Wicked Laser Arctic: The World’s Most Anticipated Laser, Unboxed
Wicked Laser Arctic: The World’s Most Anticipated Laser, Unboxed
Posted 07/27/2010 at 11:42am
| by Jon Phillips
47
Comments
Print
Behold the Wicked Laser Spyder III Arctic – in the flesh, but certainly not burning flesh anytime soon (because we’re careful little tech nerds, and know a dangerous device when we see it). If you’ve been following the gadget blogs for the last month, you already know that this laser’s infamous reputation precedes any opinions generated from third-party, hands-on testing.
Indeed, we’re one of the first impartial third-parties to actually receive the device.
This Friday, if all goes according to plan, we’ll be testing the Arctic at its full-strength setting in one of the laser labs of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories. This laser is not a toy. It’s a potentially dangerous piece of technology, and we want proper training in how to safely use it. After that visit to LBL, we’ll post first impressions, plus more photos and even video. Our full print write-up on the laser will appear in our first issue of Maximum Tech. But for now, let’s share some basic details on what makes the Arctic so remarkable.
Wicked Laser tells us the Arctic is rated to produce no less than 800 milliwatts of power, and as much as one full watt. This is an incredibly powerful laser – just consider that typical laser “pointers” may produce around 3 milliwatts. The Arctic sells for $299, a fantastically low price that’s only possible because the cost of laser diodes has plummeted. A laser of the Arctic’s caliber would have cost thousands of dollars just a year ago.
Very simple, clean packaging. Note the spot-varnish laser symbol in the corner.
At its output strength, the Arctic is a Class-4 laser -- a serious, scientific-caliber laser device. To quote the Wikipedia entry on Class-4 devices, “By definition, a class-4 laser can burn the skin, in addition to potentially devastating and permanent eye damage as a result of direct or diffuse beam viewing. These lasers may ignite combustible materials, and thus may represent a fire risk. Class-4 lasers must be equipped with a key switch and a safety interlock.”
I hope our studio photography can capture the Arctic looking as cool as how it’s portrayed on the user manual cover.
But the Arctic isn’t just any Class 4 laser. It’s a Class 4 blue laser emitting 445nm light, and blue lasers have unique properties that pose extra safety risks. Specifically, were the blue laser beam to shine directly in your eye, your vision would be permanently impaired. In a worst-case scenario, you’d go permanently blind. In a best-case scenario, you’d lose the ability to perceive green light. Wicked Laser is aware of these risks, and explains them in detail on its website.
Besides publishing a wealth of information about the potential dangers posed by the Arctic on its website, Wicked Laser has also integrated a number of safety systems into the device. First, the laser must be unlocked via a software code just to be powered on. This should stymie anyone who steals the laser, as well as children who might stumble upon it in a parent’s drawer. Second, once unlocked, the laser has two power modes, and, according to Wicked Lasers, the default mode sets laser power to just 10 percent of the Arctic’s actual output capacity. Third, the Arctic kit comes with a “training” lens that’s designed to reduce the laser beam power by 80 percent -- and this reduction applies to both the low-power mode and full-strength mode. And, fourth, the Arctic includes the safety interlock required of Class-4 devices. When the interlock is removed, the laser can't operate.
Sure, it’s lines are very light sabrey, but real light sabres aren’t all black, are they?
All in all, the Arctic is an amazing piece of technology, and we’ll be covering it fully on this site, as well as in the pages of Maximum Tech, which will be on newsstands in early September.
And if you have to ask “What’s the big deal about a 800 milliwatt laser?” then you don’t just get what makes lasers so impossibly cool. What we knew as pure science fiction as children has become demonstrably real. Just make no mistake: The Arctic is neither a toy nor a “laser pointer” nor anything to be taken lightly. It represents the forward march of technology, and possibly even technology moving at too brisk a pace. We’ll have opinions on that soon.
Wicked Lasers was kind enough to send four sets of safety goggles, enough for our testing and photography. Caution: NEVER use a laser of the Arctic’s power without the proper safety goggles. Goggle lenses are tuned to specific laser wavelengths, and lenses made for green lasers won’t provide enough safety for blue laser light.
More like this
Laser Force
September 12, 2011 at 5:46pm
You can use this link to get 5% off any item at Wicked Lasers: http://zfer.us/NzgdD
Links of London
December 08, 2010 at 8:50pm
I’m delighted that I have observed this weblog. Finally anything not a junk, which we go through incredibly frequently. The website is lovingly serviced and kept up to date. So it need to be, thank you for sharing this with us.
ferariman
December 08, 2010 at 5:03pm
God give me strength! this crazy lady thought I was hacking here the other day and cut my phone and cable lines, now she is going to permanentley blind me with a laser!
mizogucci
October 29, 2010 at 6:05am
I tried to purcahse one of these lasers. They cost 274 dollars. It is now 10/29/2010 and I ordered the laser 7/12/2010. I keep getting the run around from the support personnel. The company is based in China. Beware... There was nothing telling me that it would take several months to get the laser when I ordered it.
lavenyaS
August 07, 2010 at 1:32am
It's really amazing knowing the updates about cars, but there's an article I read that really caught my attention . The Highway Loss Data Institute has released its 2010 numbers for automobiles victimized by theft. By comparing the number of insured autos on the road to the number of theft claims, HLDI creates the most-stolen list. Here is the proof: Most stolen vehicles in the United States This year, the Cadillac Escalade topped the list, and pickups are becoming more frequent targets. The amount paid out for each claim is going up, though total thefts are going down.
nealtse
August 05, 2010 at 2:36pm
It's hard to think of an industrial use for this, unless you wanted to heat something up from really far away. How about Holographs? Even for Holographic art, if not holographic storage.
thetechchild
July 28, 2010 at 7:50pm
This has huge capabilities as a weapon. And for an automated defense system... This thing can shoot miles away, can permanently blind you in seconds if you even look at it, and severely burn you. A couple of these would be cheaper, less messy, and silent, in comparison to guns.
Technology can be scary.
Eagle4Life
July 28, 2010 at 6:31pm
If i weren't a poor college student i would so get one of these just to say i have one. i don't even know what the true intended purpose of this thing is, but who cares all I can think of is all the cool dumb stuff i wanna do with this thing. ;)
FasterBlaster
July 28, 2010 at 4:20pm
MaximumPC should include a review about customer service. Just ask around. Horror stories. Almost no one out of thousands of charges on credit cards have gotten a delivery, even after almost 2 months. The rants on Facebook are true. Check the forums. So far none of the shipping dates promised have been met. Delay after delay. Go figure. How about it MaximumPC? Include the mess this has become.
LouieAtienza
July 27, 2010 at 5:53pm
Mr. Phillips I'm envious! Anxiously awaiting mine (#55XXX). I don't know how you can wait till Friday to fire it up, but safety first; in fact probably a good primer on safety following your testings.
Miss your editor-in-chiefing...
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 7:34pm
Hey, thanks, Louie! Fact is, I have tested it. Couldn't wait, and more than anything, I needed to make sure the laser would work before making the trek to LBL's laser lab. But rest assured, we followed all the proper safety precautions:
- Locked-down environment. We literally locked the door (and the only two people with the keys were IN the room).
- All participants wearing goggles.
- Followed basic gun safety rules: Everyone BEHIND the line of fire. I called out when laser was going on to make sure people didn't scramble into the forward area. I also called out "goggles on" when the laser was about to be activated.
- I also removed the interlock pin whenever we weren't directly involved with activating the laser.
- We set our target surface as far away as possible. The target surface was a black metal case door. Non-reflective and won't catch fire.
More to come tomorrow.
Zachary K.
July 27, 2010 at 5:47pm
could be used for home defense, guns are just too messy, and not as awesome (unless it is a gauss or railway rifle)
ShadowDragoonFTW
July 28, 2010 at 3:00am
That... is REALLY not what this was intended for. Considering all the safety precautions this thing calls for, it's really impossible to justify this as a home defense device.
Zachary K.
July 28, 2010 at 9:02pm
well, it can blind and burn skin. which is better than being shot with a gun. even if someone was breaking into my house, i don't think i could turn a gun on him (yes, i love FPS but would hate to shoot someone, irony), so this does seem like a better option.
HOYT
July 27, 2010 at 4:58pm
News Real... Dumb ass brings laser to local dance club.... and shines it into the disc ball 84 people including the Dj and all bouncers are eather blind or suffer skin damage...this is crazy and even a little scary... I can't see this taking more than a few months to be limited to the education field ( Colleges and Universitys)... I mean I believe in the right to bare arms but this kinda of laser in the wrong hands is just plain insane..
rafette
July 28, 2010 at 5:33am
even though this thing would be uber dangerous at a dance club, pointing it at a disco ball would only bounce 1 beam (a moving random dangerous one) since it would only hit 1 mirror at any given time.
graill
July 27, 2010 at 3:23pm
Some idiot or group of idiots will spend a couple grand and make a combined laser cannon and mess some people up. This Crap needs to be regulated like any handgun.
mralexosborn
July 27, 2010 at 4:29pm
That is a fantastic idea! That is exactly what our government needs, more power over the people!
I think a license agreement would suffice.
cigar3tte
July 27, 2010 at 2:33pm
How does it work when shooting at mirrors?
Would this thing be good enough as a home-protection weapon instead of a gun?
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 2:41pm
Shoot it at a mirror and it will cleanly reflect off the mirror -- so you better know EXACTLY where the reflection will travel. Consider it like a ricocheting bullet. In fact, it is high advised that you not aim it at any reflective surface, as the direction of the reflection is hard to control. The safest thing to aim the laser at is a dark piece of metal, or something else that won't burn -- and the farther away the surface the better. A dark surface will discourage reflections, but a dark surface will also asborb more light and therefore suffer more damage. So your dark surface shouldn't be anything can burn. As for home protection, a laser sure could scare an intruder, but it doesn't have any of the stopping power of a gun. So if you subscribe to the maxim that says "Never shoot a gun at someone unless you intend to kill him" then a laser is NOT your answer.
Cache
July 27, 2010 at 2:18pm
My wife has already pre-banned me from getting one for my 40'th birthday next month. Now how am I supposed to enjoy my march into old age??
Number Six
July 27, 2010 at 5:37pm
>>Now how am I supposed to enjoy my march into old age??<<
Divorce. You'll get your laser and a girlfriend some ten years younger than you are. :D
-Six
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 2:23pm
Ask her if you can have a low-wattage green laser. It will impress the hell out of you and won't be anywhere near as dangerous.
griffinii
July 27, 2010 at 2:03pm
Thankfully MaximumPC is treating this with respect but the fact this article is publicizing it further scares me. There will be readers who will now know of this and not treat it with the same respect.
A light saber design? Really? Next are we going to make sawed-off shotguns look like kids water guns but include a website that says things like, "Not a toy. You can accidentally blow your head off with this." I see no practical reason for this other than research and no reason it should be made to look like a toy/movie prop other than to get kids to buy it and swing around like its designed to look. If it wasn't meant to be treated like that then make it look awkward and not easy to swing or carry.
emtownsend
July 27, 2010 at 2:00pm
IMO, if someone wants one of these, they need to register it and take a training class at the very least. These are way too powerful for the average irresponsible user. The affects of this laser can reach out for miles. These can cause irreparable damage for miles, and without the user's knowledge. As cool as they are, I feel they should be VERY tightly regulated or banned outright. Imagine how many of these can fall into wrong hands, easily, and then they shoot them at airplanes, cars, whatever. These are bad news... I'm telling you. This is a new class of weapon that needs to be restricted.
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 2:11pm
I think we (at MPC) all would agree that training classes should be a requirement, and in fact I think Wicked Lasers is supporting that direction as well.
griffinii
July 27, 2010 at 2:09pm
I agree completely!
It's one thing if knifes aren't banned as a person has to be face to face but the fact that someone can do MAJOR damage from miles away and/or discretely for $300 is just plain scary.
Just wait until someone brings one to a concert or stadium and starts shining it like a laser pointer into the crowd. Everything I think of I can do with one of these ends up being just plain bad.
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 2:21pm
You make a good point about the laser's range -- it's one of the reasons why the device is unsually dangerous. Even a light sabre terminates at, what, three or four feet? But a laser beam carries on, for all intents and purposes, infinitely. Now, true, it's strength (and therefore dangerousness) diminishes with distance. But it's the sheer length of the beam that adds to the danger factor.
PawBear
July 27, 2010 at 12:51pm
God save us from the idiots that get hold of these things. Youtube will be filled with kids burning and blinding each other for a laugh
mralexosborn
July 27, 2010 at 4:56pm
This made me glad to see I was not the only one who is against more regulation.
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 1:10pm
This is one of the main reasons why I'm enlisting the help of LBL's laser safety officer. It's important to me that Maximum PC/Maximum Tech be known as the editorial team that treated this device with caution and respect. I also want to set an example for all the would-be malcontents who would improperly use this device.
Mark17
July 27, 2010 at 12:32pm
I will definitely be buying one of these. And I can't wait to see the test results, I'm sure they won't disappoint.
Havok
July 27, 2010 at 12:24pm
But I have to wonder: just how far can this thing project a beam? I can't wait for Maximum Tech's full review!
BuLLg0d
July 27, 2010 at 12:21pm
I mean, kids-lasers = cool yeah. I've been reading about this laser, saw the vid on their site, know Lucas is sueing them but... What puspose does a laser like this serve? What industry? Scientific industries I understand. 15 yr olds waiting to lase a 787 I dont understand, or Star War's Fans wanting this thing, the irrespobsible ones mind you, not ALL SW fans...
Do you have to represent a specific industry to order one or will some anon 15yr old from 4 chan just be able to mail order it with mom and dad's credit cards?
JonPhillips
July 27, 2010 at 12:29pm
You'll have to be at least 18 years old to order one. But, no, you don't need to have specific scientific credentials. I will be discussing WHY someone would want an Arctic in my full write-up. And while I am hesitant to pass judgement before I've actually turned on the laser or met with LBL's safety officer, I'll still posit this: For someone who wants a powerful laser to shine a beam into the night's sky (AWAY from aircraft, of course) and to show off to friends in a SAFE way, it makes much more sense to buy a much, much lower-powered green laser. Green lasers CAN be quite dangerous, but green laser light doesn't present the same safety risks. Also, watt for watt, green lasers are brighter and more brilliant than blue lasers. So one can have a relatively low-power, relatively safe green laser that has a LOT of wow factor, and pose many fewer safety risks, both to the user and to the general public.
JohnP
July 27, 2010 at 12:44pm
I have a 30mW green Laser and that is plenty. It has a visible beam that shines brightly at night (especially during a snow storm!). It puts a dot on a water tower a couple miles away.I still have to be careful with where I shine it but at least I won't go blind with a shot at a headlight reflector (I hope).
Why on earth would anyone want to fool around with a 700 MILLIWATT laser, I have no idea! May pop a balloon or set a match on fire from a mile away, I just hope the kid who has the balloon does not look up at the wrong time...
Marcbman
July 27, 2010 at 2:17pm
"Why on earth would anyone want to fool around with a 700 MILLIWATT laser, I have no idea!"
That's like asking why someone would put 3 EVGA 480s and 2 hexacore processors into a computer..... Because they can!
Thursday
July 27, 2010 at 6:58pm
Ok but would 3 EVGA 480's and 2 hexacore processors potentially blind or maim you? No. Well, maybe your wife/SO other would when she saw the cost...but I digress...
bingojubes
July 27, 2010 at 12:16pm
that looks like a mini lightsaber. too bad i dont have clearance to enter the labs here in livermore, - my house is 10 minutes from there!
Havok
July 27, 2010 at 12:21pm
Oh for the sake of Pete... Is 'Can it run Crysis' gonna be the next 'Is it dead?' As much as those 4 little words pain me, they're still pretty funny at times.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
Where have all the memorable videogame enemies gone?
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Here's what the @horse_ebooks bookmarklet (http://t.co/brE6898A) does to Maximum PC: http://t.co/Y6OhO6zk12 hours 3 min ago
- maximumpc: Microsoft on Patents: Can't We All Just Get Along? http://t.co/g0vginvG14 hours 24 min ago
- maximumpc: Google Drive Cloud Storage: Is Google Preparing To Muscle In On Dropbox? http://t.co/lCWzeYmS14 hours 49 min ago
