” device if they start to fall asleep.
Think of the great uses in high schools across the country!
Haha teachers would love these in my secondary :D
this laser is all fun and games, until someone losses an eye
Spelling FAIL. *loses
humor FAIL. *losses
you can get 100mw lasers in China for around $100, does also burn holes in tape and equally well for stargazing…
So safe yourself some bundles and go chinese…
Sounds like a good idea, however customs is now looking for these lasers. They also do not have a IR filter on the end of them, and are extremely dangerous. I wouldn’t recommend the chinese knockoff in this case.
What the hell do people use them for?
How about this $95,000 laser?
Ti:Sapphire Mai Tai
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spectra-Physics-Mai-Tai-Ti%3aSapphire-Femtosecond-Laser_W0QQitemZ110335257299QQcmdZViewItem
Haha,
one can build these for 300$.
Hope they have some good liability insurance. There are enough idiots out there with $2k that will do something stupid, and try to blame it on someone else.
Why does this dangerous gadget ad appear in the TechCrunch RSS feed?
Why draw attention to such dangerous products? Do you want responsibility if someone loses eyesight?
Admitting in public to aiming this thing at a bridge with cars driving over it .. really smart move – NOT
does that mean you can burn black people with it?