Viridian Green laser Picked up from store, and returned.

[tackstrp]

Viridian Green laser Picked up from store, and returned. My expectations were the Green laser would be good for 50 feet or better. in bright sunlight. My experience was no better than using a CT red dot. Look carefully and maybe ten feet.-

Anyway sure Viradian Green laser is a great product but I was not pleased.. I have an Aimpoint Red Dot R-1, at double the money which is far superior in my opinion. In low light the Viridian or CT might be superior.

 

[SMMAssociates]

tackstrp:

The utility of a laser seems to be in direct proportion to ambient light. The more light, the harder it is to see the laser.... Doesn't matter too much which color, although I suppose a green (or maybe amber) laser would be a tad more visible than a red one at any given distance and any given light level, but it still requires a controlled test.

Just IMHO, of course, and their advertising is kinda compelling, but only Zero can ignore the laws of Physics....

(Not coming down on you here.... Expecting a laser to be worth much outdoors in average sunlight is probably a little bit unlikely.)

Regards,

 

[stickhauler]

But, the folks selling the green laser sights market them as being able to be seen easily in direct sunlight, claiming the red ones are not.

Matter of fact, Crimson Trace has a green laser sight coming out soon for AR platform guns, in the same style as the one they currently market with a red laser, it's in a foregrip equipped with a light, to mount on a rail.

 

[SMMAssociates]

stickhauler:

IMHO, it's mostly marketing....

I suppose you could show some percentage of extra visibility, but unless the laser is dangerously powerful, I doubt if it really mattered.

That said, I don't know.... My own experience with a red laser is that it's nearly worthless outdoors in normal daylight. I doubt if the green one would be that much better.

(Now, if I could talk the wife into letting me get the AR and trying it.... )

Red IS a harder color to see than green or amber. No question there, but I think it falls down over distance.

So, has anybody else had a chance to compare these? Real apples-to-apples?

Regards,

 

[stickhauler]

I can't tell you how well they work in comparison, the only laser I have is a CT on my XD, I can see it well enough on the 10 meter range out back of our building at my gun club.

Yep, it's all marketing, everyone says they have the best choice for your particular application. "Truth in advertising" is merely a pipe dream.

 

[mustang_steve]

The question isn't what color is the laser, but what wattage is it?

In this I'm talking about the laser elements themselves, not the weaponsights....since these sight likely all use standard off the shelf diode pumped solid state lasers.

A 35mw green laser is VERY visible in daylight....and in a dark room can light up the entire room if aimed into a top corner. 35 mw is where you can see a beam going to the target if there is some dust in the air or in a dark room. There are companies that will sell virtual wattage though by shifting the light to a brighter spectrum and then claiming it's as visible as x watts....not cool at all.

 

[jonmerritt]

the human eye is more tuned to green colors. So they advertise that it is easier to see. The only problem with that is, the color they make is on the very low end of our green sensativity. To make a point, our military camo colors have changed, to colors our eyes are harder to pick up on. When I was in the military, we knew this then and changed our camo (and uniform colors) when needed.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Green is the easiest color for the human eye to see at night (which is why all night sights, at least on the front, are green), but perhaps may not be in bright sunlight.

My expectations were the Green laser would be good for 50 feet or better. in bright sunlight.

Fifty feet? Is this realistic? That dot is pretty small.

 

[Kingofthehill]

Green is the easiest color for the human eye to see at night (which is why all night sights, at least on the front, are green), but perhaps may not be in bright sunlight.

At least someone gets it.

I have a Viridian green laser as well as Aimpoint, Crimson Trace, Lasermax and some "others" and none of them come close to the Viridian green laser.

 

[Grey_Mana]

I have no problem seeing the red crimson trace dot at 50 yards in daylight.

If it is an age-related problem, sunglasses (or other eye protection that polarize light) will cut glare and might help you see the laser dot further out.

 

[Jim Watson]

A 35mw green laser is VERY visible in daylight

Problem is, the maximum power for a consumer product laser is 5 mw, right?

Playing with the Viridian at the SHOT show, it was very visible across the convention center in good indoor lighting. I think that is about all you are going to do with something you can order over the www.

 

[tackstrp]

yes, indoors Viridian works great. has been returned and refunded. Will use my Aimpoint micro red dot, Have it set up to move between various handguns. Use a small piece of weaver rail and the Aimpoint quick release. Works greats. However it i was a LEO i would use the pernament mounting method. Would sit lower for a more natural pointing.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Matter of fact, Crimson Trace has a green laser sight coming out soon for AR platform guns, in the same style as the one they currently market with a red laser, it's in a foregrip equipped with a light, to mount on a rail.

A few of us retailers have gotten the CT green laser AR grip in stock. It's as bright as the red, but I don't regard it as being more or less visible in daylight. Maybe it's just me.

I do know that the green laser is considerably more expensive than the red. What I don't know is why. (Maybe some technical types here can explain).

 

[mustang_steve]

Problem is, the maximum power for a consumer product laser is 5 mw, right?

I'm not sure if that limit applies to weaponsights, however for pointers 5mw is the limit. Anything higher needs various safety devices in place.

My 35mw unit was pre customs crackdown. Given, I don't use it like a pointer either. I use it for a quick gague of flatness of surfaces. The high output makes it easy to tell exactly how a surface is distorted.

 

[Beelzy]

You need that green laser that pops balloons......you can see that in daylight just fine.

 

[481]

I'm not sure if that limit applies to weaponsights, however for pointers 5mw is the limit. Anything higher needs various safety devices in place.

My 35mw unit was pre customs crackdown. Given, I don't use it like a pointer either. I use it for a quick gague of flatness of surfaces. The high output makes it easy to tell exactly how a surface is distorted.

You are correct steve, 5mw applies to all commercially marketed weaponsights sold to (the general public) consumers.

Where wavelength makes a slight difference in the ability to pick up a designator at range in daylight, increased output is the 'trump card'.

I have a 280mw DPSS in 532nm ("green" for the 'technically challenged' ) that is highly/easily visible at a great distance even in very bright sunlight that will pop balloons, melt electrical tape (up close, ~2ft) and ignite matches from better than 15 feet away. Also works quite well for exploding ants as they scurry about. (who needs a magnifying glass anymore? )

Even if these were miniaturized enough (my DPSS is about the size/length of a medium size flashlight), cost minimized (a 280-300mw DPSS unit costs well north of $1000) and available to the public there are concerns (immediate and permanent eye damage) that arise in their use. More powerful units (> 50mw+) can blind in an instant so I s'pose 5mw is a "safety trade-off" for the potential that a "loved one" might be swept (accidently, unintentionally) with the beam yielding permanent consequences.

 

[Avenger29]

Anyway sure Viradian Green laser is a great product but I was not pleased.. I have an Aimpoint Red Dot R-1, at double the money which is far superior in my opinion. In low light the Viridian or CT might be superior.

You're talking about two different things when you're discussing lasers vs. red dot sights. A red dot sight is not trying to project a beam and visible dot on distant targets. A red dot gives you a projected dot "floating" in a sight housing. Congrats on the Aimpoint, one of the best red dot sights you can buy (and the micro Aimpoints are just awesome)

 

[Chemist]

http://www.wickedlasers.com/ has some really powerfull ones for consumer use.

 

[Coolbreeze8804]

Yes. Yes they do. Wildly powerful, and small enough to mount on a rail to use as an effective weaponsite.

As the Wickedlasers products are not marketed as a weapon site, is it against the law to use one as a weapon site?

 

[Chemist]

Funny you ask that, on the site it shows the lasers on LEO weapons but nothing more...as a scientist I like to experiment and then ask questions...

 

[GlockStar]

The blue laser looks pretty hot at that wicked site.