PapaGary
Newly Enlightened
Me too and I have both a 123 2 regular and a 123 tactical.
Yep.Different strokes...
Quark regular vs tactical?
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bodhran
Enlightened
No...Quarks are not an effective bear repelent, they however provide enough light to keep me from falling over dead branches in the dark. I once did a spectacular foreward flip over a dead branch. I think even the bears got a good laugh with that one.
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Chevy-SS
Enlightened
Agreed, these lights may not be full-on 'tactical' lights, but they aren't far off. But the good news is they're so small, you'll likely have one with you when you actually NEED it, unlike your larger 'genuine' tactical lights which will be sitting home.
And even though these lights are small, if you strobe (at night) some creepy miscreant that's approaching for whatever reason, the bright flashes will absolutely give you a few seconds to get away (or prepare to take other action).
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f22shift
Flashlight Enthusiast
i can see the appeal of the regular. in some instances it's actually more tactical in that it can reach all settings quicker.
for me, the programming is smart and easy so it's not a chore to set depending on what task i'm using it for.
another thing i like is that if i were to lend the light, it would be simple. i can just program low/med or low/high and just hand it to someone and say twist low/high. i don't like the idea of lending someone who can access turbo and it overheats or they discharge nimhs to the bottom(from experience). on the otherhand, you can just not lend out
another consideration is that the tacticals can preflash harsher than the regular. not a dealkiller for me but may be for some.
for me, the programming is smart and easy so it's not a chore to set depending on what task i'm using it for.
another thing i like is that if i were to lend the light, it would be simple. i can just program low/med or low/high and just hand it to someone and say twist low/high. i don't like the idea of lending someone who can access turbo and it overheats or they discharge nimhs to the bottom(from experience). on the otherhand, you can just not lend out
another consideration is that the tacticals can preflash harsher than the regular. not a dealkiller for me but may be for some.
Preflash is a sucky price to pay, but two set modes works for me, high and low.
It's somewhat assuring for me to know that when it's set to high, that's what I get if I need it NOW.
I also have an extra flat tail cap that I can install for tail standing if the need arises.
The Quark Turbo simply works for me. Extreme light output in a compact form factor that is ready at a moments notice.
Nice light, but . . .
Received my AA/2 today. Very nice light for the money spent, but the pre-flash is a real downer.:thumbsdow Going to Yosemite next week and will see how bad the pre-flash is in actual use before deciding if I want to send it back. Maybe because it was my first quality light, but the Quark Mini AA impressed me more than the AA/2. Taking my new Surefire A2L Aviator along also, if it gets here before I leave. It will be interesting to compare the two.
Received my AA/2 today. Very nice light for the money spent, but the pre-flash is a real downer.:thumbsdow Going to Yosemite next week and will see how bad the pre-flash is in actual use before deciding if I want to send it back. Maybe because it was my first quality light, but the Quark Mini AA impressed me more than the AA/2. Taking my new Surefire A2L Aviator along also, if it gets here before I leave. It will be interesting to compare the two.
ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
I don't mean this to be argumentative, but I really don't understand the big deal about pre-flash. I mean, I understand that a bright pre-flash would cause you're night vision to suffer if your eyes are already adjusted to complete darkness, and I can see where the pre-flash could bother someone else. The thing is, the pre-flash lasts how long? Milliseconds? Just cover the bezel with your hand for that amount of time. If you can't use two hands, hold the bezel down onto something like covers on your bed, or against your stomach and turn it on. If no one else is around, hold the light with your arm straight down by your waist with the bezel end facing behind you and turn it on.
If you're in a situation where you don't want to give away your location, well, if I were in a situation where I didn't want to give away my location, I wouldn't use a light at all. Again, I'm not trying to argue, I'm trying to understand. Would the previously mentioned suggestions not work? Are there other problems that I'm not considering? Pre-flash doesn't bother me, so it's hard for me to understand the problems it causes, especially problems that the previous suggestions don't cover.
If you're in a situation where you don't want to give away your location, well, if I were in a situation where I didn't want to give away my location, I wouldn't use a light at all. Again, I'm not trying to argue, I'm trying to understand. Would the previously mentioned suggestions not work? Are there other problems that I'm not considering? Pre-flash doesn't bother me, so it's hard for me to understand the problems it causes, especially problems that the previous suggestions don't cover.
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ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
This brings me to my next question.
How much is a quality light, with nice features like the Quark, but doesn't have a pre-flash design flaw? Again, I'm really not familiar with which lights have pre-flash and which ones don't.
How much is a quality light, with nice features like the Quark, but doesn't have a pre-flash design flaw? Again, I'm really not familiar with which lights have pre-flash and which ones don't.
JaguarDave-in-Oz
Enlightened
No preflash on the P20C2. Sixty to seventy bucks. Maybe try that.
ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
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Not going there, but you might find the answer to your question here; https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/267454
Don't get me wrong, I think the light is great for what it costs. I waited a while for this light because I would not support the 4/7s business model of send us money, we will use it to buy product, then we will then send it to you. I waited until it was actually in stock for shipment.
BigBluefish
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,461
Tactical for me, because:
1. I HATE clicking through modes, particularly the disco ones.
2. Two levels is what I need, and it keeps things simple. Simple is better. It's like carrying a bright light, and a dim light. Usually, that's enough.
3. I can pick whatever two modes I want. If I want a scorching turbo, or a moonlight low, I've got them. But usually a low and high works fine. IfI need a strobe as a warning light, or a beacon to find my way back to some spot in the dark, then there's a blinky mode I can use, in the very unlikley event that I'll need it.
4. Two words: Forward Clicky.
1. I HATE clicking through modes, particularly the disco ones.
2. Two levels is what I need, and it keeps things simple. Simple is better. It's like carrying a bright light, and a dim light. Usually, that's enough.
3. I can pick whatever two modes I want. If I want a scorching turbo, or a moonlight low, I've got them. But usually a low and high works fine. IfI need a strobe as a warning light, or a beacon to find my way back to some spot in the dark, then there's a blinky mode I can use, in the very unlikley event that I'll need it.
4. Two words: Forward Clicky.
JaguarDave-in-Oz
Enlightened
My new MkII version has a much lower low mode than my older P20C2 model (despite the lumens levels written on their boxes indicating the opposite) but it's not as low as the Quark's lowest low mode. I don't have any mechanical means of accurately judging it but MkII's low seems, when compared with my eyes, to be a bit dimmer than quark's second low mode.
I actually prefer the slightly brighter low of my original P20C2 model because I find it a bit more useful for outdoor use (where I use it most) though for really dark indoor use the lower low on the MkII model is more suitable.
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ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
:thumbsup:
ti-force
Flashlight Enthusiast
My feelings are the same as yours. I use my lights for outside use most of the time as well, and I find myself using the turbo mode most of the time and switching to the high mode when I need less light.
I have a question on the operation of the Regular vs. the Tactical. Does the Tactical function just the the Regular AA?
The mode sequence is determined by whether the bezel is tightened or loosened:
Loosened Bezel: Moonlight -> Low -> Medium -> High -> SOS -> Beacon
Tightened Bezel: Max -> Strobe
I'm debating which version to get and would like the Tactical to also perform in this method. If it doesn't, can I simply buy a normal AA and buy a Tactical tail cap?
The mode sequence is determined by whether the bezel is tightened or loosened:
Loosened Bezel: Moonlight -> Low -> Medium -> High -> SOS -> Beacon
Tightened Bezel: Max -> Strobe
I'm debating which version to get and would like the Tactical to also perform in this method. If it doesn't, can I simply buy a normal AA and buy a Tactical tail cap?
brightasday
Newly Enlightened
With the tactical, repeatedly pressing the switch just turns the light on and off. It does not change the mode. You tighten/loosen the head to switch between two modes of your choice. If you will be happy with two modes, the tactical lights are great. If you want easy access to more modes, you need the regular. If you have the tactical and want to access a third mode, you need to reprogram it (~20 seconds).
The tail caps only turn the lights on and off. They don't change the way modes are selected.
