imported post
I have red Crimson Trace lasers on 4 handguns and like them very much. I don't have any experience with green lasers, but thought I would pass along this from Crimson Trace.
Green Laser:
From the Crimson Trace FAQ forum page (respondent is a Crimson Trace employee, of course, and Crimson Trace does NOT make a green laser):
http://forums.crimsontrace.com/index.php?topic=33880.0
When Will Crimson Trace Make a Green Laser? «
on: February 04, 2008, 02:29:36 PM »
First allow me to address the hype of green lasers. A lot of laser manufactures are hyping green as the 2nd coming of laser sighting technology. Marketing buzz phrases like "50 times brighter than red," "Day Visible," "Brighter under all conditions," etc.... and they look pretty cool on TV right?
Green laser do one thing semi well and everything else pretty poorly. The one thing they do better than red is they do appear brighter. Power regulations are the same for both colors (can be up to 5mw) so we are talking about a difference of color only and that green is more sensitive to the human eye to see. Under sunlight green is easier to see than red, but all lasers regardless of color mute under bright sunlight, green is no exception. The brighter the sunlight the more the laser will mute until it is visibly useless to the shooter, the difference is with a green laser more bright sunlight is needed to mute it then red.
The problem is being the color green is easier for the human eye to see, under low light conditions (the conditions you are much more likely to need to use your laser equipped firearm in self defense) green offers some very real disadvantages. Under low light the green laser will splash off the target terribly making it difficult to discern the dot. Also under low light conditions the green laser itself is visible, one nice line from shooter to target. Finally under low light conditions the green laser will illuminate your surroundings (this is especially true inside buildings) like a green LED flashlight.
Furthermore green lasers are an IR diode with a chip that brings the color down into the green spectrum, because of this green lasers are 10 times less battery efficient than the current red. Also green diodes are much more fragile and more prone to temperature variations than the long proven red diodes.
To summarize, green lasers are currently not a good "all purpose" laser like the current red lasers are. I am personally of the opinion green lasers should be used or selected only for specialized tasks or missions where engaging bad guys under sunlight will be likely. Green is more of a specialized usage laser choice like IR than a good every day carry, all purpose, what you want on your gun 24/7, color choice like the red is.
As to the question at hand....
Will Crimson Trace ever make a green laser?
I have learned to never say never in this industry but at this time no. Until technology moves forward enough to eliminate problems like green diodes being fragile, being susceptible to temperature variations, and the battery drain problem, it likely will not be until these hurdles can be overcome.