Since a while i'm considering buying a laser, and today i saw these ones
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/5mw-532nm-green-laser-pointer-pen-with-dx-logo-2-aaa-44128
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/true-green-laser-pen-5mw-91
They seem to be the same except for the price, anyone has one or both of these SKU's?
The second listing includes batteries and doesn’t have the DX label. Both are worth something 
If it's not forbidden in your country, I recommend the 30mw green. I have one and it's a nice star pointer.
But it is too bright and eats batteries too fast to use in a classroom.
I have the 5mw and I use it as a star point and spotter for my telescope. It doesn’t really matter how far the beam goes.
Actually, you’d rather it just went far enough to appear to go forever without going any further. Mine wouldn’t actually hit an airplane (although I still wouldn’t point it at one).
Newbie, do you have a link to a 30mw green laser? I really don't want to spend a lot on a laser and the dx ones are supposed to be 15+mw actually if i read some reviews.
gcbryan, well i don't want it to be too powerfull, so what you are saying sounds perfect. Burning stuff is cool, but these lasers are too freaking dangerous. If i can see a nice beam at night and use it to point out stars that's all i need :)
that some of the dx green lasers are more powerful than they say. some of the 5mw have been reported to be actually 30mw, or higher.
On ebay these lasers are also been sold, they look the same, and as these are quite generic i guess they will be same quality/underspecified.
as with all of these kind, the switches SUCK
and I can never get them apart to replace the switch when it dies....
just an FYI lol
I love mine. I even bought my dad one for a gift. Everyone that sees it wants to know where I got it.
where did you buy yours? On ebay they are 2$ cheaper as on dx, but i assume they are the same.
Bought mine off dealextreme. The newer one seems to take a half second to warm up. Also the nice box it comes in was torn from pulling a sticker off. I see no reason to get anything more powerful, as this will put a spot on anything in viewing distance. 5mw Pretty powerful and seems to last forever on a lowly aaa alkaline
Sorry, but no link.
I bought SKU 469 from DX. I believe it is no longer available....
all of them are more powerful, but some of the dx ones are for sure. i have one. i must admit, it is kind of refreshing for something to be rated more powerful than it is, as opposed to the lumen ratings of flashlights we've been swallowing for a long time. i'm pretty sure it has to do with not being able to sell anything higher than 5mw to people in the us. like a lot of laws though, it is kind of silly, because you can still get the modules separately, which are way more powerful, 200mw + if you want, and it is not hard at all to assemble the module into a pointer. its too bad that a few idiots decided to cause trouble with theirs and ruin it for all of us, but unfortunately, it goes that way with a lot of things these days.
I bought two of the DX branded ones the OP linked to. One of them is probably in the 5 to 15 mW range and the other is most likely around 30. Both are nice for the price. Here is a video of the DX branded one. Its the one that didn't pop the balloon. It can with more time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fla0a7rjXE&list=UU-sg0ayzsLY41KG5Sco8CJw&index=1&feature=plcp
Gang, I can't stress enough how dangerous these are. The higher power ones should not be legal for public use. These cool videos of beams shooting off into the air, can easily and permanently destroy a retina on a single hit. I know of one army officer who dropped his when on and suffered seeing spots from the damage--major loss of vision in his right eye. Don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but this is serious business.
http://laserpointersafety.com/treatment/treatment.html
Pilots are hit by lasers pointed at the sky quite often. Some must get treatment. Scary when you think about it. Anything above the standard power ones should be illegal. Even unscrupulous Chinese ebayers include safety goggles and warning labels with the devices.
I know I could’ve bought many of these and sold them for double. Because of safety concerns I never did. Also I never let the kids play with it and rarely get it out.
I agree. There are few legitimate uses for more than 5mW.
are these lasers on/off or do you have to keep the power button pressed?
anyone who bought from ebay (as they look the same, but cheaper)
I have one that looks the same but I bought it here in the U.S. (for more money) and it has a momentary switch only (which is all I want or need).
now that also paypal don't let you buy lasers over 5mw most chinese lasers are relabeled<=5mw, is a mess, hard to get the real power