Emax purple laser pointer with five caps

Violet patterns, not red or green ones

Pattern-cap pointers are common enough in red and green. In purple they are not. This model pairs the five-cap set with the Emax violet emitter, so the shapes it throws onto a wall or ceiling come out in a deep violet rather than the colours everyone has already seen. If the point of buying a pattern pointer is that it looks striking, the colour is the whole argument for this version.

Best in a dark room

Violet is the hardest of the three colours for the eye to register, which is the trade-off you accept for the unusual look. Practically, that means this one belongs indoors with the lights down: on a pale ceiling, a white wall or a plain floor after dark the patterns show up properly, whereas in a bright room they will look faint. Anyone who wants pattern effects for a daytime setting should choose the green cap set instead.

Everything stores together

A box is supplied with the pointer to keep the five caps safe. It is a small thing, but caps are easy to lose and awkward to replace, and the box means the set stays complete a year later rather than leaving you with one cap and a vague memory of the rest.

Simple power

Two AAA batteries run the pointer and are included with your order, so there is nothing else to buy and nothing to charge before you first use it. They take seconds to change and replacements are available from any supermarket, which is worth more than it sounds if the pointer only comes out a few times a year and you want it to work when it does.

What’s in the box

• 1x Emax purple laser pointer
• 5x pattern caps
• 1x storage box
• 2x AAA batteries