A San Francisco startup called "Silicon Cali" is selling a bong that uses a 2 Watt blue laser beam to vaporize the smoking material. The company currently has 45 "limited editions" for sale, at a list price of $2,400 each. The entire production run will be 420 units.

The laser beam is so intense it is a diffuse reflection hazard. The bong comes with 2 pairs of protective eyewear.

The founder of the company said in a November 2018 email to Mashable that the laser is not dangerous but can sting if you get your hand in it "kind of like a magnifying glass."

In addition to the 445 nm blue laser and protective glasses, the app-controlled bong also has a rotating bowl and color-changing LEDs.

The product has been in the works for some time. According to Gizmodo, a January 11 2018 Instagram video from Silicon Cali's founder demonstrated a prototype laser bong available for pre-order. On January 23 2018, he wrote on Instagram about shipping time: "It’s just dealing with the FDA regulation and all the other requirements for manufacturing and selling a high powered class4 laser product in the USA that take the time."

It is not known when the late fall 2018 version officially went on sale.

At the company's website, as of November 5 2018 there is no mention of FDA certification nor any picture of FDA-required warning labels, though there is a description of "turn key ignition." In the photo above, a small key can be seen inserted into the bottom of the bong. Federal law requires a key or similar lock-out device to prevent laser devices from being turned on by unauthorized users.

Laser bongs are a relatively old idea among persons interested in high tech and recreational drugs. A web search turns up a July 30 2009 post to Grasscity Forums, linking to a YouTube video of a prototype LaserBong (different product) made by the chief engineer of Wicked Lasers. The video is now unavailable at YouTube. Other YouTube videos still online show, for example, a June 4 2013 video of a person using a handheld blue laser to ignite bong material.

From Silicon Cali with additional reporting by Mashable and Gizmodo.

Tags: US, California, Hobbyist, Bong, Weeds, FDA, Eye protection, Toy or recreational use, 1W blue diode, Wicked Lasers, Photo

It is not just handheld lasers than can burn objects. Wicked Lasers sells the handheld FlashTorch and FlashTorch Mini, white-light flashlights advertised with the slogan “Why illuminate when you can incinerate.” This is from a June 7 2018 email advertisement:

A YouTube video demo shows the flashlight burning a swath of black plastic:

Both the original FlashTorch and the Mini version have a regular price of USD $199.

Wicked Lasers is known for being the first widespread supplier of Class 4 handheld lasers, with a nominal 1 watt blue laser introduced in mid-2010. Since that time, Wicked has taken laser safety actions such as requiring a buyer to take a short safety test before allowing an order, voluntarily putting a label on the laser warning not to aim at aircraft, supplying safety information with the laser, and supporting laser safety efforts.

From a email sent June 7 2018. The FlashTorch webpage is here. Previous LaserPointerSafety.com stories about Wicked Lasers are here.

Tags: Wicked Lasers

Wicked Lasers, one of the best known Internet sellers of high-powered lasers, announced November 19 2014 that it will no longer ship lasers above 5 milliwatts to U.S. customers, beginning in 2015. They said other countries would follow “shortly thereafter.”

The sales restriction does not seem to be the result of any particular regulatory actions or other outside forces; instead it appears to be a decision by the “new ownership and management” that was also announced at the same time.

Wicked currently sells handheld lasers up to 2000 milliwatts (2 watts). In the U.S., lasers sold as “pointers” or for pointing purposes must be below 5 milliwatts output power; handheld battery-powered lasers over that power may still be sold legally if they are not “pointers” and if they meet FDA safety requirements for their laser class. All Wicked Lasers sold in 2015 will thus be within the U.S. “pointer” range of power.

The announcement came with a 40% off sale, so the company will still be shipping high-powered lasers through December 31 2014.

From the email announcement Wicked Lasers sent to customers on Nov. 19 2014 (shown above).

Tags: Worldwide, Import, Wicked Lasers

Wicked Lasers has begun including the phrase “Don’t Aim Lasers @ Planes” in their two-line Google AdWords advertisements, starting in September 2014.

Wicked is a major internet advertiser and a heavy user of AdWords. By doing this, the company puts the information in front of a large audience of persons whose browsing history indicates they are interested in lasers.

The Wicked Lasers AdWords ad, with the safety phrase highlighted to show its location. (The highlighting does not appear in the actual ad.)

The company’s intent is to help reduce the number of incidents of persons aiming lasers at aircraft. They are also one of the few companies to include a “don’t aim at aircraft” warning on their lasers’ labels, and in the user manual.

Brought to our attention by Steve Liu, CEO of Wicked Lasers

Tags: Wicked Lasers, Internet, Photo

The well-known Internet seller Wicked Lasers has added detailed safety information on its website about the hazards of its products. As of September 4 2014, a new “Laser Safety Facts” link on Wicked’s webpages goes to an independent website that lists hazards and safe use guidance.

This is the first time that Wicked, or any consumer laser manufacturer, has used the proposed “Laser Safety Facts” labeling system which aims to give the general public detailed and easily accessible safety data. A key part of this proposal is that the information is not controlled by Wicked or any laser manufacturer; instead it comes from an independent source.
Click to read more...

Tags: Wicked Lasers, Laser Safety Facts label, Labelling, Internet

Internet seller Wicked Lasers has introduced a $200 handheld laser whose beam power and on/off patterns can be remotely controlled by a smartphone app. The Evo is a green (532 nm) laser with a minimum of 100 milliwatts of output power (safety Class 3B) and a beam divergence of 1.5 milliradians. The stated Nominal Ocular Hazard Distance is 154 feet or 47 meters.

The company’s free “Evo” app is available on Apple iOS and Android app stores. A smartphone connects to the Evo laser either using a cable from the audio output jack, or wirelessly using an optional $40 Bluetooth module that attaches to the laser. Once connected, the app allows remote control of the laser’s output power, and of its flashing frequency. (Although anyone can download the app, the software does not appear to run unless connected to a Wicked E4 series laser such as the Evo.)

The software code is available as open source, so that hobbyists can create their own software to custom-control the Evo.

Operating modes include Continuous, Momentary, Strobe, Fade, Morse Code and Ambient (microphone audio level). Click for a YouTube video showing these modes in action.

Click to read more...

Tags: Class: 3B, App, Wicked Lasers, Photo, Video

Well-known master builder Patrick Priebe has created a laser with six 1.4 watt blue lasers that rotate, similar to a Gatling gun. In addition, there is a 100 milliwatt green laser used for aiming:

Click to read more...

Tags: 1W green diode, Class: 4, Color: Blue, Color: Green, Hobbyist, Modding, Patrick Priebe, Wicked Lasers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an update to its Import Alert document, also known as the “Red List”. This is a list of importers whose products do not comply with U.S. laser performance standards and/or FDA reporting requirements. Reasons for detaining a product include:

1. The laser product does not have a permanently attached warning logotype label;
2. The laser product output exceeds 5 milliwatts;
3. The laser product fails to contain certification or identification information either on the product or in the instructions for use;
4. The laser product fails to contain instructions for safe use;
5. The product class or output information on the laser product's warning logotype label is different from that in the instructions for use; and/or
6. A product report for the laser product has not been submitted.

Products which can be Detained Without Physical Examination (DWPE) include laser pointers, laser gunsights, laser pens, laser light show projectors, laser special effects, laser levels, toy guns with lasers, laser pointer key chains, and similar products.

It is unclear what effect the FDA’s import restrictions have on supplies. For example, the well-known company Wicked Lasers is listed multiple times as being banned from importing “All laser products and all products containing lasers.” However, a company representative on December 22 said that Wicked does ship to the U.S. and there should be “no issues getting a laser into the U.S.”

Violating companies are listed as follows.

• Canada: 2 companies shipping from a total of 3 addresses
• China: 51 companies shipping from a total of 57 addresses
• Hong Kong: 9 companies shipping from a total of 9 addresses
• Japan: 1 company shipping from a total of 2 addresses
• Taiwan: 25 companies shipping from a total of 28 addresses
• United Kingdom: 1 company shipping from 1 address

From the December 20 2011 update to the FDA Red List

Tags: US, FDA, Illegal sales, Wicked Lasers

Internet seller Wicked Lasers has introduced a nominal 1 watt green handheld laser for USD $1000. The company claims the laser’s beam has a power of 86 million lux, appears over 8,000 times brighter than looking directly at the sun, and can be seen at a distance of 85 miles (“beyond the atmosphere and into space”).

LaserPointerSafety.com’s analysis shows it is a distraction hazard to pilots up to 20 miles from the laser source.Click to read more...

Tags: Wicked Lasers, Color: Green, 1W green diode

The New York Times reported on persons who are concerned about eye injuries caused by misuse of lasers which are easily available and are “10 to 20 times as powerful” as the U.S. limit of 5 milliwatts. Experts quoted in the article say the incidents are “the beginning of a trend” and that “in the hands of children it’s a very scary proposition.”

The article listed four injuries to youths. In three of the incidents, a young person deliberately stared into a laser beam, while the fourth was caused by a high-schooler whose friend waved a 50 mW laser in his face. (Besides these anecdotal accounts, the article gave no overall statistics on injuries except to say that an ophthalmologist association is “unaware of any increase in eye injuries caused by lasers.”)

Author Christine Negroni covered a number of topics, including:

• There has been “ninefold increase over five years” in laser illuminations of aircraft
• Eye doctors are “shocked” that high-powered lasers are available on the Internet with no purchase restrictions.
• A U.K. physician says the U.S. limit should be 1 mW, that even at 5 mW laser pointers have “acute” dangers.
• FDA says that noncompliant (“illegal”) lasers are available despite agency seizures.
• Wicked Lasers says that its products are compliant, that they are “extremely clear” about eye and fire hazards on their webpages, and that they will be offering online safety lessons “before checkout”.
• A “large community” of laser enthusiasts wants to keep lasers available.
• An 18-year-old laser hobbyist, who wears goggles and is supervised by his parents, said he was learning about electronics, soldering, physics, light, optics and mechanics.

From the New York Times, online on Feb. 28 2011, in print on March 1 2011 on page D5 of the National edition.

Tags: US, New York, Import, Wicked Lasers, Negroni

Tech website Gizmodo reports that the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) sent a letter Nov. 3 2010 to Wicked Lasers, disapproving of “the quality control and testing program for all [Wicked] laser products.” This includes the well-known Spyder III Arctic, a nominal 1-watt, 445 nm blue handheld laser.

FDA cites eight items of noncompliance:

• Three of these items relate to a January 2006 letter which FDA says Wicked did not respond to.
• Four items relate to Wicked claiming in 2006 and 2008 that its lasers were sold for surveying, leveling and alignment (SLA) purposes; FDA says Wicked is not complying with restrictions on SLA lasers. (FDA has greater authority to regulate SLA lasers than it does to regulate general-purpose lasers).
• The final item objects to Wicked stating on its website that its products are “FDA Certified” when in fact the manufacturer certifies compliance to FDA, who reviews and files the certification documents.

FDA gave Wicked 15 days to respond in one of three ways: by refuting the charges, by requesting an exemption, or by notifying purchasers and taking corrective actions (e.g., a recall or refund). Wicked cannot certify lasers under the old “disapproved” testing program, and cannot import or sell non-compliant lasers or non-certified lasers.

The restrictions will be lifted, FDA told Wicked, once “CDRH determines that you have established an adequate quality testing program, and you have submitted the required reports and report supplements.”

From Gizmodo. The full text of FDA’s warning letter to Wicked is after the link (click “Read more...”)Click to read more...

Tags: FDA, CDRH, Wicked Lasers, Class: 4

Casio has released the following warning statement about laser pointer type devices modified from their projectors. More on the lasers is here and here; more on the modification is here (look for the section on “sawed-off lasers and harvesting”). Emphasis in bold is added by LaserPointerSafety.com.

WARNING!

Casio America, Inc. (“Casio”) has recently learned that potentially dangerous handheld laser pointer devices are being marketed and sold by Wicked Lasers, Ltd. (and possibly others) that are believed to incorporate laser diodes improperly removed from Casio XJ-A series projectors. Casio has never authorized this unintended and potentially dangerous misuse of the light source component of its XJ-A series Projectors.

Casio specifically instructs and warns purchasers of its XJ-A series projectors that disassembly or modification of the built-in laser module is “very dangerous and should never be attempted,” and would like to take this opportunity to remind the laser enthusiast community of that fact. The unauthorized, unintended and potentially dangerous misuse of the laser diodes improperly removed from Casio XJ-A series projectors for use in these handheld lasers, such as Wicked Lasers’ SPYDER III, may create a substantial risk of fire and injury to users and others. Casio intends to pursue Wicked Lasers and any other companies that violate Casio’s rights by misusing components of its XJ-A projectors or other products to the fullest extent of the law.

At the same time, Casio strongly urges consumers to avoid these unauthorized and potentially dangerous “laser pointers” such as the SPYDER III.

Tags: Worldwide, Wicked Lasers, Casio, Modding, Harvesting, Class: 4

A highly hazardous 1 watt handheld laser pointer is now being sold to consumers worldwide, for a price of only USD $200. This is a major increase in power as well as a major decrease in price. (Fall 2010 update: The price was later raised to $299, its current selling price as of Dec. 2010.)

Wicked Lasers advertises the 1 watt Spyder III Pro Arctic as “the most dangerous laser ever created”. This is not far from the truth; it is by far the most dangerous laser affordable by the general public. Previously, such a laser would have cost many thousands of dollars.Click to read more...

Tags: Worldwide, Wicked Lasers, Casio, Class: 4

LaserPointerSafety.com is pleased to note that a major Internet laser distributor is adding text to their labels, warning against shining the laser at aircraft. The label text reads:

WARNING: DO NOT SHINE YOUR LASER AT AN AIRCRAFT
Shooting a laser at an aircraft is considered a felony in the U.S.

The new label is being introduced in September 2009 by Wicked Lasers. They have a significant presence on the Internet, marketing a wide range of lasers for pointing, burning/cutting, and general purpose uses.

Click to read more...

Tags: FDA, Wicked Lasers, Photo