4Sevens Quark Series Review (unboxing, comparison shots, beamshots: inside, out)

csshih · #1 06-12-2009, 01:19 PM

Please note: I have done a bunch of updated outdoor beamshots in this thread here.

Hello Everyone,

I think most of you have heard of the recently unveiled line of lights, "Quarks" made by the recently dealer turned to manufacturer 4sevens.
This has probably been one of the most highly anticipated lights, but I'll list the specs of the lights I am reviewing:
the Quark AA, 123, 123^2. Also included was a AA^2 body tube.

specs are taken of 4sevens.com
Quark AA

Power: One AA Battery (0.9V~4.2V)
Output: Maximum - 90 lumens; Moonlight - 0.2 lumens
Runtime: Maximum - 1.2 hours; Moonlight - 10 days
Strobe: Strobe, S.O.S., and Beacon flash modes

Quark 123

Power: One CR123A Battery (0.9V~4.2V)
Output: Maximum - 170 lumens; Moonlight - 0.2 lumens
Runtime: Maximum - 0.8 hours; Moonlight - 15 days
Strobe: Strobe, S.O.S., and Beacon flash modes

Quark 123^2

Power: Two CR123A Batteries (3.0V~9.0V)
Output: Maximum - 190 lumens; Moonlight - 0.2 lumens
Runtime: Maximum - 1.8 hours; Moonlight - 30 days
Strobe: Strobe, S.O.S., and Beacon flash modes

More information can be found in the threads linked below.

These lights are from the passaround here. I am not keeping these lights, nor do I get any compensation besides the honor of reviewing these lights.

A Bit of Background:

The 47s manufacturer forum popped up on 4/7/09.. it can be found here.
The "Quark" name was released a while after that in a "accidental" (haha) post here.
There are quite a few "Design Philosphies" in the 47s manufacturer forum, please visit it for more information.

The lights are built to fulfill David Chow's dream of making the best light ever.
We shall see how he does........

unboxing!

my attempt at a 47s shrine..

Quark AA with the AA^2 body

Quark123

Quark123^2

Group Shot!

The boxes have a soft-ish feel to to them on the outside.. first time I've experienced this with a flashlight box!
very classy, high quality look!

Easy, snap apart plastic housing.. nice.

Contents of the Quark AA Box:

Quark 123 Box:

Quark 123^2 Box:

Each box has Batteries, 2 Orings, a lanyard, a "4sevens Finger Grip", a holster, and of course.. the Light.

A comparison shot with a few similar sized lights:

A few comparison Beamshots:
From the Left to right: AA, 123, 123^2

Left to right: AA, Nitecore EZAA V2, nitecore EZAA Warm

Potential Flaws:
The Quark AA's lasering seems not as well done as the other ones.. here are some extreme closeups.. done with a magnifying glass... the pics were hard to do.. don't blame me.

First Impressions:

General: When the lights are started in the 0.23 Lumen super low mode, they appear to flash at a higher brightness for the first few miliseconds. this happened on all the lights., The back rubber tailcap boot was initially flat, but as I used it, the tailcap became slightly deformed....hmm. Also, the clicky is rather hard to activate.

QuarkAA:
This light feels pretty big for an AA sized light.. I think I've been using the EZAA too much.. It fits comfortably in my hand though.

Quark123:
I think this light maybe a little too small, also, there are some big problems I don't like... The clip is under tension, and normally, I would say that it is a good thing, but because of its placement, once you remove the battery tube, the clip moves into the area where the tube used to be, making reattachment extremely hard. also, loosening the head is very hard with the clip in the way.

Quark123^2:
I like this sized light.. it fits very well in my hand.
review and more pics to come soon.

Runtimes:

Quark123:
(I meant MAX)

QuarkAA:

insanefred · #2 06-12-2009, 01:21 PM

I hate you!

Hyperborea · #3 06-12-2009, 01:51 PM

Nice boxes. You forgot to order the AA*2

csshih · #4 06-12-2009, 01:52 PM

The AA^2 uses the same electronics as the AA.

in the passaround, 47s only included a battery tube for the AA^2

DHart · #5 06-12-2009, 02:35 PM

Great start, Craig, I think I can just skip making pictures when I get 'em!

Enjoy...

MrGman · #6 06-12-2009, 02:38 PM

You get two demerits for having the boxes in focus whereas the pics of the actual flashlights appear to be out of focus or maybe just a touch of camera shake due to the low lighting.

The quality of the photos must match that of the flashlights! You're young, you should have good vision to take better pics. And if time is an issue why are you shooting pictures of a brown cardboard shipping box?

Your probably going to use the excuse that its a bright sunny day right now to not have any outdoor night time beam shots too aren't you?

You could be forgiven if you come over with all those lights and a Pizza for lumens testing party.

(Is the pizza ready yet?)

ninjaboigt · #7 06-12-2009, 02:40 PM

i got a question, in the 5th picture ( the first picture with a flashlight in it ) why does the bezel look diffrent? am i missing something here?

Beacon of Light · #8 06-12-2009, 02:43 PM

Do they have the 2xAA battery tube available for sale yet? I should have ordered one with my Quark 1xAA when I ordered that.

DHart · #9 06-12-2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGman

the pics of the actual flashlights appear to be out of focus or maybe just a touch of camera shake due to the low lighting.

OK... well, maybe I can help a little with pics when I get 'em.

AardvarkSagus · #10 06-12-2009, 03:16 PM

...guess I'll skip the unboxing pics myself since mine won't show until sometime next week. Definitely looks good there!

csshih · #11 06-12-2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGman

You get two demerits for having the boxes in focus whereas the pics of the actual flashlights appear to be out of focus or maybe just a touch of camera shake due to the low lighting.

The quality of the photos must match that of the flashlights! You're young, you should have good vision to take better pics. And if time is an issue why are you shooting pictures of a brown cardboard shipping box?

Your probably going to use the excuse that its a bright sunny day right now to not have any outdoor night time beam shots too aren't you?

You could be forgiven if you come over with all those lights and a Pizza for lumens testing party.

(Is the pizza ready yet?)

OH SNAP.

ack!
must.. retake... pics!!!

aww.. I wish I could come over right now..that'd be nice.. I'd need a ride though.. haha.

uh... my excuse is that I pointed the lights at my face.. and messed up my vision!
yeah.. that..

Black Rose · #12 06-12-2009, 03:41 PM

Looking forward to the reviews on these.

Dumb question time: What are the finger grips for (besides gripping something

)

StandardBattery · #13 06-12-2009, 03:57 PM

The last group shot looks pretty much in focus, but seeing the pictures DHart posted in the past I know that a significant improvement is still possible.

Not the ugliest looking black lights for sure. Something as boring as a ruler or a coke can would have made a nice size comparison.

I think there was another unboxing photo shoot thread; it seems everyone wants to increase the drama. I think it was Nitecore that started transitioning new light introductions into mini soap operas here on CPF.

csshih · #14 06-12-2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StandardBattery

The last group shot looks pretty much in focus, but seeing the pictures DHart posted in the past I know that a significant improvement is still possible.

Not the ugliest looking black lights for sure. Something as boring as a ruler or a coke can would have made a nice size comparison.

Hey.. I'm just a high school kid.

He owns a photography studio.

anyways.. 2nd request being accomplished.

divine · #15 06-12-2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Rose

Looking forward to the reviews on these.

Dumb question time: What are the finger grips for (besides gripping something

)

I think you put those two holes at the end around the two ends of the lights... then you can slide your hand through the rest of the grip, and hold it like a camcorder so you can still use your fingers.

That is pretty interesting!

They made a clip, a lanyard hole, supplied the lanyard, supplied a holster, AND developed (or copied from camcorders) a new carry method. This is impressive.

divine · #16 06-12-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csshih

Hey.. I'm just a high school kid.

He owns a photography studio.

anyways.. 2nd request being accomplished.

I saw a USB microscope on a deal of the day website the other day and was wondering how good it would be for showing anodizing.

csshih · #17 06-12-2009, 04:31 PM

no idea... I'm in debt right now from the solarforce review.. still need to pay him...lol.

Justin Case · #18 06-12-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by divine

They made a clip, a lanyard hole, supplied the lanyard, supplied a holster, AND developed (or copied from camcorders) a new carry method. This is impressive.

We were using shock corded 6Ps 15 years ago (to facilitate things like handgun reloading, tap-rack, etc), wrapping the cord around the back of our hands like a camcorder grip. Certainly not a new carry method. Perhaps a refined implementation.

Bullzeyebill · #19 06-12-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Case

We were using shock corded 6Ps 15 years ago (to facilitate things like handgun reloading, tap-rack, etc), wrapping the cord around the back of our hands like a camcorder grip. Certainly not a new carry method. Perhaps a refined implementation.

I still use the shock cord palm lanyards on most of my lights, even non SF's. ICON comes with a palm/wrist lanyard.

Bill

JJV · #20 06-12-2009, 06:22 PM

Just got mine today. I ordered the 123; the front of the box said 123, but the back said AA and that's what was in the box. I'd be curious if anyone else has the same experience.

Overall a really nice package though. Still getting to know it.

csshih · #21 06-12-2009, 07:04 PM

hahah. looks like the back is a sticker.. people packaging it might have stuck on the wrong sticker.. LOL

Splunk_Au · #22 06-12-2009, 07:06 PM

Thanks for the clearer pic of the 2c cr123 version, looks almost like the eagletac t100c2.
All the hype in the manufacturers forum and all that philosophy were leading me to belief these quarks were gonna be something unique or special.
They seems just like slighty face-lifted eagletacts/fenix/etc. Even output and runtime are similar. Only new thing is the fancy packaging.

Bullzeyebill · #23 06-12-2009, 07:13 PM

Let's wait for the more comprehensive reviews before coming to any conclusions. 4Sevens is staking his reputation on these lights.

Bill

DHart · #24 06-12-2009, 07:14 PM

Craig... I think you're doing a great job with those pics! No one expects you to produce commercial quality images, my friend... yours look just great and we're all appreciating your observations and comments.

Badbeams3 · #25 06-12-2009, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DHart

Craig... I think you're doing a great job with those pics! No one expects you to produce commercial quality images, my friend... yours look just great and we're all appreciating your observations and comments.

+1 Damm fine

Yea...looks like the lettering could be better. Some room for improvement there.

Optik49 · #26 06-12-2009, 08:03 PM

Good Job.

Now pack them up and send them to the next person so they will get to me quicker.

carrot · #27 06-12-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splunk_Au

Thanks for the clearer pic of the 2c cr123 version, looks almost like the eagletac t100c2.
All the hype in the manufacturers forum and all that philosophy were leading me to belief these quarks were gonna be something unique or special.
They seems just like slighty face-lifted eagletacts/fenix/etc. Even output and runtime are similar. Only new thing is the fancy packaging.

Seems hardly fair to say that -- if a Surefire and a Ultrafire are both using a Cree, does that make them "new fancy packaging"? They sure do look the same, right?

The Quarks are upgrades all around, not as outright noticeable as some expected, but the quality is there and IMHO well worth the buzz.

This is big -- one of CPF's favorite dealers listened to customer opinions and released his own line of lights to better meet our expectations. You bet your sweet --- this is big news.

StandardBattery · #28 06-12-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csshih

Hey.. I'm just a high school kid.

He owns a photography studio.

anyways.. 2nd request being accomplished.

Hey fine work in showing us these new lights, I was not implying you needed to do better, I got a good sense, other than size maybe, of what the lights looked like. That's why I was able to say 'not the ugliest black lights'. At the time (you have more now) your last group shot made them look beautiful, I particularly thought the CR123A model was quite nice. DHart can do his thing, and you can do yours. Your reviews have been great!

matrixshaman · #29 06-12-2009, 08:18 PM

Thanks for the review and pics. I didn't know this thread was here or I would have probably posted here first instead of another thread. IMO this is the most professional overall package I've seen on any light EVER! Liteflux with their wooden boxes are an impressive touch but overall 4Sevens has a lot more professional look and the feeling of 'Everything done right' with the exception of JJV getting a wrong model. So far I'm very impressed with the light itself also - to me sort of everything I had wanted in the Fenix P2D / LD1 or PD20 and LD10 but was sorely missing many things that are now present or fixed in the Quarks. Latest Cree LED in a great bin too!

for 4Sevens and the new Quarks. One other thing I've noted on these versus the Nitecore D10's - the new Quark's in AA works with any size of 14500 or NiMh. I could not get the D10's to work with Trustfire 14500's. There seems to be quite a bit of room in the AA compartment and yet there is NO battery rattle.

callmaster · #30 06-12-2009, 08:33 PM

Yeah, I've been looking for a good quality light for a mate of mine and I finally decided to get him a double AA model. He should get it in a few days and it's going to blow him away.

He's mostly been using the cheap $10 crappy ones. He's going to be very impressed with his first good light.

Can we have some pictures of the double AA version. You said you had the battery tube for it?