Air traffic control is increasingly reporting incidents of pilots being interfered with by target laser pointers during landings. Thanks to the worldwide sale via the online store, everyone has easy access to powerful laser pointers, which can only be purchased in Germany under certain conditions. Hand-held pointers in the green wavelength range are very inexpensive and can power up to a few watts. The range of the laser pointer depends on the wavelength used, power and ambient lighting conditions. It looks like a cool toy, but the green laser pointer from the DVD drive is pretty much the strongest that the average consumer can get and definitely can't compare to a normal high power laser pointer.
The last two times I took a light from customs, I was asked if it was a 10000mw laser pointer and I had to turn on the lights to prove they were flashlights. There are plenty of "powerful" laser pointers in the UK. This means at least customs issues can be completely ignored. The photo above shows an eye view of (refracted) light from a green laser pointer. Beneath this, the webcam also shows white dots between green light spots: infrared radiation! During a shopping spree, physicists stumbled across cheap green laser pointers that were advertised as having 10 mW light output and were not allowed to be sold in many countries.
This is where the laser pointer comes into play. This is a mini flashlight that works with a laser beam. Laser technology can create a small spot of light and point it very precisely at various objects. You can't do this with a traditional flashlight. Since such laser pointers are also small - some can fit on a stack of keys - they are also much more convenient than walking sticks. I rarely use a flashlight, so I prefer a laser pointer. Mufflers are also useful. I stumbled across a site that has a laser pointer built into the gun, i.e. where the recoil spring is "overtightened" there is a new piece of metal integrated with the laser pointer.