A phone call from Patrick informed me that Bob was at SPOC with his 50mw laser, so even though I was beat from tilling and planting the back 40, I showered and drove on out. (Any excuse to drive the rotary speed machine!) I was surprised to find that Bob's laser is not a "pen" style pointer, but something more like a conventional flashlight in size (post the details, Bob). Patrck likened it to a WWII German "stick grenade". We had a small assortment on-hand; Boyd had his $35 Lucky Duck Special and I had my Computer Geeks laser as well as 20mw Lucky Duck and Beta pointer. I did not bring my light meter, as the 20mw units are close to the meter's upper-range limit as it is. As expected, the 50mw was noticeably brighter than either the Lucky Duck 20mw or the Beta pointer- but not as much as you'd think. After careful consideration, I would estimate about a 30%-50% increase in brightness. I don't think I could be convinced that it was twice as bright, to the eye. But this is a very subjective, individual perception. The $80 Lucky Duck 20mw was easily, handily visible even under the waxing gibbous moon, as was the $120 Beta laser. They are just as useful even under twilight or suburban skies as the 50mw. In the moonlight, the $35 Lucky Duck and the Computer Geeks lasers were almost invisible. You had to be standing very close to see the beams of both. They don't stand-up to bright moonlight. I hope to get a metered reading on the 50mw one day, when I have a suitable filter to bring it's brightness within range of the meter. Re-measuring the Beta and Lucky Ducks with the same filter will tell us how much brighter the 50mw actually is. The verdict? Based on what I saw, the 50mw is the brightest and if cost is no object, it's definitely the brightest sky pointer. The Beta is still the brightest of the pen-sized pointers and not too far behind the 50mw unit. But I also cannot see spending $400 (is that right, Bob?) on an only slightly brighter laser. Taking convenient size, visibility AND ecconomy into account, the clear winners are the 20mw Lucky Duck and Beta pointers. Almost as bright, 1/5 the size and 1/4 the cost, and no permit needed. If Luck Duck still has the 20mw units available, that would get my recommendation for the prospective laser purchaser. Your mileage may vary- if you need the absolute brightest pointer you can get then maybe the "rock show" laser really will fill the bill.