If you want something that just burns, the Pulsar 75 from Wicked Lasers paired with their Caps is what you want. If you really want to start a fire, get the p125 - you won’t be disappointed!

The Pulsar is quite a bit different from the other Wicked Lasers. The beam is a deep red (65onm) and quite a bit wider than the other products. The beam actually has a negative divergence rating - it converges several feet in front of the laser and then diverges. On a dark night from my office I’ve been able to shine it at buildings over a mile away and see the dot. Try doing that with your Radioshack red laser!

The battery life of this is quite a bit better than green lasers and the simplicity of the internal design lends itself to durability better than a DPSS laser does. If you want a high power red laser, you can’t go wrong with this. (Just don’t forget to get the appropriate eye protection)

The beam itself is visible and does make it a candidate for a home made laser scanner. There is no duty cycle on this device bit it is probably a good idea to let it cool off after a few minutes of use.