New member here, and although fascinated by lasers (aren't we all?!), I have limited first-hand experience with the kinds of lasers seen on here.
We do lots of camping/boating/riding in the deserts of Southern Utah and down on the Baja peninsula and have always used satellite phones (only thing that gets a signal in many parts of the area) to communicate and coordinate between parties. But they're expensive, and even when combined with better GPS technology these days, sometimes a pain to try and get everyone from multiple parties all to the same location. We're hoping to add to the arsenal by using handheld lasers to send up a very visible beacon so we can see where the respective parties are and help in getting everyone to the same place. Not planning to rely on them so much as a rescue beacon, more just for a visual aid to help us see where each other is at.
I'm envisioning that we'd send up a beam and wave it around, bounce off clouds,etc while talking on the Sat phones. So I don't need anything which is on continuously (2-3 min at a time), but I want the absolute most visible beam that we can easily and clearly see from distance. Mostly remote areas without any urban light so it's generally very dark where we're at.
A friend brought a Wicked laser camping with us once (green or blue--don't remember which), looked like a light saber, said it was the "most powerful laser avail". Wish i remember which one he had to know what the specs were and then I'd just buy a few like it because whatever it was would work perfect for what we want.
Can someone steer me in the right direction and help me figure out what I need and if possible where to buy? (I'm tempted to just pull trigger on a few Wicked Kryptons or Arctics but not certain that's what he had or if that's what I need and I'm guessing that technology has evolved in the 4 years since I last saw a "big" laser like the one he had.
Trying to decide:
What color beam? blue or green?
Power? Hard to figure out what I need to spend for what I need since the internet is full of so many false claims but I was hoping to find something powerful enough in the $500 range. I'd pay more if it meant having something much more visible. Wicked's most expensive are within this range but maybe there's something better?
I don't care about burning stuff, don't really care about aesthetics, looking at it more as just a utilitarian tool.
Aside from color, power, and intended use, are there other things I need to be considering?
Thanks for any help!
We do lots of camping/boating/riding in the deserts of Southern Utah and down on the Baja peninsula and have always used satellite phones (only thing that gets a signal in many parts of the area) to communicate and coordinate between parties. But they're expensive, and even when combined with better GPS technology these days, sometimes a pain to try and get everyone from multiple parties all to the same location. We're hoping to add to the arsenal by using handheld lasers to send up a very visible beacon so we can see where the respective parties are and help in getting everyone to the same place. Not planning to rely on them so much as a rescue beacon, more just for a visual aid to help us see where each other is at.
I'm envisioning that we'd send up a beam and wave it around, bounce off clouds,etc while talking on the Sat phones. So I don't need anything which is on continuously (2-3 min at a time), but I want the absolute most visible beam that we can easily and clearly see from distance. Mostly remote areas without any urban light so it's generally very dark where we're at.
A friend brought a Wicked laser camping with us once (green or blue--don't remember which), looked like a light saber, said it was the "most powerful laser avail". Wish i remember which one he had to know what the specs were and then I'd just buy a few like it because whatever it was would work perfect for what we want.
Can someone steer me in the right direction and help me figure out what I need and if possible where to buy? (I'm tempted to just pull trigger on a few Wicked Kryptons or Arctics but not certain that's what he had or if that's what I need and I'm guessing that technology has evolved in the 4 years since I last saw a "big" laser like the one he had.
Trying to decide:
What color beam? blue or green?
Power? Hard to figure out what I need to spend for what I need since the internet is full of so many false claims but I was hoping to find something powerful enough in the $500 range. I'd pay more if it meant having something much more visible. Wicked's most expensive are within this range but maybe there's something better?
I don't care about burning stuff, don't really care about aesthetics, looking at it more as just a utilitarian tool.
Aside from color, power, and intended use, are there other things I need to be considering?
Thanks for any help!