I have 5 ir-lasers
2 x laser max (about $150 onAmazon)
1 x Steiner CQBL (about $700- $800)
1 x PAQ-4c (about $400 on ebay)
1x AIM2000 (took in trade)
The laser max lasers I have still work, but both pressure pads died. I will probably replace the pressure padd. One of these is 3.5 years old, the other 2 years old. These might be the ones your friend says "wash out" at 50yds. BUT, what are you trying to do with them? I go after mice, rats, opossum and coons with them and they work fine. Though these shots are almost all under 100yds. I practice on 8 inch still at 100yds.
You can mitigate the washout, a.k.a. bloom by turning on an ir-illuminator (i have ir-illuminators on my helmets primarily for this purpose). I also have a cover that reduces bloom.
How far out max are you going to shoot standing unsupported with an ir-laser? For me the answer is 150yds and all of the above lasers work fine for that.
If you want a "good one" ... then I would recommend the CQBL-1 ... it is 8 ounces IIRC. It also has a viz red laser as well as the ir-laser. I use the red laser to aid in zeroing the ir-laser.
Here is .22lr with laser max ir-laser on 12 o'clock.
==
Here are the 5.56 carbines ...
from top to bottom, 5.56(14.5) with AIM2000
5.56(10.3) with steiner cqbl
5.56(10.5) with pqa-4c
==
moosberg 930T with laser max
==
For those who have never used them, I would say it takes some practice. So if you want to "try it out" first, then I would recommend the lower cost laser-max
https://www.amazon.com/LaserMax-LMS-UNI-IR-Multiple-Platform-Infrared/dp/B005FSRDJI
And once you I ready to step up I would recommend the CQBL-1 ... a number of dealers sell those.
==
Also, there are two methods of zeroing "convergent" and "parallel". The US Army uses parallel. That is a little more complex to do, but that puts the line of the laser beam parallel to the barrel, so if the laser is pointing at something the barrel is pointing real close to it (like 1-2 inches), regardless of distance.
For convergent zero, you co-witness the laser to the center of the reticle after zeroing at a particular distance. So if you zero at 100yds, then convergent zero will work fine for all practical hunting purposes.
==
One advantage of using the ir-illuminators and ir-lasers is ability to see the eyes of the critter. I've gotten a number of rats I could not have seen with the pvs-14 alone, without the illumination. But I will have to say, once I got thermals, I don't use the ir-lasers much. I consider them to be the "backup" aiming systems now. I practiced with them a lot 2 years ago, but ought to practice more with them now.