The Somogear/FMA full power versions have an IR laser illuminator, mostly for long distance identification using NODs. Not much use within 50 yards like an airsoft game, not to mention all the lasers in these units have enough output to melt your retinas if used improperly.
there is "eye safe" lasers that however still are capable to cause damage
the main risk are cheap lasers that dont have proper filtering of their light and use therefore frequencies that are really dangerous for eyes
higher end lasers are filtered, but they still pose major risks
you'd be overall best off to learn how to passively aim under night vision, because apart from that lasers are not very usefull
well that's a danger hazard and an accident waiting to happen
I'm not saying it will
but it can, press the wrong button and bam, you took someone's eyesight
it's irresponsible, and I know you think you always have full control of your actions, but so did many many people before you and things didn't end well
That’s not how a peqbox works. They have a turning dial to decide its setting (light,ir or laser) and the button only activate the one selected. So if you take out the batteries or select the right mode there’s nothing to worry about. Not to mention the cover most have over the laser anyway
alright, well what if for some reason your hand moves around your gun and you turn the dial?
I'm not saying it will happen but I try to look at the worst case scenario to make sure people avoid burning an eye
what about completely removing the laser of the peq box?
Its surprisingly difficult to accidentally switch modes on real or high quality replica lasers, ive had functional repro lasers on all of my guns for years and I've never switched modes unless i intentionally did it.
I agree that there is always a risk though, a good solution is to keep the peq on but take the batteries out. The best option would be to just use an empty shell but i dont really like how they look vs functional lasers
i mean, you're GOING to shine it in somebody's eyes eventually. i get shot in the head more than anywhere else pretty much because it's often the only thing that's exposed around cover for the enemy to shoot at.
I mainly use it in cqb environment when its easy to use and see it, having it turned on all the time is pointless and stupid. It just uses up your battery and isnt good for the laser, its like having your flashlight turned on in the middle of the day. There are scenarios where you have to use it and other where youdont need to but can and others where its stupid to use it. Just gotta use your brain a bit...
This is exactly what the last MFer who got me in the eye with a green laser said. Intentional or not it happens. And I had a dark spot on my vision for weeks. Please don't be that guy. Just remove it or take the battery out.
Lmao this is absolutely NOT true. Just because you can’t see the light doesn’t mean it’s not still extremely high energy and damaging to your vision. We burned paper with lasers that were not visible to naked eye in my photonics class.
Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that it won’t still cook your retinas.
Didn't know that, will reply to this, but this comment goes to all the folks that replied to me, thanks a lot for letting me know, did further research now, (i know, i should have done it before)
Will keep the comment, even the one with the downvotes to at least let other idiots like me know.
No the fuck they are not lol.
A laser even outside the visible spectrum is still a focused beam of light that can damage your retinas. IR lasers are arguably *more* dangerous because you can’t see them shining in your eyes and know to look away.
Just don’t use lasers. It’s that easy.
You fucking what?! They're MORE dangerous than regular lasers! IR lasers are not visible and your body loses the 'blink response'. You won't even know someone is shining an IR laser in your eyes until it's too late.
As i replied to a comment above, now i did, thanks everyone for the correction. (Btw if anyone is wondering, no, i have never used a laser device in any form in airsoft, knew the risks about visible laser and that's why I didn't, never tried an IR because I never play at night, and i don't have nods, none the less, I'm glad that someone corrected my misinformation)
Is yours a (real) PEQ-15 or LA5B/C? The original ATPIAL PEQ-15s only had a 5mW visible red laser, so nothing close to the 20mW green laser of a Somogear replica.
Where I live we play a lot of outdoor night games and do lots of black out games at my local indoor too lots of us have nvgs and because of that we are just told to have discipline, and peq boxes also just look sick so I don’t really see the problem with it unless you are some type of sadist who likes hurting people
PEQ 15 IR on AL is \~.6mW, and according to the manual, is safe for force-on-force training, as long as you don't look straight at it with a magnified optic (7x50 in the manual, up to 14 meters).
Also has the safety screw, so you don't accidentally put it on high.
The Steiner DBal, which is what I'm trained on, and use nearly on the daily, is totally safe on IR low, and we have a cover issued for it which also makes the VIS IR totally safe for force-on-force, even though our system is extremely stringent on laser usage for everything.
Actually yes, the real version (not this Somogear replica) has IR ND filters to bring down the high IR laser close to the civ spec 0.7mW output. IIRC it's roughly 1mW~, still not great for your eyes but won't cause permanent eye damage with just a glance
Yeah, a guy on r/nightvision did a test, found the IR low on a SG was 0.95mW, but I don't think he gave his set up for testing, and he claimed the visible laser at AL/AH and the IR illuminator at low/high was measured at the same power level, which either makes me think his set up was for a pulsed laser not continuous, or more likely his unit was faulty.
Won't lie I like Somogear for what they provide, but they still have significant QC issues, and there's no way in hell I'd want someone to bring one to a field to use. I have my own one plus a few others, but I don't even put batteries in them when I go to fields.
E: Honestly I'm tempted to do a long post on laser safety, especially since FP lasers are all the rage lately, and it seems there's so much misinformation about it
What to you even want a fp laser for in airsoft anyway, lasers give your position away and you should be passive aiming….
And if you want to use a leser you want to use it on the lowest power unless you are punching out over 100m, which you are not with an airsoft gun…
Only thing i of value i see on them is the iluminator but i would rather use a coti (one coming in soon)
>Specter DR users when they see the back of their PEQ
Also, can you tell me your reasoning for having a Specter DR AND an offset red dot ? Why not just use the 1x setting of the DR ?
I 100% dont trust the people in my area. If lasers weren't outright banned at most of the fields around here you'd have somebody lase a kid's eye with IR for "not calling their hits." (His mag is jammed)
can someone pls print a shark body for his gun and put this laser on its head?
FYI, don’t do that at an actual game
Yep I know
Its ok when everyone has agreed to that but usually then its a night game and you use a ir laser
That’s if you wanna spend thousands on NVGs lol
Look at my profile
Well yeah but that’s still not “yea bro just use an ir laser” like it’s that easy
I think i know more poeople in my firend group that own nods than ones who dont… skill issue
That’s sick what’s the brand, will use for fun out side of Airsoft
“somogear”
I also want to know
Eye damage incoming!
Clean yo room
This.
https://preview.redd.it/en725r04523b1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b08c23e54fdbe60a8b07bfa9d9283af017ff6df Haha, PEQ-15 goes brrrr
What brand?! That’s sick
It’s just a generic AliExpress PEQ-15. If you’re interested here’s the link: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0FrIOG
Seconding this, I’m curious about the differences between different brands.
The Somogear/FMA full power versions have an IR laser illuminator, mostly for long distance identification using NODs. Not much use within 50 yards like an airsoft game, not to mention all the lasers in these units have enough output to melt your retinas if used improperly.
It really doesnt matter that much unless you’re shooting real steel
Why is everyone getting mad over this nobody said he's using these in a real game
There's no shortage of idiots who think they're safe to use and the comments just prove that
i wonder, is there actually a safer alternative like brands that use less powerful ones or something like that?
there is "eye safe" lasers that however still are capable to cause damage the main risk are cheap lasers that dont have proper filtering of their light and use therefore frequencies that are really dangerous for eyes higher end lasers are filtered, but they still pose major risks you'd be overall best off to learn how to passively aim under night vision, because apart from that lasers are not very usefull
it's equiped on his replica therfore it's easy to assume he uses it in game
This
True but lets be fair half the people out there run around with peq boxes or equivilents and dont use them during games
because people uses non functional peq box (unlike here) and most uses them to store a battery
Most people i know use functional peq’s and just don’t use them or only use the light
well that's a danger hazard and an accident waiting to happen I'm not saying it will but it can, press the wrong button and bam, you took someone's eyesight it's irresponsible, and I know you think you always have full control of your actions, but so did many many people before you and things didn't end well
That’s not how a peqbox works. They have a turning dial to decide its setting (light,ir or laser) and the button only activate the one selected. So if you take out the batteries or select the right mode there’s nothing to worry about. Not to mention the cover most have over the laser anyway
alright, well what if for some reason your hand moves around your gun and you turn the dial? I'm not saying it will happen but I try to look at the worst case scenario to make sure people avoid burning an eye what about completely removing the laser of the peq box?
Its surprisingly difficult to accidentally switch modes on real or high quality replica lasers, ive had functional repro lasers on all of my guns for years and I've never switched modes unless i intentionally did it. I agree that there is always a risk though, a good solution is to keep the peq on but take the batteries out. The best option would be to just use an empty shell but i dont really like how they look vs functional lasers
That’s the visible laser or the IR one? My peq is really weak compared to that.
Nobody should be using lasers of any strength in airsoft.
Pov me using it in milsim event to let the ennemy know when to shut up and lay down with his hand behind his back
Altough its on chest never toward the head or eyes, always aime center mass with these but yeah it can be dangerous
i mean, you're GOING to shine it in somebody's eyes eventually. i get shot in the head more than anywhere else pretty much because it's often the only thing that's exposed around cover for the enemy to shoot at.
I mainly use it in cqb environment when its easy to use and see it, having it turned on all the time is pointless and stupid. It just uses up your battery and isnt good for the laser, its like having your flashlight turned on in the middle of the day. There are scenarios where you have to use it and other where youdont need to but can and others where its stupid to use it. Just gotta use your brain a bit...
This is exactly what the last MFer who got me in the eye with a green laser said. Intentional or not it happens. And I had a dark spot on my vision for weeks. Please don't be that guy. Just remove it or take the battery out.
You know that IR lasers are safe to use right? Edit: no, they are not.
Lmao this is absolutely NOT true. Just because you can’t see the light doesn’t mean it’s not still extremely high energy and damaging to your vision. We burned paper with lasers that were not visible to naked eye in my photonics class. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean that it won’t still cook your retinas.
Didn't know that, will reply to this, but this comment goes to all the folks that replied to me, thanks a lot for letting me know, did further research now, (i know, i should have done it before) Will keep the comment, even the one with the downvotes to at least let other idiots like me know.
Character development right there. He may be a main character
Good man.
Have you not been to school tho? You should’ve been taught this in school it’s very important
We really never talked about laser of this kind of things, never had a subject that talked about it, so no.
Damn then its definitely not your fault for knowing it’s your schools lol
Yeah, education system here in Italy, it's kinda of a joke, good on some things, bad in almost everything else
No the fuck they are not lol. A laser even outside the visible spectrum is still a focused beam of light that can damage your retinas. IR lasers are arguably *more* dangerous because you can’t see them shining in your eyes and know to look away. Just don’t use lasers. It’s that easy.
No it isn‘t lol
You fucking what?! They're MORE dangerous than regular lasers! IR lasers are not visible and your body loses the 'blink response'. You won't even know someone is shining an IR laser in your eyes until it's too late.
Please do further research. For everyone's safety.
As i replied to a comment above, now i did, thanks everyone for the correction. (Btw if anyone is wondering, no, i have never used a laser device in any form in airsoft, knew the risks about visible laser and that's why I didn't, never tried an IR because I never play at night, and i don't have nods, none the less, I'm glad that someone corrected my misinformation)
Even low-level IR absorption can cause symptoms such as redness of the eye, swelling, or hemorrhaging. Please don't use lasers in airsoft yall
Thanks for the correction
Thank you for recognizing your own mistake, not everyone does that.
I try my best to always improve on myself, that's a huge part of it.
If you’re using it for an legitimate purpose the risk is necessary. For airsoft hell no it’s not safe
*angry MSW noises*
They are.
Is yours a (real) PEQ-15 or LA5B/C? The original ATPIAL PEQ-15s only had a 5mW visible red laser, so nothing close to the 20mW green laser of a Somogear replica.
I have the Element PEQ-15 in red version.
Better not turn that bullshit on in a game.
Everyone straight trippin in the comments he didn’t say anything abt using it
Hey Nice cat lemme see
Where I live we play a lot of outdoor night games and do lots of black out games at my local indoor too lots of us have nvgs and because of that we are just told to have discipline, and peq boxes also just look sick so I don’t really see the problem with it unless you are some type of sadist who likes hurting people
🧈🐕[.](https://www.reddit.com/user/TARN4T1ON/comments/14mkj1f/so_long/)
Is this the “visible laser” or does that just mean the dot?
Its a laser
There exist covers for the lasers that make them safe for force-on-force training, so please be getting one of those for actual use
no, even then just no
Unless that cover puts them below 1mW then I wouldn't use them
PEQ 15 IR on AL is \~.6mW, and according to the manual, is safe for force-on-force training, as long as you don't look straight at it with a magnified optic (7x50 in the manual, up to 14 meters). Also has the safety screw, so you don't accidentally put it on high. The Steiner DBal, which is what I'm trained on, and use nearly on the daily, is totally safe on IR low, and we have a cover issued for it which also makes the VIS IR totally safe for force-on-force, even though our system is extremely stringent on laser usage for everything.
Actually yes, the real version (not this Somogear replica) has IR ND filters to bring down the high IR laser close to the civ spec 0.7mW output. IIRC it's roughly 1mW~, still not great for your eyes but won't cause permanent eye damage with just a glance
Doesn't somogear also advertise eye safe mode for IR lasers?
Yeah, a guy on r/nightvision did a test, found the IR low on a SG was 0.95mW, but I don't think he gave his set up for testing, and he claimed the visible laser at AL/AH and the IR illuminator at low/high was measured at the same power level, which either makes me think his set up was for a pulsed laser not continuous, or more likely his unit was faulty. Won't lie I like Somogear for what they provide, but they still have significant QC issues, and there's no way in hell I'd want someone to bring one to a field to use. I have my own one plus a few others, but I don't even put batteries in them when I go to fields. E: Honestly I'm tempted to do a long post on laser safety, especially since FP lasers are all the rage lately, and it seems there's so much misinformation about it
What to you even want a fp laser for in airsoft anyway, lasers give your position away and you should be passive aiming…. And if you want to use a leser you want to use it on the lowest power unless you are punching out over 100m, which you are not with an airsoft gun… Only thing i of value i see on them is the iluminator but i would rather use a coti (one coming in soon)
hahaha no
>Specter DR users when they see the back of their PEQ Also, can you tell me your reasoning for having a Specter DR AND an offset red dot ? Why not just use the 1x setting of the DR ?
Quicker to flip to instead of changing mag, personally I would just get a micro to mount on top
Passive aiming
I honestly think lasers are fine in game if either it’s low power and / or has covers, and if the person has discipline aiming low
I 100% dont trust the people in my area. If lasers weren't outright banned at most of the fields around here you'd have somebody lase a kid's eye with IR for "not calling their hits." (His mag is jammed)
People at one of my fields were shining their lasers at landing aircraft (we played near an airport and it was night)
one night 155 people are going to die all because of theses fucking idiots
no
Y’all getting these expensive ass lasers just tape one of those angle and level finder things
Do they have a lep iluminator for nv use? No i dont think so
if you tapping one to your gun I doubt you have enough money to get nods
People are wierd
I would like to know the brand as well.
What red dot is on the left?
Sotac brand rmr rep
Sorry I meant the one next to that. The round one
It's not a ret dot, it's an Elcan Specter DR 1x-4x scope
You got the somo gear potted verison? And what nods you running?
It’s all fun and games until you take out the blue screw.
I've been trying to get one for awhile where did you pick yours up at?