Well, my Quark AA2 regular cool white was arrived today...
Honestly can't say I am completely pleased... was I expecting too much? (first real light).
The threads seem a bit rough and were a bit dirty it seemed, scraped a fingernail through the threads and the stuff in them was not a grease/oil (that I know of), it was a soft/solid matter, pliable... could move it around, stretch it etc...
I got my AA2 regulat neutral while last friday and had the same, on the tailcap. Shouldn't be, but not a great problem either, I used a q-tip to get the dirt more or less out, feels good now, after adding some lube.
How much of a difference is there supposed to be between the 70 and 170 lumins when in a dark room?
There is a difference, but not that much... more of a noticeable difference between the 18 and 70 modes.
This is with both the alkalines it came with and eneloops.
Double Lumen doesn't mean double output. On my neutral white it is noticeable however and surely makes sense if you really need brightness.
Is the clip removable? I thought I read it was... I can't figure out how.
Unfortunately, that's not documented and I found out after I nearly cut the o-ring. So, get out the o-ring first, just strap it on the threads. Then you loosen the ring that holds the clip completely, until it has no contact with the threads anymore. To remove the clip, you still need a little force and you may scratch the anodizing with it. I reinstalled mine after bending it back, because I already bent it the wrong way when trying to tear it out. As I bent it too much, I had some trouble to fix the ring, after some more bending and pressing both the clip and the ring are in place as they should be and it will stay like this now.
How hard is the clicky supposed to be to press? Mine at times can be a bit difficult to press.
I can confirm that theyx are hard to press, same for the tactical. They are probably the stiffest I own, but, as I'm a man...
Also with the clicky, it seems sometimes when changing between modes (half pressing) that it won't change every time, somtimes will blink but stay on the same mode.
Not sure if this is me or the clicky (does it require a certain distance/pressure before changing)?
That's strange! While I sometimes had no result at all ar first, as the switch is quite stiff, it always changes when I press it deep enough and if it blinks, it should be pressed in deep enough.
Be sure your NiMh cells are correctly charged, keep out the alcalines (I collect mine, which come with the flashlights for thr remote controls, needn't buy any fort years by now...).
Seriously, alkalines may leak and may not bring the necessary current drawn for a long time, especially on high.
Overall, it is a nice light, just curious on the above questions.Cheers.
EDIT:
Just checked it outside (night time here) and used both the 170 and 70 modes, there is virtually no point in using the 170 mode over the 70, the spill is a tad brighter, the spot a tad brighter but the difference to me is small enough it does not light up anything enough over the 70 mode to use it. This was a distance of about 15m and about 60m (2 different trees)
Don't get me wrong the 70 mode is quite bright and is pretty much what I would use most of the time, but if the 170 mode is meant to be any brighter than mine is I most certainly would like it to be.
So, going back to my first question... was I expecting too much from it?
If your test was performed by daylight I would tell you to test at night. As you tested by night, either you expected too much or your light has a problem. There is no way to tell somebody how much brighter it should be, but it should be a real difference in the dark.
I suppose you have no other light to compare with as you say it's your first real flashlight. Make a search here, perhaps you'll find beamshots of the different levels. Again, make sure your NiMh are fully charged, it's the turbo mode which is affected by half depleted cells, while the rest of the modes may work normally.
Greets,
Henk
