Laser pointers aren’t only used by astronomy enthusiasts and scientific hobbyists to light matches and pop balloons. There are some real-world applications where handheld lasers have become indispensable to day-to-day work. These include hands-on jobs like landscaping crews, construction companies, arborists tree experts, warehouse managers, and many more. Here we’ll look at some of the most popular everyday uses for laser pointers today.

Lasers are Not Toys

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With the countless Youtube videos of laser enthusiasts lighting matches and cutting electrical tape; it’s no mystery many people think of a laser as a toy to be used for visual experiments and showing off to your friends. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Lasers with a solid beam of light are incredibly useful for a wide range of different applications. Think about it from the perspective of an arborist landscape company manager.

You have a tree line that is starting to encroach on the road and some branches are getting dangerously close to local power lines. As a property manager, you’re not looking to cut down trees, but it’s very hard to send crew members up on ladders and point upwards with your index finger at the specific limbs you want to be cut down. Enter the green laser pointer.

Using a green laser pointer as a light pointing tool, you pinpoint the specific branches and limbs you want your team to cut off entirely or trim back to a safe distance. With a laser in hand, you can point to specific limbs, branches, and even leaves you want to be removed. Your team can clearly see what you are pointing at so there is no confusion on what should or should not be cut down. This way your arborist team isn’t wasting time trying to find the limbs you want cut, and also isn’t doing too much or too little. The guesswork has been removed. 

Who Uses Laser Pointers as a Tool?

There are some obvious ways that laser pointers are used you may have heard of and then there are some you’ve never thought about. Let’s look at some of the most common uses for handheld lasers today:

1. Presentations – low-power pen laser pointers are ideal for indoor classroom or auditorium presentions. Point onto a blackboard, whiteboard, or LED screen. 
2. Pointing Device (Job Site) – warehouse workers, construction workers, even some gig workers take advantage of a solid beam of laser light when they need to point out a specific item or location on a tree or building. 
3. Arborists & Landscaping Companies – lasers are perfect for pointing out limbs, trees, or other items which must be cleared and worked on in the landscaping world. Lasers are much better than yelling. 
4. Fire Rescue / Fire Department – lasers are used by fire departments everywhere from in cities to national parks. Consider the benefit of aiming onto a burning building what specific bedroom needs to be focused on for water and rescue. Or a national park ranger who can communicate with a laser pointer over 20 miles, making coordination of search and rescue far more effective.
5. Police Departments – used as a crowd deterrent or as a pointing device, police across the nation have utilized high-power lasers as non-lethal deterrent tools. 
6. Military Training – lasers are regularly used for training and combat situations. 
7. Goose Control Lasers (Geese Deterrent) – high power green laser pointers make a legal and effective tool (non-lethal) to ward off flocks of geese and other avian pests. Used by homeowners, property managers, airports, golf courses, and more; keep your yard clear of goose poop in a non-lethal way. 
8. Astronomy & Star Gazing – lasers make the ideal teaching or visual aid whenever looking towards the stars. Pinpoint particular constellations or bodies in the cosmos, great for astronomy enthusiasts and professors alike (or campers who love to impress when telling stories of the ancient gods in the sky).

This is a short list only and how you may use your laser pointer may vary. Remember that anywhere a solid beam of light is required as a pointing device, lasers are ideal. 

Choosing the Right Laser Pointer

Now that we know lasers are suitable for a huge number of different applications, we need to determine what kind of laser to go with. There are lots of different laser beam colors and output powers so what you should go with will entirely depend on your desired use. So here are some general rules:

• Daytime Laser Use: for daytime use you’ll want to go with a high-power green laser. Green because at the same mW strength green laser light is 5-7x brighter than any other laser color. A minimum of 200mW at 532nm green is required for daytime use and the higher the power the better.  
• Nighttime Laser Use: here you’ll have much more freedom in choosing a beam color and output power. As laser light will appear far brighter at night compared to the day, you can be pretty flexible. A good range for nighttime use would be 30mW or higher of green laser light. But even low powers like 5mW will be visible at night. 
• Long Distance: the higher the mW power the better for longer distances, no matter if it is daytime or nighttime. But if you’re trying to signal over 1000 feet during the day you’ll need a minimum of 500mW of green or if it’s nighttime 100mW green. 
• Short Distance: you can choose any color, and lower power, but if it’s a short distance in daylight you’ll still want 200mW of green. 
• Laser Safety Goggles: you’ll want to use these whenever using a higher power laser indoors. Most powerful lasers will include a pair of safety goggles but if they do not and you plan on using a laser 200mW or higher indoors, be sure you’re picking up a pair of laser safety glasses as well. 

Where to Buy a Laser Pointer Online

Knowing where to buy a laser is actually more difficult than you may think. With so many different beam colors and output powers to choose from it can be a bit confusing if you’re unfamiliar with the technology. You should be looking for a few key things:

• Is the company based in the USA?
• Can you get answers to questions if you have them? 
• Do they answer the phone?
• Are output powers legitimate? Meaning, is a 100mW really 100mW?
• How long have they been in business?
• Are there any warranty periods for their lasers?
• Can you get advice on a particular unit? 
• and more

If you can’t get a question you have answered you should be looking elsewhere. Any company that doesn’t have a phone number (or who doesn’t answer) should be called into question. Any company that has no warranty for its products should be called into question. 

Biglasers.com is the #1 Trusted Laser Source since 2005, call us today if you have any questions or need some help choosing a laser model. We’re happy to help. 

1-877-256-6513