Quark regular vs tactical?

Regular or Tactical Quark & why?

  • Regular

    Votes: 75 34.6%
  • Tactical

    Votes: 142 65.4%

  • Total voters
    217

Hobbs

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Want a AA for house duty and walks in Sequoia & Yosemite Nat'l parks. Decided on a Quark. Having a hell of time deciding between standard or tactical.

Just saw the thread from last year.:oops:
Mods can close this if you wish.
 
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OCD

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I had the same delima :shakehead, but since I wanted the Turbo, that was the deciding factor. Love the Turbo :thumbsup: but now want a regular to see which one I like better! :thinking:
 

jimmy1970

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Easy selection - Tactical. Forward clicky, 2 levels that are fully programmable. For me, that beats the hell out of the reverse clicky of the normal model with no programmability (apart from locking on the turbo mode) and having to cycle through the blinky modes:green:. I would just stick with my old Fenix L2DQ5 if I wanted the low mode first set up with reverse clicky.

No tail stand though with the tactical model if that's important to you,

James....:D
 
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jimmy1970

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last i checked, all blinky modes were at the END of the menu, and you NEVER have to cycle through them to reach ANY constant-on mode from off.

You do if you want to go from medium to low mode. Anyway, I know what your saying - the normal version is preferred by many people and it does give you more output options and quicker access to SOS and strobe.
 
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JaguarDave-in-Oz

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last i checked, all blinky modes were at the END of the menu, and you NEVER have to cycle through them to reach ANY constant-on mode from off.
I find I OFTEN have to cycle through the flashing modes when using my regular Quarks. Once you have used the torch on high, the rubbish modes are at the START of the soft press order unless you turn it completely off and wait for several seconds in the dark.
 

ti-force

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Easy selection - Tactical. Forward clicky, 2 levels that are fully programmable. For me, that beats the hell out of the reverse clicky of the normal model with no programmability (apart from locking on the turbo mode) and having to cycle through the blinky modes:green:.


No tail stand though with the tactical model if that's important to you,

James....:D



+1 :thumbsup:
 

brightasday

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I don't think you can go too far wrong with either light. The things I don't like about the tactical are 1) It is really inconvenient if you regularly want to use 3 modes. Say for example you want to use high most of the time to get high output and fairly long runtimes, but occasionally also want to use turbo for extra brightness, and moonlight for nighttime reading. In that scenario you would have to reprogram the flashlight frequently. 2) no tailstanding.

With the regular all the modes are pretty easily accessible.
 

strinq

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Got meself the Quark 123 Ti Regular.
After using it for awhile i realised that my next buy would be a tactical.
I just love a forward clicky and hardly ever need my lights to tailstand.
 

defloyd77

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Saint_Dogbert

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For the intended purpose, I think two modes is adequate, and momentary activation an advantage.
 

Xenogy

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I just got the Quark AA as my general purpose light for EDC, hiking, camping and headband duty. Sine I'll be going through batteries the most in this one I wanted the AA model. The standard UI is nice to have a multitude of options at my disposal in a general purpose light, and the tailstand ability is also nice. I can still do light taps on the tailswitch and cycle through the modes without having to fully depress it and click through each mode. A review I saw said this couldn't be done on the regular model and could only be done on the tactical model. Also with the recessed switch it would be about impossible to accidentally go off in the pocket.

The moonlight mode is awesome and very useful just like everyone has said.
Low and Medium modes I find very useful.
High and Max there is hardly any difference. Only use between the two is to conserve battery life. Although I would probably opt for the max 109 lumen mode for investigating bumps in the night. The max 109 lumen mode is convenient and quick to access with just a turn of the headlamp. I think High and Max on other models would be alot more useful because they go from 85 lumens and jump to 230 instead of 85-109 on the AA model

I was surprised to find the beacon mode once activated flashes 5 times in about one second intervals then flashes once every 10 seconds. I think this is great because if you place your flashlight at base camp as a beacon you don't want 1 second intervals. The 10 second interval is great for conserving batteries and not calling too much attention to your base camp.

A review I saw complained the knurling was not grippy enough but I think it's about perfect. It's about twice as grippy as my mini Mag light. When you handle the light you also realize the placement and amount of knurling is well executed. Small amount on the tailcap for replacing batteries and a generous amount of knurling on the headlamp since it's the most used portion

My plan was and still is to get the Quark Turbo 123 next. I want it as a pocket thrower for shining further on rustles in the bushes. Also bedside duty for bumps in the night. The tactical UI for me would be best served for this purpose. The momentary on and cycling on and off without a full click should be easier on the tactical model. For the Turbo 123 with tactical UI I'm thinking for hiking I would probably have it programmed for Medium and Max. Bedside duty probably Max and Strobe or Strobe and Moonlight.

I think both UIs server their purpose. Standard UI for a general purpose light. Tactical UI for all other uses. So far I'm really satisfied with the standard UI for my general purpose light.
 

skyfire

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i recently got a regular tail switch for my 123-2 tactical. and after a couple days, i went back with the tactical tailcap. the forward clicky feels much better and natural.

and if i needed tailstand, all of my other lights tailstand, and i always have at least 2 lights on me.

i also prefer the 2 programmable settings. i have a fenix pd30 which basically is the same interface as the quark regular, and dont like to cycle through the modes.

also, i rarely ever use blinking modes (only for fun, or to annoy, which is fun for me):sssh: i use my light on max most the time. and low occasionally.

so the tactical works better for me. i think you should think about how you will be using the light, and choose what works best for you.
 

Henk_Lu

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Indeed it's not easy to choose, each version has its advantages and disadvantages.

The biggest con of the tactical is the need to (re)program it. People who want it easy should stay away from it, what is normal operation for a flashaholic may be chineese to flashlight-muggles. If you have to reprogram in a dark forest, you'll have to stop walking to do it and you won't be happy. The second con is the non-ability to tailstand.

Think about these two main disadvantages, if they don't bother you, the tactical is the one you want, because of its advantages : First momentary thanks to the tactical forward switch, second the light comes on on the exact you want it to, on the regular you are limited to the very dim moonmode or the very bright turbo.

For a use as you describe it, I would program one mode to medium or high, the other one to high or turbo. This depends on the surrounding light in the area you use it, if it's very dark, medium and high would be best, I use high and turbo on mine.

If you think that two modes wouldn't be enough for your inteded use, buy the regular, you get used very quickly to the fact that you often have to click it at least one mode higher just after switching it on. Moonmode is a very intresting mode to go to the bathroom at night, bust just unusable if there's any sourrounding light...
 

Larbo

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It will depend if you want to be able to quickly change modes or set the two you will use most, plus the tactical will have intermittent which may be more useful, better yet get one of each.:devil:
 

SureAddicted

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Having a hell of time deciding between standard or tactical.

You can easily break it down. Will you be using the light in a tactical situation or just as a general purpose light?
One thing to keep in mind is that TRUE tactical lights wont have the ability to tailstand. The reasoning behind it is that you don't want anything obstructing the tailcap. When using a tac light in a tac situation, the light will always be in your hand, you wont need the tailstanding ability of a light, it's either in your hand or on your person. It's not a disadvantage either, it just comes down to the intended use of the light.
Also, in a tac situation, you want the light to always come on with max lumens, no matter how many times you repeatedly hit the tailcap switch, it should be max lumens first time every time. If anyone tells you otherwise, then they haven't been in a tactical situation.
So, if your intending on buying the tactical version as a general purpose light, you might be disappointed.
 

LukeW

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I would definitely go for the tactical - not because I'm going to be busting down doors or chasing bad guys, but for the fact that the tactical version is programmable. In this respect you can personalise your light by selecting your top two favourite modes (eg. turbo and moonlight) and keep them. You'll still have access to the other modes (like beacon) but they won't get in your way on a daily basis.

Good luck!
 

ZMZ67

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I like the regular version as a utility light.The multiple modes can be annoying sometimes but you always know what your getting and you can make a reasonable judgement on battery drain.The moonlight setting is ideal for use around the house and the other settings should cover the rest of your needs.With the tactical version it is always going to be tough to judge battery life unless you use only the lowest and highest settings.
 

the.Mtn.Man

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I like the regular interface because I like having a variety of modes available at any given moment. I've considered my usage habits and I can't see myself being happy with just two output levels.
 
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